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Mar. 27—The Portland Hearts of Pine are already at the top of the USL League One table when it comes to ticket sales, marketing and overall buzz.
Starting Saturday, fans will begin to find out just how well the Hearts stack up on the field.
Coming off an exciting debut, a 4-0 win in the U.S. Open Cup on March 20, Portland will head to fellow first-year franchise FC Naples in Florida for its first league encounter. Naples (2-0-1) has already played three league matches and is in first place after an opening draw against the Chattanooga Red Wolves SC and wins against original league member Forward Madison FC and 2024 runner-up Spokane Velocity.
"We have some young players. People in the league are looking around and saying, 'Who are they?' I think we'll be confident. We should be," said Hearts coach Bobby Murphy after the Open Cup win. "We'll just roll up and see how it goes."
Following Saturday's league opener, Portland will return to Maine to face USL Championship team Hartford Athletic in Round 2 of the Open Cup, on Wednesday, at Lewiston High. Then come trips to Spokane, Washington (April 5) and Statesboro, Georgia (April 12) for two more league games before a rematch at Hartford, April 26, and then finally the home opener at renovated Fitzpatrick Stadium on May 4.
Off the field, the Hearts of Pine have been an undeniable success.
Season tickets are all but sold out. Breaking the league's average attendance record of 4,786 (Richmond, 2023) is in sight. The club has secured 34 named sponsors — "partners," in club lingo — including in-state big hitters like L.L. Bean, Maine's Office of Tourism and Maine Health.
The Hearts' Instagram feed, stocked with professional imagery and video, already has more followers than any other League One team. The club has sold merchandise to fans in all 50 states and 18 countries. Most of the Hearts' home games will be broadcast on NESN/NESN+ in addition to the league's streaming deal with ESPN+.
But none of that wins a match.
And there are plenty of doubters about the actual team — including USL League One's own preseason prognosticator. That's because Murphy's 23-man roster includes six professional rookies, four players making their U.S. pro debut and several others who have limited pro experience or have bounced around low-division leagues.
"I think we're going to take a lot of teams by surprise," said midfielder Ollie Wright, a two-year starter in MLS Next Pro. "Because we have a lot of rookies, teams don't expect much."
Midfielder Michel ****-Angeron, 23, from Trinidad and Tobago, is one of the newcomers to USL League One.
"I think we have found our identity and we can do well," said ****-Angeron, who started in the Open Cup win. "What's defines our identity? Passionate and energetic. Play with pride to protect the badge."
****-Angeron was the Hearts' first official signing. Murphy targeted the Trinidadian national team player as someone who could play in the center of the field and organize a team committed to pushing the pace, pressuring the ball, making opponents uncomfortable and striking quickly.
After the Open Cup win, Murphy echoed his comments from his introductory press conference when he said, "possession is one of the most misleading stats in the game. It doesn't equate to goals. It just doesn't."
Murphy, who has coached at all three levels of pro soccer in the United States, put together this team with a purpose.
"Our second goal (in the opener), you put that in a highlight and you say, 'Oh, what great soccer.' But it was only four or five passes," Murphy said. "That's who we want to be. That's our identity and the players were recruited to have that personality and those traits. That's us."
In the preseason power rankings posted to the USL League One website and written by the league's communication department, Portland was ranked 11th in the 14-team league, third among the five expansion clubs.
Based on the quick blurb that accompanied the ranking, the author seemed unimpressed by the Hearts' collective resume. The only highlighted player was forward Masashi Wada of Yokohama, Japan, who hasn't even been able to get to the U.S. yet.
"The only reason they make that prediction is because of our age," said defender Shandon Wright (no relation to Ollie). "We are going to be a successful team because of the way we are being led by Bobby Murphy and because this is a team of coachable players."
USL League One President Lee O'Neill said Portland's successful build-up to the first season is "definitely above the norm and breaking league records in season tickets." But he suggested patience might be required when it comes to the on-field performance.
"I'm really intrigued to see how they play on the pitch. Time will tell from that perspective," O'Neill said. "It's really difficult to get 15-16 players together for the first time and expect them to click right away. The fan base will have to be patient."
Based on a 4-0-2 preseason and the club's 4-0 demolition of amateur squad CD Faialense in the opening round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, the Hearts could be ahead of schedule.
