The Portland Hearts of Pine couldn’t find a way past the stingiest defense in USL League One on Saturday night, falling 2-0 to Forward Madison at Breese Stevens Field in Wisconsin.
Portland fought valiantly all night, but it ran into the reason Forward Madison has allowed fewer than one goal per game this season. Madison’s high press and strong back line kept smothering the Hearts’ attack, especially in the final third. Portland managed just one shot on goal and lost the corner kick battle 10-1.
Forward Madison’s Ryan Carmichael, who recently set the club’s single-season goal scoring record, scored a pair of goals, giving him 14 for the season and putting him in the race for the Golden Boot award.
Portland took the initial kickoff and controlled play in the very early stages, keeping Forward Madison on its side of the field. But the Madison quickly began finding opportunities to spring their forwards down the wings, and suddenly, only four minutes into the match, a Forward Madison counterattack led to a shot in close by Hakim Karamoko. Hearts goalkeeper Kashope Oladapo made the save but the ball deflected to Carmichael, who scored in the open goal.
Forward Madison kept pushing, repeatedly winning corner kicks. But Portland stood tall, protecting the box from the set pieces against the taller Forward Madison players. Madison lead the league this season in set piece goals but on this day, Portland stopped each attempt.
In the 15th minute, Portland’s Michel Poon-Angeron was booked for a tackle but the play likely stopped a Madison breakaway. Meanwhile, midfielder Diogo Barbosa made several strong tackles to thwart Forward Madison’s offense.
Throughout the match, Portland players would create turnovers and send the Hearts on attack. But each time, Forward Madison had the answer defensively.
Oladapo, making his third start of the season, made a tremendous save, tipping a nifty shot by Karamoko that then struck the crossbar and bounced out harmlessly. A little later, a Portland turnover led to a counterattack. Karamoko launched a curling pass that Carmichael struck cleanly and appeared to be heading into the goal, but Oladapo threw himself sideways and knocked the ball away.
Late in the first half, Karamoko broke through the Hearts’ defense. Portland defender Joshua Drack caught Karamoko’s back foot and both players tumbled to the ground. The referee gave Drack a yellow card, awarding a penalty kick that Carmichael converted for his brace in the 40th minute. Oladapo nearly saved the shot, flicking his right leg upward as he dove, deflecting it but not enough to keep it out of the goal. A few minutes later, Carmichael almost got his hat trick but he shot wide.
Portland had a couple of late opportunities in the first half off of set pieces but came up empty.
To start the second half, Hearts center back Serigne Faye entered the match for Aboubacar Camara and immediately had an impact, making several defensive headers and tackles, along with two hard fouls. One of the fouls led to a free kick just outside of Portland’s box, but Matteo Kidd blocked the shot with his body, sending it out of play.
Several minutes into the second half, Brecc Evans passed 13,000 USL1 regular season minutes for his career, becoming one of very few players in the league to ever reach the mark.
Portland’s most dangerous opportunity came soon after. Midfielder Diego González drove a free kick from 35 yards out directly toward the upper right corner. But Mingos goalkeeper JT Harms was able to stretch just enough to keep the ball out of the net.
The match slowed down from there as both teams struggled to find much offense.
For much of the match, the Karamoko-Carmichael tandem put a tremendous amount of pressure on Portland’s defenders. In response, Evans in particular gave a yeoman’s effort defensively, both in the air with his head and on the ground with his feet.
Mikey Lopez entered the game in the 82nd minute and made an impact immediately, stealing a ball and sending fellow sub JayTee Kamara down the right side. Kamara passed to Walter Varela, who seemed to be run over, but no call was made and the ball was turned over.
A little later, Kamara made one of his patented attacks with the dribble, starting at midfield as he weaved his way down the pitch before eventually losing the ball. It was the final offensive threat for Portland, which was shut out for the sixth time in 31 league matches.
Portland concludes its season with a match against the Charlotte Independence at 5 p.m. next Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium.