Masashi Wada

Hearts Earn Late Night Marathon Win at Texoma

July 13, 2025 by cferragamo

PORTLAND, Maine – Following seven weather delays that meant the match didn’t kick off until after 11:00 p.m. local time last night, Portland Hearts of Pine (3-3-7) claimed their first road win of the season early Sunday morning, defeating red-hot Texoma FC (5-6-4) 1-0 in Sherman, Texas.

The first-ever matchup between the two expansion sides was initially scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. CT, but a series of thunderstorms pushed kickoff back 30 minutes. And then? The storms just kept coming. The 8:00 p.m. kickoff became 8:30 p.m., then 9:00 p.m., then 9:30 p.m., with Texoma’s social media manager optimistically adding “pending no further lightning strikes” to the post announcing the fourth delay.

Shortly thereafter, and rather inevitably if you’re inclined to believe in jinxes, kickoff was pushed back to 10:00 p.m.

Then 10:30 p.m.

The match finally got underway at around 11:10 p.m.—after midnight back in Maine, and more than three-and-a-half hours after its scheduled start time—with only a few hardy souls left in the Historic Bearcat Stadium stands.

Texoma FC came into the match as one of the most in-form teams in USL League One, undefeated in their last eight league matches. During that stretch they held league leaders Spokane Velocity FC and second-place AV Alta FC to draws on the road, and snapped third-place Charlotte Independence’s four-match unbeaten streak. The only blemish on the home team’s record since early May was a USL Jägermeister Cup loss to Phoenix Rising, but even then the USL Championship side needed to score six minutes into second-half stoppage time to come away with the win.

But it was Hearts who would ultimately take home the three points in Texas, and they did so in the unlikeliest of fashions.

In the fifth minute, with a steady rain continuing to fall, Jay Tee Kamara split two Texoma players with a long pass that found Masashi Wada at the top corner of the penalty area. Wada took the ball towards the end line and launched a cross into the six-yard box, looking to pick Titus Washington out at the near post.

Wada’s cross missed a leaping Washington by the barest of margins, and instead fell to Texoma right back William Perkins. Perkins was in the heart of the Hearts penalty area marking Ollie Wright, trying to ensure the cross never reached Portland’s winger. He did just that, but in a manner he’d rather like to forget: the ball deflected off his left knee and flew past Texoma goalkeeper Javier Garcia into the back of the net for an own goal.

Texoma went looking for an equalizer, and in the 30th minute Philip Spengler launched a rocket of a shot from distance that headed goalward in an attempt to knot the match up. Hunter Morse’s reflexes and wingspan combined to deny him, though; the Portland goalkeeper dove to his right and pushed the shot over the crossbar to safety.

Wright almost made it 2-0 shortly after the restart when Michel Poon-Angeron picked him out with a diagonal long ball that left him 1v1 with Texoma fullback Reid Valentine. Wright cut back inside and curled a shot towards the far post, but it was punched away by a lunging Garcia.

Portland—whose body clocks insisted the match started on Sunday morning instead of Saturday night—had just 38% possession overall, but took 17 shots to Texoma’s nine. They were particularly relentless down the right flank, where Kamara and Wada frequently combined to trouble Texoma’s defense; Wada took four shots after the 80th minute alone, including an 84th minute putback attempt that he sent just wide while sitting on the ground after having coaxed a save from Garcia seconds earlier.

Perkins’ own goal proved to be the only score for either team on the night (or on the morning), and while the three road points weren’t enough to see Hearts move up the standings, they were enough to see Portland move level with eighth-place Richmond Kickers and ninth-place Greenville Triumph SC on points, trailing them both solely on goal differential but with two matches in hand over each.

Up next: Portland Hearts of Pine return home to “Fort Fitzy” for a midweek clash against Greenville Triumph SC. The match is scheduled to kick off at 6:30 p.m., and will stream live on NESN and ESPN+.