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Starting Saturday, fans will begin to find out just how well the Hearts stack up on the field.
Coming off an exciting debut, a 4-0 win in the U.S. Open Cup on March 20, Portland will head to fellow first-year franchise FC Naples in Florida for its first league encounter. Naples (2-0-1) has already played three league matches and is in first place after an opening draw against the Chattanooga Red Wolves SC and wins against original league member Forward Madison FC and 2024 runner-up Spokane Velocity.
"We have some young players. People in the league are looking around and saying, 'Who are they?' I think we'll be confident. We should be," said Hearts coach Bobby Murphy after the Open Cup win. "We'll just roll up and see how it goes."
Following Saturday's league opener, Portland will return to Maine to face USL Championship team Hartford Athletic in Round 2 of the Open Cup, on Wednesday, at Lewiston High. Then come trips to Spokane, Washington (April 5) and Statesboro, Georgia (April 12) for two more league games before a rematch at Hartford, April 26, and then finally the home opener at renovated Fitzpatrick Stadium on May 4.
Off the field, the Hearts of Pine have been an undeniable success.
Season tickets are all but sold out. Breaking the league's average attendance record of 4,786 (Richmond, 2023) is in sight. The club has secured 34 named sponsors — "partners," in club lingo — including in-state big hitters like L.L. Bean, Maine's Office of Tourism and Maine Health.
The Hearts' Instagram feed, stocked with professional imagery and video, already has more followers than any other League One team. The club has sold merchandise to fans in all 50 states and 18 countries. Most of the Hearts' home games will be broadcast on NESN/NESN+ in addition to the league's streaming deal with ESPN+.
But none of that wins a match.
And there are plenty of doubters about the actual team — including USL League One's own preseason prognosticator. That's because Murphy's 23-man roster includes six professional rookies, four players making their U.S. pro debut and several others who have limited pro experience or have bounced around low-division leagues.
"I think we're going to take a lot of teams by surprise," said midfielder Ollie Wright, a two-year starter in MLS Next Pro. "Because we have a lot of rookies, teams don't expect much."
Midfielder Michel ****-Angeron, 23, from Trinidad and Tobago, is one of the newcomers to USL League One.
"I think we have found our identity and we can do well," said ****-Angeron, who started in the Open Cup win. "What's defines our identity? Passionate and energetic. Play with pride to protect the badge."
****-Angeron was the Hearts' first official signing. Murphy targeted the Trinidadian national team player as someone who could play in the center of the field and organize a team committed to pushing the pace, pressuring the ball, making opponents uncomfortable and striking quickly.
After the Open Cup win, Murphy echoed his comments from his introductory press conference when he said, "possession is one of the most misleading stats in the game. It doesn't equate to goals. It just doesn't."
Murphy, who has coached at all three levels of pro soccer in the United States, put together this team with a purpose.
"Our second goal (in the opener), you put that in a highlight and you say, 'Oh, what great soccer.' But it was only four or five passes," Murphy said. "That's who we want to be. That's our identity and the players were recruited to have that personality and those traits. That's us."
In the preseason power rankings posted to the USL League One website and written by the league's communication department, Portland was ranked 11th in the 14-team league, third among the five expansion clubs.
Based on the quick blurb that accompanied the ranking, the author seemed unimpressed by the Hearts' collective resume. The only highlighted player was forward Masashi Wada of Yokohama, Japan, who hasn't even been able to get to the U.S. yet.
"The only reason they make that prediction is because of our age," said defender Shandon Wright (no relation to Ollie). "We are going to be a successful team because of the way we are being led by Bobby Murphy and because this is a team of coachable players."
USL League One President Lee O'Neill said Portland's successful build-up to the first season is "definitely above the norm and breaking league records in season tickets." But he suggested patience might be required when it comes to the on-field performance.
"I'm really intrigued to see how they play on the pitch. Time will tell from that perspective," O'Neill said. "It's really difficult to get 15-16 players together for the first time and expect them to click right away. The fan base will have to be patient."
Based on a 4-0-2 preseason and the club's 4-0 demolition of amateur squad CD Faialense in the opening round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, the Hearts could be ahead of schedule.
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Continue reading...
