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Hearts of Pine

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Nathan Messer

Hearts battle back for a gritty draw against Charlotte on the Road

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PORTLAND, Maine – In their first-ever meeting, Portland Hearts of Pine (4-3-8) fought back from an early deficit to finish with a 1-1 draw against Charlotte Independence (7-4-5) in North Carolina on Saturday night.

The Independence came out strong from the first whistle, creating several dangerous opportunities. In the 10th minute, Charlotte defender Fabrice Ngah made his way up from the back to connect with a lobbed ball sent to the top of the box by Jon Bakero. Ngah carefully met the ball with the inside of his left foot and found the bottom left corner of the goal, putting the home club up early in the match.

Charlotte continued to dominate possession in the first half, leading 61% to Portland’s 39%. But, despite their attempts, Hunter Morse and the Portland backline held firm and kept Charlotte from scoring again before the break.

Portland gained momentum throughout the second half. In the 55th minute, Masashi Wada sent a beautifully placed low ball across the offensive half to Jay Tee Kamara, who was sprinting toward the box. An extra touch allowed Charlotte keeper Matt Levy, who leads the league in saves, to scoop up the chance from Portland before Kamara could finish.

Charlotte nearly gained a two-goal lead in the 60th minute when Rafael Jauregui sent a bending shot from the top of the box sailing toward the bottom right corner of the net. The powerful shot was denied by Morse, who threw himself in a perfectly timed dive to stop the effort and keep Portland in the game.

The next 10 minutes saw plenty of goal-scoring opportunities for Hearts, and they finally capitalized in the 69th minute. Michel Poon-Angeron intercepted a Charlotte pass, then played the ball to Ollie Wright, who fed Nathan Messer out wide. Messer, sprinting up the left wing, took two gathering touches before unleashing a solid strike that flew across the box, past a diving Levy, and into the right of the net. Portland was at last on the board and neck-and-neck with Charlotte.

Portland continued to put the pressure on for another goal late into the second half. The best chance came in the 80th minute, when a beautifully driven strike from Wada was just barely saved by Levy’s sprawling dive. The draw extends Hearts’ unbeaten streak to four matches.

Up next: Portland Hearts of Pine are back at Fitzpatrick Stadium on Friday to take on Pittsburgh Riverhounds FC in the USL Jägermeister Cup. The match is scheduled to kick off at 6:30 ET and will air live on ESPN+.

GOALS

POR – Messer 69’ (O. Wright)

CHAR – Ngah 10’ (Bakero)

DISCIPLINE

YC – Green (POR 49’), Dimick (CHAR 87’)

RC – NONE

LINEUPS

PORTLAND HEARTS OF PINE – Hunter Morse, Nathan Messer, Pat Langlois © (Mikey Lopez 63’), Sean Vinberg, Michel Poon-Angeron, Titus Washington (Jake Keegan 81’), Colby Quiñones (Mo Mohamed 84’), Walter Varela (Ollie Wright 63’), Natty James (Masashi Wada 45’), Kemali Green, Jay Tee Kamara

UNUSED SUBSTITUTES – Shandon Wright, Kash Oladapo

CHARLOTTE INDEPENDENCE – Matt Levy, Clay Dimick ©, Fabrice Ngah (Pele Ousmanou 63’), Javen Romero, Nick Spielman, Bachir Ndiaye (Santos Martinez 81’), Rafael Jauregui (Christian Chaney 71’), Omar Ciss (Christopher Jaime), Juan David Moreno, Souaibou Marou, Jon Bakero (Pedro Fonseca 63’)

UNUSED SUBSTITUTES – Andrew Romig, Nathan Gray, Adrian Renteria, Tumi Moshobane

JayTee Kamara Named to USL League One Team of the Week

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PORTLAND, Maine – After starting two matches in four days and scoring a superb goal during a 1-1 draw against South Georgia Tormenta FC, Portland Hearts of Pine winger JayTee Kamara has been named to the USL League One Team of the Week, the league announced today.

Late in stoppage time at the end of the first half against Tormenta, Titus Washington broke free down the left wing and drove a low cross across the face of goal. Kamara came in from the right wing to meet it, cut inside onto his preferred left foot, then fired a shot inside the near post to give Portland a 1-0 lead.

This is Kamara’s second league honor this season, after he was named to the USL Jägermeister Cup Team of the Week for Round 2. 

He is also the fourth different Hearts player to garner multiple honors this season, joining Azaad Liadi (USL League One Team of the Week in weeks nine and 16), Nathan Messer (USL League One Team of the Week in weeks nine and 12), and Ollie Wright (USL League One Team of the Week for weeks 12 and 16, and Player of the Week for week 15).