GOALS

POR – William Perkins (OG 5’)

TEX – None

DISCIPLINE

YC – McManus (TEX 1’), Green (POR 22’), Washington (POR 25’), McCormick (TEX 49’), Quiñones (POR 54’), Perkins (TEX 70’), McCormick (90’+1), Messer (POR 90’+3), Garcia (90’+6), Texoma bench

RC – McCormick (90’+1)

LINEUPS

PORTLAND – Hunter Morse, Nathan Messer, Kemali Green, Sean Vinberg, Colby Quiñones (Pat Langlois 58’), Mikey Lopez ©, Michel Poon-Angeron (Jake Keegan 87’), Masashi Wada, Ollie Wright, Titus Washington (Natty James 70’), Jay Tee Kamara (Walter Varela 71’)

Unused substitutes – Kash Oladapo, Mo Mohamed, Shandon Wright

TEXOMA – Javier Garcia, Reid Valentine, Angelo Calfo, Sergio Chavez ©, William Perkins, Ozzie Ramos, Teddy Baker (Dlamini Mfanafikile 88’), Lamin Jawneh (Brayan Padilla 67’), Philip Spengler, Luke McCormick, Brandon McManus (Diego Pepi 67’)

Unused substitutes – Patrick Staszewski, Jon Paul Jordan II, Mason McCready

Damian Foley
Director of Fan Experience

Hearts Fall to Rhode Island on the Road

June 27, 2025 by cferragamo

PORTLAND, Maine – Portland Hearts of Pine fell on the road against reigning USL Championship Eastern Conference Champions Rhode Island FC in the USL Jägermeister Cup, with a final score of 4-1 at Centreville Bank Stadium on Friday night.

This game marked the first-ever time a USL League One team visited Rhode Island, and was Portland’s second game in a row away from home after spending last weekend in California. With the win, Rhode Island remains at the top of Group 4 in the Jägermeister Cup.

RIFC, who rank second in the USL Championship in terms of possession, controlled the ball during the beginning of the match, holding possession at 61.1% to 38.9%.

In the 18th minute, Maxi Rodríguez won the ball in the midfield and sent a ball over the top of the box to Albert Dikwa who chipped it over Portland keeper Kash Oldapo to put Rhode Island up early in the first half.

Portland nearly tied it up in the 29th minute, when a free kick by Natty James was barely saved by RIFC goalkeeper Jackson Lee. The rebound was nearly tapped in by Jake Keegan before Rhode Island’s Rodríguez came in from behind to take away Hearts’ equalizing chance.

Rhode Island came out strong again in the second half. In the 49th minute, defender Aldair Sanchez made a run up the left side and crossed the ball through the box to Dikwa, who slipped the ball in between Oldapo and the near post to put RIFC up by two.

The home team was able to capitalize again in the 58th minute, when a left-footed cross sent in by Jojea Kwizera was headed into the back of the net at the far post by Dikwa, giving the Rhode Island forward a hat trick.

Portland continued to battle hard throughout the second half, as possession tilted more in their favor, sitting at 57.8% to 42.2%.

Hearts were finally able to find the back of the net in the 63rd minute. Masashi Wada drove through the space in front of him, dribbling up the midfield before sending a well-placed ball to Titus Washington. Washington took on a Rhode Island defender one-on-one in the box, defeating him and nailing the ball to the bottom right corner, putting Portland up on the board.

But Portland’s fight wasn’t enough to hold RIFC. Late in the second half, Noah Fuson received a through ball from Sanchez and was able to win the ball at the top of the box, sending a goal in to put Rhode Island up 4-1.

Up next: Portland Hearts of Pine will return home next week for a rematch against AV Alta FC after a 1-1 draw against the club on June 21. The match will kick off at 6:30 p.m. ET at Fitzpatrick Stadium and will air live on ESPN+.

GOALS

POR – Titus Washington 63’ (Wada)

RI – Albert Dikwa 18’ (Rodriguez), Albert Dikwa 50’ (Sanchez), Albert Dikwa 58’ (Kwizera), Noah Fuson 85’ (Sanchez)

DISCIPLINE

YC – Shandon Wright (POR 17’), Jojea Kwizera (RI 36’), Albert Dikwa (RI 44’), Maxi Rodriguez (RI 48’), Mo Mohamed (POR 53’)

RC – NONE

LINEUPS

PORTLAND HEARTS OF PINE – Kash Oladapo, Mahlamaki Camacho, Sean Vinberg (Nathan Messer 45’), Shandon Wright, Mo Mohamed, Nathaniel James, Masashi Wada, Mickey Reilly (Pat Langlois 59’), Walter Varela (Jay Tee Kamara 70’), Titus Washington, Jake Keegan © (Ollie Wright 59’)

UNUSED SUBSTITUTES – Hunter Morse, Mikey Lopez, Colby Quiñones

RHODE ISLAND FC – Jackson Lee, Aldair Sanchez, Karifa Yao, Frank Nodarse, Rio Hope-Gund, Jojea Kwizera (Taimu Okiyoshi 88’), Maxi Rodriguez (Kevin Vang 88’), Clay Holstad © (Marc Ybarra 71’), Noah Fuson, Joe Brito (Dani Rovira 70’), Albert Dikwa (Isaac Angking 79’)

UNUSED SUBSTITUTES – Will Meyer, Cole Dewhurst

Anna McCusker
Communications Intern

Hearts Make History With Win Over Naples

May 17, 2025 by cferragamo

PORTLAND, Maine – JayTee Kamara wasted no time making his presence felt in a Hearts uniform, while Walter Varela proved once again he has a knack for making magic moments, and on Saturday night the wingers kicked off a party that echoed far beyond the borders of the Fitzpatrick Stadium stands.

