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Ollie Wright

Ten-Man Portland Stuns Pittsburgh in Dramatic Penalty Shootout

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PORTLAND, Maine – There’s drama, and then there’s drama.  

Portland Hearts of Pine’s matchup with USL Championship side Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC was the latter almost from start to finish—a chaotic, explosive affair that saw Hearts starting goalkeeper Kash Oladapo sent off in the 29th minute, the two sides combine for four goals in 11 minutes midway through the second half, and Portland’s other goalkeeper Hunter Morse—who started the evening expecting to enjoy a rare night off—make a match-winning save during the penalty shootout.

Got all that?

The two sides came into tonight’s USL Jägermeister Cup match mathematically eliminated from the Cup playoffs, and with little left to play for but pride.

But a young Hearts team that is rounding into form in the heat of the summer—and that already has a US Open Cup win over a Championship team under its belt during its inaugural season—is built to play on, well, heart, and was not about to back down against its more highly regarded opponent.

Not that the match went according to plan from the beginning, though.

In the 29th minute, Oladapo received a straight red card for a denial of goal-scoring opportunity offense when he took Pittsburgh’s Charles Ahl to the ground. Ahl was one-on-one with Oladapo after Shandon Wright misplayed a bouncing ball, and Oladapo was left with two choices: let Ahl shoot, or take him down. Oladapo went with the second option, leaving referee Edson Carvajal with little choice but to show a red card to Portland’s starting goalkeeper.

Hunter Morse was substituted on in place of the unlucky Mickey Reilly, and was called upon immediately when Pittsburgh’s free kick was at first blocked, then sent in his direction on a putback attempt. In his first action of the night, just seconds after tying his laces and putting his gloves on, Morse gathered up the shot and ended the threat.

In the 64th minute, Titus Washington brought the crowd to its feet when he capped off a spectacular team movement. Michel Poon-Angeron broke up a Pittsburgh attack and flicked the ball to Ollie Wright with the back of his heel; Wright then dribbled down the field and turned a Pittsburgh defender inside out before threading a long pass through to Washington. Washington blasted the ball past Jacob Randolph and into the back of the net.

The lead, however, lasted all of five minutes, until Bertin Jacquesson tied it up for Pittsburgh.

Game on? Game on.

One minute later Washington repaid Wright by breaking free down the right sideline and feeding the London-born winger in the middle of the field. Wright made no mistake, slamming the ball home to restore Portland’s lead.

Three goals in seven minutes quickly became four in 11 though, when Jacquesson tied it up again in the 75th minute on a penalty kick.

Under USL Jägermeister Cup rules, tied matches go straight to penalties, and 15 minutes after Jacquesson scored his penalty to tie the match, the contest went to PKs to decide it.

The Riverhounds went first, and Max Broughton scored with their first attempt to give the visitors a 1-0 advantage. Wright followed for Portland, and scored low to his right to tie the shootout at 1-1. 

Jorge Garcia then stepped up to the spot for Pittsburgh, steadied himself, took aim at the goal, and followed Wright’s lead, sending the ball towards the bottom right corner. Morse guessed correctly and dove to his left though, parrying the ball away and giving Hearts the advantage they would never squander: Jay Tee Kamara, Masashi Wada, Titus Washington, and Patrick Langlois were all on target for Portland, and when Langlois found the back of the net—with another shot low and to the right—Fitzpatrick Stadium erupted in unbridled celebration.

Red smoke and the sounds of Cher’s “Believe” filled the Portland air, with the win sending the Hearts faithful home ecstatic, and sending the Hearts players into their mid-season break riding a five-match unbeaten streak.

Coach Bobby had this to say about the team’s performance: “I thought they really showed a lot of character. They dug in, limited their chances. I thought we probably had the best chance in the first half. When you’re down a man, you just have to stay in the game, you know. And that’s what we did. And no matter who you play, you’re gonna get a chance to score, so make sure you’re not down to zero when you get that chance and take it. And we took the two chances.

I think you’re watching a lot of them grow up. You know, they’re playing men’s football now, and they’re starting to look more like men than they did two months ago, I would say. I think they’re coming to grips with what being a professional means, and really accepting that challenge.”

GOALS

POR – Washington 64’ (O. Wright), Wright 72’ (Washington)

PIT – Bertin Jacquesson (71’), Jacquesson (75’ PK) 

PENALTIES

POR – Ollie Wright (score), Jay Tee Kamara (score), Masashi Wada (score), Titus Washington (score), Patrick Langlois (score)

PIT – Max Broughton (score), Jorge Garcia (saved), Charles Ahl (score), Danny Griffin (score), Sean Suber (score)

DISCIPLINE

YC – Shandon Wright (POR 52’), Bertin Jacquesson (PIT 52’), Evan Southern (POR 66’), Wright (POR 87’)

RC – Kash Oladapo (POR 29’)

LINEUPS

PORTLAND – Kash Oladapo, Nathan Messer, Shandon Wright, Sean Vinberg, Mo Mohamed, Walter Varela (Ollie Wright 61’), Michel Poon-Angeron (Masashi Wada 67’), Pat Langlois ©, Mickey Reilly (Hunter Morse 31’), Evan Southern (Jay Tee Kamara 67’), Natty James (Titus Washington 61’)

Unused substitutes – Colby Quiñones, Kemali Green

PITTSBURGH – Jacob Randolph, Sean Stuber, Max Broughton, Luke Biasi (Guillaume Vacter 46’), Junior Etou, Charles Ahl, Danny Griffin ©, Bradley Sample (Jackson Walti 46’), Jorge Garcia, Jason Bouregy (Pablo Linzoain 82), Bertin Jacquesson

Unused substitutes – Perrin Barnes, Augi Williams, Breto Ydrach, Brigham Larsen, Ben Martino, 

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

Hearts Earn Late Night Marathon Win at Texoma

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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

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 Drop Heartbreaker at Home, Lose 2-0 to AV Alta

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PORTLAND, Maine – Third-place AV Alta FC (6-3-4)  ran its unbeaten stretch to six matches in a row on Wednesday, upending Portland Hearts of Pine (2-3-6) 2-0 on a sweltering Fitzpatrick Stadium summer night.

Hearts took 15 shots to Alta’s eight and created all of the match’s big chances, but six Carlos Avilez saves ensured the home side would go home empty handed in front of a heartbroken fourth-consecutive sell-out crowd.

Portland looked lively in the first half, taking eight shots and forcing Avilez to make three saves. But it was the visiting team that drew first blood, when right winger Jerry Desdunes beat Hunter Morse for the match’s opening goal.

Hearts came close to tying the match in the 52nd minute when a JayTee Kamara free kick from just outside the penalty area finally beat Avilez, only for the post to deny Portland’s diminutive winger. The shot bounced back into play, but Nathan Messer’s putback header was high of the target.

One minute later Ollie Wright found himself through on goal with another quality opportunity to level the score, but Avilez was his equal and threw his body in front of the shot, denying Wright his chance.

Desdunes proved to be the killer again in the 77th minute, feeding Walmer Martinez who then uncorked a shot from long range that curled around Morse’s outstretched arms and into the back of the net.

In the 85th minute, substitute Mo Mohamed unleashed a peach of a cross from the right touchline, but Titus Washington could not get enough on the shot to trouble Avilez. Washington had one additional attempt in the 88th minute, but was unsuccessful and the match finished 2-0 in favor of the red hot visitors.

Up next: Portland Hearts of Pine stay at home this weekend, hosting South Georgia Tormenta FC on Sunday, July 6. The match will kick off at 6:30 p.m., and will stream on NESN and ESPN+.

“It’s so hard to swallow,” said JayTee Kamara. “And it’s gonna be difficult for us to forget about this loss, but we’re gonna work on this because we know we are capable of doing this. We have to put the ball in the back of the net, and we do our best, and we try our best to discover today’s now our day. So we have to keep going and think about Sunday’s game.”

GOALS

POR –  0

ALTA – Desdunes 39’ (Robledo), Martinez 77’ (Desdunes)

DISCIPLINE

YC – Washington (POR 15’), Wada (POR 35’), Blancas (ALTA 59’), Alassane (ALTA 68’), Avilez ALTA 79’)

RC – NONE

LINEUPS

POR – Hunter Morse, Nathan Messer, Sean Vinberg, Kemali Green, Colby Quiñones (Mo Mohamed 84’), Mikey Lopez ©, Masashi Wada (Pat Langlois 74’), Ollie Wright, Jake Keegan (Natty James 64’), Titus Washington, JayTee Kamara (Walter Varela 74’)

Unused substitutes – Samuel Mahlamäki Camacho, Shandon Wright, Kash Oladapo

ALTA –  Carlos Avilez, Miguel Pajaro ©, Steven Ramos, Luca Mastrantonio, Maboumou Alassane (Osvaldo Lay 87’), Sebastian Cruz, Jimmie Villalobos (Christian Ortiz 83’), Harrison Robledo, Eduardo Blancas (Adam Aoumaich), Jerry Desdunes (Erick Gonzalez 87’), Javier Mariona (Walmer Martinez 73’)

Unused Substitutes – Emmanuel Alaribe, Denzil Smith 

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 Fall to Chattanooga on the Road

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PORTLAND, Maine – Portland Hearts of Pine (1-2-5) took an early lead on the road against Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (4-1-4) through a fifth-minute Azaad Liadi strike, but could not hold on, falling 2-1 at CHI Memorial Stadium on Saturday night.

Chattanooga took sole possession of fourth place in USL League One with the win, while Hearts remain just three points out of playoff position.

Portland came out firing in Tennessee and put the hosts on the back foot from the opening. Ollie Wright’s fifth-minute free kick from outside the penalty area curled behind the Red Wolves backline, where a lunging Chattanooga defender could do little more than get a toe on it and deflect it to Liadi. The Hearts striker uncorked a one-time shot that gave Portland a 1-0 lead—but the goal also shocked the Red Wolves into action. 

Declan Watters tied things up for Chattanooga in the 28th minute when Hunter Morse parried a long-range Wynand Wessels strike into his path, leaving the center back an easy tap-in from point blank range. 

Just seven minutes later Joshua Ramos forced a turnover, dribbled into the penalty area and took a shot that deflected skyward off Morse. Pedro Hernandez outjumped a pair of Hearts players and headed home to give the Red Wolves the lead at 2-1.

While Hearts dominated possession in the first half, holding a 64%-36% edge, Chattanooga held a 7-3 advantage in shots to go with the lead on the scoreboard.

Portland piled on the pressure in the second 45 minutes, stretching its possession advantage to 74%-26% and taking eight shots to the Red Wolves’ one, but was unable to break through Chattanooga’s resolute defense and the match finished 2-1 in favor of the home side.

Up next: On Sunday, June 15, Portland Hearts of Pine return home to Fitzpatrick Stadium, where they are undefeated during their inaugural season. The Mainers face defending league champions Union Omaha, with the match kicking off at 6:00 p.m. and airing live on NESN and ESPN+.

GOALS

POR – Azaad Liadi 5’

CHA – Declan Watters 28’, Pedro Hernandez 35’

DISCIPLINE

YC – Wynand Wessels (CHA 13’), Nathan Messer (POR 40’), Mikey Lopez (POR 45’), Sean Vinberg (POR 49’), Declan Watters (CHA 56’)

RC – NONE

LINEUPS

PORTLAND HEARTS OF PINE – Hunter Morse, Nathan Messer, Sean Vinberg, Kemali Green (Samuel Mahlamäki Camacho 61’), Colby Quiñones (Michel Poon-Angeron 62’), Mikey Lopez ©, Masashi Wada, Mickey Reilly (Titus Washington 61’), Ollie Wright, Azaad Liadi (Jake Keegan 80’), Walter Varela (JayTee Kamara 61’)

UNUSED SUBSTITUTES – Kash Oladapo, Shandon Wright

CHATTANOOGA RED WOLVES SC – Ricardo Jérez ©, Jordan Ayimbila, Eric Kinzer, Declan Watters, Omar Gómez, Joshua Ramos (Owen Green 73’), Matthew Bentley (Greyson Mercer 90’), Wynand Wessels (Michael Knapp 65’), Ualefi Rodrigues, Pedro Hernandez (Zahir Vasquez 65’), Omar Hernandez (Alhassan 73’)

UNUSED SUBSTITUTES – Jason Smith, Tobi Jnohope, Gharett Morris, Yanis Lelin


Damian Foley
Director of Fan Experience

Portland Upsets Detroit in Jägermeister Cup Stunner

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PORTLAND, Maine, May 31, 2025 – Portland Hearts of Pine, playing in front of their third consecutive sellout crowd, hadn’t scored more than two goals in a match since a 4-0 season-opening win against C.D. Faialense in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on March 20. But on Saturday night, they put their feet on the accelerator right from kickoff and never let off, stunning Detroit City FC 4-2 in the USL Jägermeister Cup.