Hearts Tie Tormenta in the Heat

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PORTLAND, Maine – Playing their third match in nine days, on a night hot enough to elicit the team’s first cooling break of the season, Portland Hearts of Pine (2-3-7) scored first but couldn’t hold on, settling for a 1-1 tie with South Georgia Tormenta FC (3-7-3) on Sunday night. 

Portland started brightly, and in the 40th minute came inches away from scoring when Austin Pack misplayed a Nathan Messer cross; captain Mikey Lopez slammed the ball past Pack and towards the goal, only to be denied by the post.

In the third minute of stoppage time, Titus Washington broke free down the left wing and drove in a low cross that flashed across the face of goal. JayTee Kamara came in from the right wing to meet it, cut inside onto his preferred left foot, then fired a shot inside the near post to give Portland a 1-0 lead.

Star signing Séga Coulibaly, who was Los Angeles Galaxy’s starting center back as recently as 2022, made his eagerly awaited debut coming out of halftime with Hearts looking to press their advantage in the second half. However, he went down clutching his leg shortly after the restart after colliding with a Tormenta player, and was eventually subbed off for Shandon Wright in the 63rd minute.

One minute after Coulibaly left the match Tormenta tied things up behind Jonathan Nyandjo’s first goal of the season. Niall Reid-Stephen redirected a looping cross back into the middle of the penalty area, where an unmarked Nyandjo was able to send a one-time shot home.

Hearts had a quality look in the 69th minute when Messer picked Liadi out in the penalty area, but Liadi’s header was scooped up by Pack. In the 87th minute it was Pat Langlois’ turn to pick Liadi out in the penalty area, but with time winding down the result was the same–Liadi’s effort found Pack instead of the back of the net.

That Portland was unable to score in the second half was certainly not for lack of trying: Liadi and Langlois took six shots between them after the break. But in a sport that’s often a game of inches, Hearts were never quite able to break the Tormenta defense. 

Nyandjo had one clear chance in the 77th minute, only to be denied by a brilliant Hunter Morse reflex save. As the half wore on though Tormenta appeared content to settle for a point, and while the hosts continued to pepper the South Georgia goal, the visitors did not take a single shot over the match’s final 22 minutes.

Up Next: Portland will travel to the Lone Star State on July 12 to face Texoma FC (5-5-4) at Bearcat Stadium. Tormenta is unbeaten in its last eight league matches, and in that span have moved from the bottom of the table to sixth place, six points clear of Portland, who have two matches in hand. The match will stream live on ESPN+ at 8:30 p.m.

Comments from Bobby Murphy on the loss against AV Alta FC and the tie against South Georgia Tormenta FC: “I think it’s points dropped on both occasions. I think it’s frustrating. But you know, you have to pick stuff up and move on, so that’s what we’re gonna do. We worked on set pieces and being dangerous on those. I thought every corner kick, you know, we were dangerous for the most part.“

GOALS

POR – Kamara 45’+3 (Washington)

TRM – Jonathan Nyandjo 64’ (Reid-Stephen)

DISCIPLINE

YC – Stretch (TRM 17’) Washington (POR 17’), Coulibaly (POR 59’), Quiñones (72’), Stretch (TRM 74), TRM bench (87’)

RC – Stretch (TRM 74)

LINEUPS

PORTLAND – Hunter Morse, Nathan Messer, Sean Vinberg (Séga Coulibaly 46’, Shandon Wright 63’), Kemali Green, Colby Quiñones (Pat Langlois 81’), Mikey Lopez ©, Michel Poon-Angeron, Masashi Wada, Ollie Wright (Natty James 81’), Jaytee Kamara (Azaad Liadi 63’), Titus Washington

Unused substitutes – Walter Varela, Kash Oladapo

TORMENTA – Austin Pack, Gabriel Alves, Callum Stretch, Makel Rasheed, Oscar Jimenez, Aaron Walker, Gabriel Cabral, Taylor Gray (Mason Tunbridge 71’, Yaniv Bazini 90’+8), Jonathan Nyandjo, Niall Reid-Stephen, Sebastian Vivas (Jackson Simba Kasanzu 78’)

Unused substitutes – Sam Jones, Alon Dray, Conor Doyle, Handwalla Bwana, Finnley O’Brien

Damian Foley
Director of Fan Experience

Liadi And Wright Named to USL League One Team of the Week

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Portland, Maine – Azaad Liadi and Ollie Wright have been named to the USL League One Team of the Week for Week 16, the league announced today.

In the 77th minute of Portland Hearts of Pine’s match at AV Alta FC on Saturday night, Nathan Messer lofted a free kick into Alta’s penalty area that both Kemali Green and Titus Washington got touches on before it fell to Wright outside the six-yard-box. Wright flicked the ball into the air then drove it low into the middle of the penalty area, where Liadi sent a one-time shot past Alta goalkeeper Carlos Avilez and into the back of the net.