Portland Hearts of Pine: 2.

FC Naples: 1.

Number of people at ‘Fitzy’ going home hoarse after cheering Hearts to their first-ever USL League One victory: 5,715.

FC Naples (4-3-2), who were already starting their second-string goalkeeper after league shutout leader Lalo Delgado was sent off three days prior at Chattanooga, found themselves down to their third-string shot stopper – and down to 10 men – when Joel Serrano was shown a straight red card in the seventh minute for a hard challenge on a Hearts player.

Naples had dressed goalkeeper coach Tony Halterman as an emergency option, and seven minutes into Serrano’s first-ever USL League One start – on his 26th birthday, no less – Halterman came off the bench for his first game action in two years.

In the 26th minute, Kamara had his own number called when Mikey Lopez suffered an off-the-ball injury. Kamara, who had only arrived in the country from his native Sierra Leone a few days prior to the match, immediately gave the left side of the Naples defense fits, his deft footwork leaving opponents wrong-footed on more than one occasion.

Kamara’s energy and tenacity finally paid off in the 43rd minute, when Halterman deflected Varela’s shot back into the field of play and into his path. Kamara gathered up the rebound and cut inside onto his left foot, then curled a shot through a gap in the Naples defense and into the back of the net.

Naples came out strong to start the second half, and Luke Prpa tied the match up at 1-1 in the 56th minute.

Nineteen minutes later, Masashi Wada took a free kick from outside the penalty area, and instead of firing the ball into the box, rolled it down the sideline to Nathan Messer. Messer drove a low cross towards the six-yard box, where a defender knocked it back to Varela.

Varela gathered the ball and moved to his left, getting Prpa to overcommit and leave his weight on his right foot. Varela then cut back inside and launched a shot towards the far post. Halterman only got a fingertip to a shot that needed a full hand, and just like that the man who scored Hearts’ first-ever goal in a 4-0 win over C.D. Faialense in the first round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup back on March 20 had given the hosts the lead.

Portland pressed and searched for a third score that would put the match out of reach, with Wada, Messer, and Titus Washington all peppering the Naples goal with shots.

While none found their target, the fans ultimately did not care. Portland Hearts of Pine (1-1-4) held firm for the win, and as the strains of Bob Marley’s “One Love” rang out throughout the stadium, the players took an exultant long-awaited victory lap through air thick with green smoke, blue smoke, and gray fog.

Walter Varela had this to say about the match, “I feel like in the second half we took our foot off the gas a little bit, and they got a chance to get in the game with that one goal and a lot of other chances. After that we were able to find our feet in the game and score a goal and dominate.”

You’ve always got to believe in the second ball or rebound, and be ready for that. That’s what happened over there. Then it was just 1v1 and I put it on my right foot, and then it was a goal. I’ve been been trying to score one of those in training, and it didn’t happen. It happens here. So everything happens for a reason.

GOALS

POR – Kamara 43’, Varela 75’

NAP – Prpa 56’

CARDS

YC: Heckenberg (NAP 30’), Vinberg (POR 40’), Henderlong (NAP 45’), Fernandes (45+3’), Morse (POR 58’), Messer (POR 60’), Henderlong (NAP 77’)

RC: Serrano (NAP 7’), Henderlong (NAP 77’)

LINEUPS

PORTLAND HEARTS OF PINE – Hunter Morse, Nathan Messer, Samuel Mahlamaki Camacho (Pat Langlois 46’), Sean Vinberg, Mikey Lopez © (Jay Tee Kamara 26’), Michel Poon-Angeron, Ollie Wright (Azaad Liadi 68’), Mickey Reilly (Colby Quinones 68’), Masashi Wada, Titus Washington, Walter Varela

Unused substitutes – Evan Southern, Shandon Wright, Kash Oladapo

FC NAPLES – Joel Serrano, Brecc Evans, Julian Cisneros, Max Glasser, Gustavo Fernandes (Rodolfo Sulia 82’), Chris Heckenberg, Kevin O’Connor © (Marc Torellas 75’), Luke Prpa (Ian Garrett 82’), Ian Cerro (Tony Halterman 10’), Karsen Henderlong (Roscoe Rubenstein 82’), Andres Ferrin

Unused substitutes – Justin Weiss, Tyler Pasnik

Damian Foley
Director of Fan Experience

Hearts Hold Defending Champions Union Omaha to 2-2 Tie On the Road

May 11, 2025 by cferragamo

PORTLAND, Maine, May 10, 2025 – On a night where Union Omaha (1-2-2) was feted for winning the 2024 USL League One title, Portland Hearts of Pine (0-1-4) crashed the party, with goals from Azaad Liadi and Natty James canceling out a pair of second half Omaha strikes to see the teams finish tied 2-2 at Werner Park.

The tie was Hearts’ fourth in five matches, an opening stretch that has seen them share points with three of the top four teams in the league as well as the defending champions.

Masashi Wada almost opened the scoring for Hearts in the second minute with a beautifully lofted chip over Omaha goalkeeper Rashid Nuhu, but his acrobatic effort using the outside of his right boot was just wide of the target.

Liadi left no doubt with his attempt in first half stoppage time though, capping a beautifully worked team move to put Hearts ahead. Mikey Lopez dribbled past two Omaha players before feeding the ball inside to Wada, who attempted to thread a through ball between a pair of defenders right back to Lopez, making a run behind the line. Marco Milanese thrust out his leg in an attempt to block Wada’s pass but only succeeded in redirecting the ball into the path of Liadi; Liadi’s one-time shot flew past Nuhu into the back of the net.

Union Omaha tied the match at one apiece in the 54th minute when a Charlie Ostrem corner found Samuel Owusu at the back post. Owusu outjumped a pair of Hearts defenders and headed the ball home.

Omaha then took the lead in the 84th minute on a Joe Gallardo penalty kick. Sean Vinberg tangled with Josué Gómez in the penalty area, and when Gómez went to ground, referee Drew Klemp pointed to the spot. Gallardo stepped up and blasted the ball past Hunter Morse to give the hosts a late 2-1 lead.

That was a rare miss for the defending USL League One Fans’ Choice Save of the Week winner, as the shot-stopper made six saves on the night, coming up huge again and again to deny Omaha’s attackers.

The home side’s lead ended up lasting just two minutes, and the fans had barely finished celebrating Gallardo’s go-ahead strike when Natty James spoiled their party, turning a Nathan Messer cross into the back of an open goal to knot the match up at 2-2.

Up Next: After holding One Knoxville SC to a 1-1 tie in front of 5,784 Mainers in their inaugural season home opener, Portland Hearts of Pine will host FC Naples in their second home league match on May 17. Hearts tied second-place Naples 0-0 in their season opener on March 29. The rematch will kick off at 5:30 p.m. ET and will air live on NESN and ESPN+.

GOALS

POR – Azaad Liadi 45+1 (unassisted), Natty James 86’ (Nathan Messer)

OMA – Samuel Owusu 54’ (Charlie Ostrem), Joe Gallardo 84′ (Josué Gómez)

DISCIPLINE

YC – Marco Milanese (OMA 35’), Shandon Wright (POR – on bench 69’), Brent Kallman (OMA 73’), Titus Washington (POR 74’), Bobby Murphy (POR 83’), Colby Quiñones (POR 87’), Mickey Reilly (POR 90+3’)

RC – NONE

STARTING LINEUPS

Portland Hearts of Pine – Hunter Morse, Samuel Mahlamäki Camacho, Sean Vinberg, Mikey Lopez, Patrick Langlois © (Mickey Reilly 71’), Michel Poon-Angeron (Natty James 85’), Masashi Wada, Evan Southern (Colby Quiñones 46’), Azaad Liadi (Titus Washington 66’), Walter Varela (Ollie Wright 71’)

Unused substitutes: Kash Oladapo, Shandon Wright

Union Omaha – Rashid Nuhu, Marco Milanese, Brent Kallman, Samuel Owusu, Sergio Navarro, Laurence Wooten (Kemy Amiche 66’), Max Schneider, Dion Acoff (Brandon Knapp 85’), Josué Gómez, Charlie Ostrem, Joe Gallardo

Unused substitutes: Cole Jensen, Ryen Jiba, Anderson Holt,, Isidro Martinez, Mehdi Oumari, Mark Bronnik

Damian Foley
Director of Fan Experience

Hearts Battle Knoxville to Draw in Home Opening Downpour

May 4, 2025 by cferragamo

Portland, ME, May 4, 2025 – In front of a raucous sold out Fitzpatrick Stadium crowd of 5,784 screaming, cheering, dancing, singing, flag-waiving Mainers, Masashi Wada made history by scoring the first home league goal in Portland Hearts of Pine (0-1-3) history, cracking the league’s toughest defense as Hearts held high-flying One Knoxville SC (3-0-2) to a 1-1 tie on Saturday night.

Green smoke drifted across the Fitzy field before kickoff, and the noise emanating from the Dirigo Union set the stage for a 90-minute party that not even the torrential downpour could dampen.

Just how unflappable were the Hearts fans?

Not even Maine Governor Janet Mills was fazed by the weather, standing amongst the sold out crowd and routinely giving the Knoxville players a piece of her sharp mind.

Portland fell behind early when Stuart Ritchie drove a low shot home from outside the six-yard box in the second minute.

The crowd responded by simply getting louder, turning the metal stands into a cauldron of noise to lift the team. Azaad Liadi almost tied the match in the 16th minute when he headed a Nathan Messer corner goalward; only a diving reflex save by Sean Lewis, the two-time reigning USL League One Goalkeeper of the Year, kept the ball out of the back of the net.

Portland–a team that does not typically look to dominate possession–nevertheless held the ball for 57% of the first half, and took 10 shots to Knoxville’s 3. At some point the dam had to burst, and burst it did in dramatic fashion in stoppage time.

A failed Knoxville clearance saw the ball fall at Ollie Wright’s feet, and the left winger immediately launched a cross into the penalty area. Liadi rose to meet it again, looking to improve on his earlier effort, but the ball deflected into the path of Wada instead.

The star Japanese midfielder struck out his right leg, and the roar that followed from the stands will echo throughout Fitzy for a long, long time. With Lewis out of position tracking Liadi he had no chance of stopping Wada’s perfectly placed shot, and ‘Sashi’ carved his name into the Hearts record books.

Portland outshot Knoxville again in the second half, 6-4, but could not get the ball past Lewis a second time. Liadi came the closest when, in the 88th minute, he sent a curled shot towards the far post, but his effort arced wide, and the match finished in a 1-1 tie.

This is so exciting. It’s such a big stadium. I’m glad to score the first goal in this stadium. I felt so good. I could have had one more goal in the first half, but it’s okay, explained Wada. Followed by Coach Bobbly Murphy who said, I just want to send my thanks and gratitude to everyone who turned up. The fans were fantastic, the supporter’s group was unbelievable, and you guys showed up and were here and people were here until 1 o’clock this morning putting this thing together. People work so hard to give us a platform to perform.

GOALS

POR – Masashi Wada 45+2’ (Azaad Liadi)

KNOX – Stuart Ritchie 2’ (Mark Doyle)

DISCIPLINE

YC – Michel Poon-Angeron (POR 33’), Abel Caputo Melilo (KNOX – HT), Sivert Haugli (KNOX 73’), Babacar Diene (KNOX 86’)

RC – NONE

STARTING LINEUPS

Portland Hearts of Pine – Hunter Morse, Nathan Messer, Sean Vinberg, Kemali Green, Pat Langlois ©, Mikey Lopez, Michel Poon-Angeron (Colby Quinones 69’), Ollie Wright (Titus Washington 82’), Masashi Wada, Azaad Liadi, Walter Varela (Jake Keegan 58’)

Unused substitutes: Samuel Mahlamaki Camacho, Shandon Wright, Kash Oladapo, Natty James

One Knoxville SC – Sean Lewis, Jordan Skelton ©, Daniel Fernandez Cotobal, Stuart Ritchie, Jaheim Brown, Abel Caputo Melilo, Callum Johnson (Angelo Kelly-Rosales 63’), Mikkel Goling (Nicola Rosamila 63’), Kempes Tekiela (Babacar Diene 63’), Mark Doyle (Sivert Haugli 29’), Stavros Zarokostas

Unused substitutes: Scott Mcleod, Johan Garibay

Portland Fails to Repeat Hartford Cupset, Falls 2-0 on Road

April 26, 2025 by cferragamo

HARTFORD, Conn., April 26, 2025 – Sometimes, soccer will break your heart. Sometimes, the odds and the statistics don’t count for a thing.

