Rey Ortiz scored, but the Chattanooga Red Wolves lost 2-1 to Forward Madison FC in Wisconsin on Saturday night as the USL League One regular season came to a close.
The Red Wolves (11-6-11, 44 points in standings) finished third in the 12-team league and will host a playoff quarterfinal against sixth-seeded North Texas SC (10-8-10, 40) at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 6, at CHI Memorial Stadium in East Ridge. The winner of that match will face the second-seeded Greenville Triumph SC (12-7-9, 45) in South Carolina on Nov. 13.
Union Omaha (14-5-9, 51), which had locked up the regular-season title and No. 1 seed ahead of the final week, also received a first-round bye. The Nebraska club's Nov. 13 semifinal will be at home against the winner of this Saturday's other quarterfinal between the fifth-seeded Richmond Kickers (11-10-7, 40) and FC Tucson (11-10-7, 40), which hosts as the No. 4 seed.
Greenville finished first and Omaha second in the 2020 USL League One season, which was altered by the coronavirus pandemic as the start was delayed multiple times and the schedule was shortened. After reducing the postseason to only a championship final, it was ultimately canceled due to coronavirus protocol.
North Texas earned the top seed in a four-team playoff and beat Greenville to win the title in USL League One's inaugural season in 2019. This will be the first postseason appearance for Chattanooga.
The Red Wolves have already played North Texas four times this year, with Chattanooga's season opener a 1-0 win at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The teams tied at 1 both on July 17 in Arlington and on Aug. 17 in East Ridge, and the Red Wolves won the most recent meeting 1-0 on Sept. 8 at home.
After that, in its final eight regular-season matches, Chattanooga produced a point for the standings just three times, beating last-place North Carolina FC twice and playing Greenville to a scoreless draw on the road.
Chattanooga FC update
The Chattanooga Football Club lost for the fourth time in its past five matches, falling 1-0 on the road to the Maryland Bobcats FC on Saturday night.
Now 4-8-2 in the National Independent Soccer Association's fall schedule, Chattanooga FC sits in the ninth position of the 10-team league standings.
CFC returns to competition against Chicago House AC at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Finley Stadium. That will leave three matches on the schedule for CFC: next Saturday at Detroit City, Nov. 13 against Michigan Stars FC at Finley and Nov. 20 at Stumptown AC in Matthews, North Carolina.
Compiled by Gene Henley. Contact him at ghenley@timesfreepress.com and follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.