Liadi’s goal tied the match at 1-1, and ultimately secured a vital road point for Hearts.

This is Wright’s third time earning Team of the Week honors in 2025–the winger was named to the bench in Week 12 before being named Player of the Week in Week 15–while it represents the second honor for Liadi, who was named to the bench in Week 9.

Ollie Wright Hat Trick Powers Hearts to Incredible Come-From-Behind Win Over Omaha

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PORTLAND, Maine – Union Omaha came into the match against Portland Hearts of Pine as USL League One’s defending champions, but the biggest star on the night turned out to be Hearts left winger Ollie Wright, who scored the first hat trick in Portland history to power the hosts to a stunning 3-1 victory in front of a sold-out Fitzpatrick Stadium.

Omaha was the stronger team in the first half, taking 10 shots to Portland’s one and creating both of the half’s big chances. In the 37th minute, Charlie Ostrem won a 50:50 ball and picked out Dion Acoff making a run behind the Hearts defense; Acoff coolly slotted his shot past Hunter Morse, and Omaha took a 1-0 lead that they then carried into halftime.

At that point Hearts were reeling, and the fourth consecutive sell-out crowd of 5,703 Portland fans were stunned.

“You could hear a pin drop,” said head coach Bobby Murphy.

Throughout most of Portland’s inaugural season, Wright had tantalized and teased his way down the left sideline, but had never put together the breakout performance of which he seemed capable.

But in the second half, with Hearts needing a jolt of energy to get them back into the match, the Londoner put the team on his shoulders and landed blow after blow against a stunned Omaha side.

In the 48th minute, Nathan Messer found Wright in the Omaha penalty area–but near the touchline and with two players between him and the Omaha goal, Wright had some work to do. Wright pulled the ball onto his left foot, leaving one Omaha defender sitting on the ground, and moved towards the touch line. Omaha goalkeeper Cole Jensen lunged out a leg to stop Wright’s shot, but the winger lifted the ball over him and inside the far post.

Wright struck again in the 73rd minute when Michel Poon-Angeron picked him out in stride running behind the Omaha defense. Wright collected the long ball, cut back inside onto his right foot, and once again fired the ball inside Omaha’s far post.

With the crowd on its feet celebrating the stunning turn of events, Wright proved he had one more trick up his sleeve–and his third and final goal wasn’t just one for the history books, it was one that belongs in an art gallery.

In the 80th minute, Wright received the ball wide on the left touchline, with Omaha midfielder Laurence Wootton bearing down on him. Within a fraction of a second Wootton was behind him, lunging desperately for a handful of his jersey to slow him down, as Wright nutmegged him and began sprinting towards the penalty area. While still a yard outside the penalty area, with Brandon Knapp trying to close down his shooting angle, Wright moved to his right and unleashed a curling long-range shot that–you guessed it–snuck inside Omaha’s far post.

Wright peeled off his jersey in celebration, cupped his ears to fire the crowd up even further, and was mobbed by his teammates at the corner flag; meanwhile somewhere in Bristol, Conn., ESPN producers were adding Wright’s name to the shortlist for an upcoming edition of SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays.

Omaha tried valiantly to come back as the match crossed the 90-minute mark, but Morse proved more than up to the task at the other end of the pitch. Ryen Jiba sent a diving header goalward in the first minute of stoppage time, but Morse punched the ball into safety and Portland ultimately held on for an unforgettable 3-1 come-from-behind win.

Up next: Portland Hearts of Pine will be spending the next two weekends on the road,

beginning with a cross-country road trip to face AV Alta FC in Lancaster, Calif., on June 21. The match will kick off at 11:00 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN+.

Bobby Murphy had this to say about the match, “We were talking about how we needed somebody to step up, and I think Ollie did fantastic. The goals were great, but his running against the ball was the best it’s been all year. I’m really proud of him. What we’re here to do is pick up points and make this place a fortress. There’s a reciprocal relationship between a team and its supporters, right? Against Knoxville we gave up a goal early, and what happens? The whole crowd stands up and gives us a lift. Tonight we had to give them a lift. For the first time, you could hear a pin drop in that first half. There was some apprehension, and you could feel it in the crowd.”