Such was the case on April 2 when USL Championship side Hartford Athletic outshot Portland Hearts of Pine 20-14, had four big chances to Portland’s one, and even had a man advantage for the final 25 minutes of the teams’ Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup second round match, only to get knocked out of the tournament in stunning fashion by a never-say-die Hearts team in the USL League One newcomers’ third-ever outing.

And it was the case again today when Portland traveled south to face Hartford in the opening round of the Jägermeister Cup and enjoyed a 14-10 advantage in shots, a 4-3 advantage in shots on goal, and a man advantage for the final 18 minutes of the match, only to lose 2-0 to a higher division side out for revenge.

That Portland was able to flip the script on Hartford in the rematch and enjoy an edge in possession, shots, and shots on goal, is testimony to a team finding its footing in just its seventh match under head coach Bobby Murphy. However, soccer is famously a sport where one or two key plays can decide the outcome of a game, and in the friendly confines of Trinity Health Stadium, those key plays largely went in Hartford’s favor.

Hearts were firing from the opening whistle, and Masashi Wada, Mikey Lopez, and captain Pat Langlois all took shots at the Hartford goal before Athletic had their first attempt of the match. Walter Varela, who seemed to cover every blade of attacking turf in the first half, had two quality looks of his own, including one that forced a diving, desperation save from Gerold Ngnepi.

But it was Hartford who struck first, when, on a fast break in the 41st minute, Samuel Careaga curled a cross around a backtracking Ollie Wright and into the path of Jack Panayotou, who took one touch to put the ball out of the reach of Kemali Green before slotting his shot past Hunter Morse.

Athletic took the goal advantage into halftime, but were almost immediately pinned back after the restart as Kemali Green, Sean Vinberg, and Titus Washington all troubled the Hartford goal inside the first 10 minutes of the second half.

Vinberg’s attempt came the closest to tying the match, hitting Thomas Presthus in the back and ballooning goalward out of the reach of Gerold Ngepi. But before Hearts could celebrate, Presthus turned and followed the ball towards the goal, clearing it off the line.

Panayotou stretched Hartford’s lead to 2-0 in the 64th minute, when an Emmanuel Samadiya cross was deflected into his path and he chipped a diving Morse.

Six minutes later, though, he was ordered from the field in stunning fashion. Late in the first half, he had been booked for time wasting after kicking the ball away from Wada as the midfielder attempted to restart play with a free kick. In the 72nd minute, the fourth official called Panayotou’s number to substitute him out of the match; Panayotou was in no hurry to leave the pitch however, and referee Ricardo Montero Araya showed him a second yellow card for time wasting. The red card meant Panayotou’s day was done, and Athletic’s intended substitute had to return to the Hartford team bench, leaving the home side shorthanded.

Hearts continued to press and pepper the Athletic goal, starving the hosts of the ball while taking the final five shots of the match.

In the end, however, there was no moment of magic like Jake Keegan’s stunner that sent the teams’ first encounter to penalties 24 days ago; this time around the final whistle blew, the heavens opened in a downpour, and USL League One’s youngest side returned to Maine to prepare for its regular season home opener having come away empty handed after going toe-to-toe with a Championship side.

NEXT UP – On May 4, Portland Hearts of Pine will play their first-ever home USL League One match when they take on One Knoxville SC at Fitzpatrick Stadium. The match will kick off at 6:00 p.m. ET and will air live on NESN and ESPN+.

GOALS
POR – None

HARTFORD – Jack Panayotou 41’ (Samuel Careaga), Panayotou 64’ (unassisted)

DISCIPLINE
YC – Shandon Wright (POR 29’), Jack Panayotou (HAR 45+1’), Pat Langlois (POR 47’), Joseph Farrell (HAR 68’), Panayotou (HAR 72’), Samuel Careaga (HAR 74’), Gerold Ngnepi (HAR ‘84), Hartford bench

RC – Jack Panayotou (HAR 72’)

STARTING LINEUPS

Portland Hearts of Pine – Hunter Morse, Nathan Messer, Kemali Green, Sean Vinberg, Shandon Wright (Colby Quiñones 46’), Pat Langlois ©, Masashi Wada (Natty James 80’), Mikey Lopez (Michel Poon-Angeron 61’), Ollie Wright (Mickey Reilly 89’), Titus Washington, Walter Varela (Azaad Liadi 61’) Unused substitutes: Kash Oladapo, Samuel Mahlamäki Camacho