Azaad Liadi, Ollie Wright, Walter Varela, and Mo Mohamed all scored for Portland, who showed a ruthless edge against Detroit while helping lift Hearts into third place in the Jägermeister Cup’s Group D.

Liadi opened the scoring in the fifth minute, getting on the end of a Natty James through ball and lashing it past Detroit goalkeeper Carlos Saldaña. In the 28th minute James once again turned provider, feeding Wright in stride in the left front corner of the penalty area. Wright opted for precision over power, and rolled his shot beyond Saldaña’s outstretched diving arm.

Detroit boasted 66 percent possession and a 13-7 edge in shots in the first half, but were turned away time and time again by Kash Oladapo, who was making just his second start for Portland. The rookie from Oregon made six saves in the first 45 minutes, proving to be an impenetrable force in Hearts’ “Brick Wall” goalkeeper kit.

Detroit finally turned pressure into a goal seven minutes into the second half though, when Jay Chapman controlled a cross and put it into Sebastián Guenzati’s path for the halftime substitute to rocket a shot past Oladapo and into the back of the net.

With 15 minutes left on the clock the match was finely poised with Portland leading 2-1, but an orderly match descended into chaos over the final quarter hour.

In the 78th minute, Walter Varela restored Hearts’ two-goal advantage off a JayTee Kamara assist. Three minutes later, Darren Smith deflected a ball past Oladapo with his knee to cut the lead back to one, at 3-2.

Then, in the 85th minute, head coach Bobby Murphy was shown a yellow card on the Portland sideline. As the boos rained down upon the officials, Kamara found himself one-on-one with a Detroit defender in the penalty area. The winger laid the ball off to Mo Mohamed, who had only joined the team on a 25-day contract two weeks prior; Mohamed turned Kamara’s pass goalward, and just like that Portland led 4-2.

Detroit kept possession even more effectively in the second half than they had in the first, holding the ball for 71 percent of the time. But such was Portland’s defensive resilience that Detroit, desperate to find two goals to send the match to penalty kicks, was not even able to muster a single shot in the 10 minutes of regular time and stoppage time that followed.

Oladapo, who made seven saves total on the night en route to receiving the Player of the Match award from the Dirigo Union, was not tested once in the match’s waning moments, and Hearts held strong for what is already the club’s second win over a Championship side in its brief history.

Kash had this to say about the match tonight: We really, really respect our opponents. We know that they have some quality players over there, and so whenever you’re able to get a stop, you just kind of got to reflect. I mean, if I have to make a save, maybe something broke down. So I can’t always celebrate too much, but everyone in the back line put in shifts.

GOALS

Azaad Liadi (POR 5’; assist Natty James); Ollie Wright (POR 28’; assist Natty James), Sebastián Guenzati (DET 52’; assist Jay Chapman), Walter Varela (POR 78’; assist JayTee Kamara), Darren Smith (DET 81’; assist Matt Sheldon), Mo Mohamed (POR 85’; assist JayTee Kamara)

DISCIPLINE

YC Kash Oladapo (POR ‘45+1), Jay Chapman (DET 72’), Portland bench (85’)

RC NONE

LINEUPS

PORTLAND HEARTS OF PINE – Kash Oladapo, Nathan Messer, Samuel Mahlamäki Camacho, Kemali Green (Sean Vinberg 46’), Colby Quiñones (Mo Mohamed 46’), Mikey Lopez ©, Michel Poon-Angeron, Natty James (Masashi Wada 59’), JayTee Kamara, Ollie Wright (Walter Varela 76’), Azaad Liadi (Titus Washington 82’)

UNUSED SUBSTITUTES – Hunter Morse, Mickey Reilly 

DETROIT CITY FC – Carlos Saldaña, Alex Villanueva, Stephen Carroll ©, Devon Amoo-Mensah, Jay Chapman (Jordan Adebayo-Smith 79’), Dominic Gasso, Haruki Yamazako (Matt Sheldon 68’), Jeciel Cedeño (Ben Morris, 46’), Ates Diouf (Shane Wiedt 46’), Connor Rutz (Sebastián Guenzati 46’), Darren Smith

UNUSED SUBSTITUTES – Carlos Herrera, Marcello Polisi 

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