GOALS

POR – O. Wright (48’ – Messer), O. Wright (73’ – Poon-Angeron), O. Wright (80’ – unassisted) 

OMA – Dion Acoff (37’ – Ostrem)

DISCIPLINE

YC – Anderson Holt (OMA 25’), Lopez (POR 50’), Schneider (OMA 57’), Vinberg (POR 58’), Liadi (POR 68’), Portland bench (68’), O. Wright (POR 80’)

RC – NONE

LINEUPS

PORTLAND HEARTS OF PINE – Hunter Morse, Nathan Messer (Mo Mohamed 77’), Sean Vinberg, Kemali Green, Colby Quiñones, Michel Poon-Angeron, Mikey Lopez ©, Masashi Wada (Mickey Reilly 86’), Ollie Wright (Walter Varela 86’), Azaad Liadi, JayTee Kamara (Titus Washington 74’)

UNUSED SUBSTITUTES – Kash Oladapo, Shandon Wright, Jake Keegan

UNION OMAHA – Cole Jensen, Max Schneider ©, Anderson Holt (Ryen Jiba 81’), Brent Kallman, Charlie Ostrem, Dion Acoff, Isidro Martinez (Mark Bronnik 87’), Brandon Knapp, Sergio Ors Navarro (Joe Gallardo 46’), Laurence Wootton (Prosper Kasim 81’), Patricio Botello Faz

UNUSED SUBSTITUTES – Rashid Nuhu, Josh Ramsey

Damian Foley
Director of Fan Experience

Hearts Have Two Goals Waved Off, Held to Draw on Road in Madison

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PORTLAND, Maine – Perhaps this result was inevitable: Portland Hearts of Pine (1-1-5) and Forward Madison FC (1-1-6), who combined are responsible for half of all USL League One drawn matches in 2025, finished level at 1-1 on Saturday night.

But the story of the night was less the goals that were displayed on the scoreboard and more the ones that weren’t, as the difference between the two sides came down to two Hearts goals that were judged to be offside, erasing potential debut league scores for rookies Titus Washington and Mickey Reilly.

Madison took an early 1-0 lead after Derek Gebhard was knocked to the ground in the penalty area in the seventh minute, leading referee Amin Hadzic to point to the spot. Devin Boyce stepped up and sent Hunter Morse the wrong way, drilling his penalty home into the open bottom left corner of the goal.

Portland thought it had tied the match in the 26th minute when Ollie Wright sent the ball over the top to Washington, who knocked it past Wallis Lapsley and into the Madison goal. Hearts’ celebration was short-lived though, as the assistant referee raised his flag to indicate Washington had started his run a step too early.

Nathan Messer took the decision out of the officials’ hands entirely in the 35th minute, blasting through a crowd from the top of the penalty area and into the back of the net. Messer’s goal capped an outstanding series that saw multiple Portland attackers link up, and was set up when Wright rolled a perfectly weighted pass into his path.

In the 53rd minute, Mickey Reilly thought he had given Hearts the lead with a beautifully placed shot, only for his shot to also be waved off for offside.

Reilly was energetic all evening for Hearts, and came close to teeing Washington up in the 58th minute when he broke free down the right and threaded the ball towards the six-yard box, but Washington failed to connect and the ball rolled to safety.

UP NEXT – Portland Hearts of Pine’s second outing in the USL Jägermeister Cup sees the Mainers host USL Championship side Detroit City FC. The match will kick off at 5:00 p.m. ET at Fitzpatrick Stadium, and will air live on NESN+ and ESPN+. 

GOALS

POR – Nathan Messer 35’ (Ollie Wright)

MAD – Devin Boyce 7’

DISCIPLINE

YC – Damià Viader (MAD 38’), MIkey Lopez (POR 41’), Walter Varela (POR 45+3’), Christopher Garcia (67’), Michel Poon-Angeron (POR 69’), JayTee Kamara (POR 72’), Sean Vinberg (POR 76’), Ollie Wright (POR 90+3’)

RC – NONE

LINEUPS

PORTLAND HEARTS OF PINE – Hunter Morse, Nathan Messer, Sean Vinberg, Shandon Wright, Mikey Lopez (Mo Mohamed 46’), Patrick Langlois © (Michel Poon-Angeron 11’), Masashi Wada, Mickey Reilly (JayTee Kamara 62’), Ollie Wright, Titus Washington (Azaad Liadi 62’), Walter Varela (Natty James 80’)

Unused Substitutes – Kash Oladapo, Jake Keegan

FORWARD MADISON FC – Wallis Lapsley, Jake Crull, Timmy Mehl, Damià Viader (Juan Galindrez 56’), José Carrera-García (Jackson Dietrich 85’), John Murphy Jr., Ferrety Sousa, Nico Brown (Christopher Garcia 56’), Devin Boyce (Lucca Dourado 85’), Derek Gebhard (Nazeem Bartman 68’)

Unused Substitutes – Owen Finnerty, Riley Binns, Adrien Graffin, 

Damian Foley
Director of Fan Experience

Hearts Make History With Win Over Naples

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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

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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

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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

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