Hartford Athletic – Gerold Ngepi ©, Emmanuel Samadiya, Jordan Scarlett, Joseph Farrell, Sebastian Anderson, Beverly Makangila, Adrian Diz Pe (Thomas Presthus 46’), Adewale Obalola (Michee Ngalina 63’), Samuel Careaga (Junior Moreira 75’), Jack Panayotou, Mamadou Dieng (Kyle Edwards 90’) Unused substitutes: Justin DiCarlo, Justin Ingram, Deshane Beckford, Jonathan Jimenez, Kauan Ribero

Hearts’ Cinderella Open Cup Run Ends in Lewiston

April 15, 2025 by cferragamo

LEWISTON, Maine, April 15, 2025 – In the end Portland Hearts of Pine could not pull off a second miracle in Lewiston, and two weeks after stunning USL Championship side Hartford Athletic in the second round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, they fell 2-1 to reigning Eastern Conference champions Rhode Island FC in the third round on Tuesday night.

Hearts made a lively start to the match, and almost took the lead in the 30th minute when an Ollie Wright free kick from 35 yards out came close to beating Jackson Lee; it took a desperate lunge from the Rhode Island goalkeeper to keep the ball out of the back of the net.

But it was Rhode Island who scored first, when Aldair Sanchez picked Clay Holstad out with a cross to the far post in the 34th minute and Holstad knocked a one-timer past Hunter Morse. Frank Nodarse made it 2-0 just two minutes later when Portland failed to clear the ball in the penalty area, and it dropped at the defender’s feet.

Portland has spent its first three weekends of the regular season on the road, a trio of road trips that includes a 14-hour return journey from Spokane, Wash., and a series of bus rides and flights back from Statesboro, Ga., that saw the team return home sometime after 1:00 a.m. the day before facing Rhode Island.

But in front of a raucous crowd of 2,933 chanting and cheering Mainers, the exhausted team found a second wind in the second half and came out swinging.

In the 65th minute, Portland brought the crowd to its feet when Michel Poon-Angeron forced a turnover at midfield and threaded a pass to Titus Washington, sparking a counterattack. Washington dribbled the ball 20 yards downfield and laced a shot past Lee, halving the deficit and giving hope to every blue-and-green-clad fan in the stands.

That set the stage for a frantic final 25 minutes of end-to-end action that saw the New England rivals combine for almost as many red cards (two) as shots (four).

In the 77th minute, Nathan Messer curled a free kick over Lee’s head, only to see the ball flash inches over the bar. The drama ratcheted up one minute later when Karifa Yao picked up his second yellow card in as many minutes for a foul on Masashi Wada, leaving Rhode Island down a man. This time it was Evan Southern’s turn to take the free kick, though he could not quite connect with Messer at the far post.

Hearts were reduced to 10 men in the 87th minute when Mikey Lopez received his second yellow card of the match and joined Yao in heading to the locker room early, and as the match ticked into added time it was the Rhode Island bench’s turn to receive a booking–the 11th card handed out on the night.

Portland almost produced a second last-gasp stunner in as many Cup matches when, in the eighth minute of stoppage time, Southern rolled a free kick into the path of Natty James, the Trinidad and Tobago international making his first appearance for Portland. James launched a beautifully struck left-footed shot goalward, but Lee proved to be its equal and tipped it wide of the upright.

Patrick Langlois, who made history 72 hours earlier when he scored Portland’s first-ever USL League One goal, made one final attempt to tie the match in the 10th minute of stoppage time, but his shot was off target and Hearts’ Cup run came to a bittersweet end.

Every game and every experience we’ve had so far has been a lesson, said Titus Washington, and Bobby keeps reiterating that it’s a learning curve, and I think that we’re really catching on to it. We take something from every game. It’s not just like, we lost. Okay, we lost but what can we fix? What can we do better? I think there are a lot of smart guys on our team, and we’re starting to gel more. And you saw the second half we came out and played them off the pitch. I think we did a good job of that.

I think for people who aren’t familiar with football, that was a proper Cup match, you know? said Coach Bobby Murphy. I mean, that’s what that was. That was nobody holding anything back. And, you know, the fans were fantastic. I can’t thank this community enough. They’ve turned out three times, plus the people who came up from down south. The atmosphere was great.

NEXT UP

Hearts head south to face Hartford Athletic in the first round of the USL Jägermeister Cup on April 26. In the first meeting between the two clubs in 2025, ten-man Portland knocked Hartford out of the Open Cup when Jake Keegan snatched a late equalizer in overtime and Hunter Morse made a huge save during PKs to give Hearts a 4-2 shootout win. The USL Jägermeister Cup will feature all 38 of USL’s professional men’s clubs competing in a World Cup-style tournament throughout the regular season, and marks the first time a U.S. soccer league has established its own interleague cup.

– – –

GOALS

POR – Titus Washington 65’ (Poon-Angeron)

RIFC – Clay Holstad 34’ (Aldair Sanchez), Frank Nodarse 37’ (unassisted)

DISCIPLINE

YC – Lopez (POR 10’), Nodarse (RIFC 30’), Langlois (POR 35’), Sanchez (45+3’), Poon-Angeron (POR 46’), Shapiro-Thompson (RIFC 49’), Yao (RIFC 76’), Yao (RIFC 78’), Lopez (POR 87’), RIFC bench (90+1’)

RC – Yao (RIFC 78’), Lopez (POR 87’)

STARTING LINEUPS

Portland Hearts of Pine – Hunter Morse, Nathan Messer, Sean Vinberg, Kemali Green, Jaden Jones-Riley (Pat Langlois ‘10), Michel Poon-Angeron, Mikey Lopez ©, Masashi Wada, Ollie Wright (Evan Southern ‘72’), Titus Washington, Walter Varela (Natty James ‘72)

Unused substitutes: Kash Oladapo, Samuel Mahlamäki Camacho, Shandon Wright, Mickey Reilly

Rhode Island FC – Jackson Lee, Frank Nodarse, Grant Stoneman, Karifa Yao, Joe Brito (Jojea Kwizera 82’), Zachary Herivaux © (Maxi Rodriguez 57’), Clay Holstad (Rio Hope-Gund 82’), Taimu Okiyoshi, Aldair Sanchez, Amos Shapiro-Thompson, JJ Williams (Noah Fuson 68’)

Unused substitutes: Cole Dewhurst, Koke Vegas, Kevin Vang

Portland Hearts of Pine Notch Second Consecutive Road Shutout to Open Season

April 6, 2025 by cferragamo

PORTLAND, Maine, April 5, 2025 – Portland Hearts of Pine (0-0-2) held USL League One leaders FC Naples to a scoreless draw on March 29 to open their inaugural season, and on Saturday night they repeated that feat in their second match, keeping 2024 runners-up Spokane Velocity FC (1-1-3) off the scoreboard in a 0-0 draw.

The back-to-back road clean sheets move Hunter Morse into second place in the league in shutouts in 2025, despite Hearts playing the fewest matches of any team; league shutout leader Lalo Delgado has collected his three clean sheets in five Naples starts.

With Hearts making their second road trip in seven days—with a 120-minute Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup win and a 15-hour cross-country journey from Maine to Washington sandwiched between the two—head coach Bobby Murphy rang the changes against Spokane, handing Shandon Wright, Mikey Lopez, Masashi Wada, and Evan Southern their first starts of the season.

Wada had in fact only arrived in the USA four days prior, flying to Maine from his native Japan on Tuesday night before joining the team on its Thursday flight to Spokane. The plan had been for the midfielder to watch from the bench; however, announced starter Samuel Mahlamäki Camacho was a late scratch, and Wada replaced him in the starting lineup shortly before kickoff.

Spokane came closest to breaking the deadlock in the 52nd minute when forward Anuar Peláez beat Morse, only to see his shot towards the far post ricochet off the woodwork. That sparked a period that saw Velocity pepper the Hearts goal with several shots in quick succession, as the hosts looked to take advantage of a tiring Portland backline that featured a trio of players who had played almost every minute of Hearts’ shootout Open Cup win over Hartford Athletic on Wednesday.

Titus Washington, who came into the match for Wada in the 72nd minute, almost stole the match for Portland late, when in the 88th minute he turned a long-range shot goalward. Spokane goalkeeper Carlos Merancio scooped the ball up though, denying Washington the opportunity to give Hearts the lead.

Seven minutes into stoppage time Peláez thought he’d snatched a dramatic winner when he rose to meet a header in the penalty area, but his attempt was off target and went out for a goal kick. Morse’s restart turned out to be the final play of the match.

Portland Hearts of Pine return to action on Saturday, April 12, when they head south to face South Georgia Tormenta FC (1-2-1) at Tormenta Stadium. The match will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET and will be streamed live on ESPN+.

GOALS

POR – NONE

SPK – NONE

DISCIPLINE

YC – Lopez (POR – 39’), Peláez (SPK 45+1’), Poon-Angeron (POR 58’), S. Wright (89’)

RC – NONE

Masashi Wada

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