PORTLAND, ME — Neither an early goal by the visitors nor soggy conditions could spoil the Portland Hearts of Pine’s first-ever home game at Fitzpatrick Stadium.
Playing its inaugural match before home fans in Portland, the first professional soccer team in Maine bounced back from a jarring start to control much of the game and secure a 1-1 tie on Sunday night.
An almost instant goal by Knoxville SC’s Stuart Ritchie interrupted the home opener excitement just two minutes into the contest, but Hearts of Pine pressed on and earned an equalizer in added time at the end of the first half.
“The truth was, it’s a big night. We’re probably a little nervous, we’re probably a little edgy,” Hearts of Pine coach Bobby Murphy said after the game. “And instead of just acknowledging that, and moving forward with that energy, we sort of came out like, ‘Oh, we got this.’ And so I think you saw we got caught cold probably the first five, 10 minutes.”
Murphy was frustrated not to come away with the win but proud of his team.
“After that, I thought the response was fantastic from the players,” he added about how the team settled in after the first few minutes.
Midfielder Masashi Wada notched that first-ever goal in front of the Portland faithful to tie it at 1-1 heading into halftime, and that would be the final score after Hearts of Pine and Knoxville traded chances but never found the net in the second half.
Wada was named player of the match, and said afterward that he felt good about scoring the first goal but was frustrated that he wasn’t able to add to that tally.
Portland forward Azaad Liadi nearly connected on what would have been a dazzling scissor kick goal in the final minutes of regular time, but just barely missed the net with that impressive one-touch effort. Knoxville had a few other strong chances of its own Sunday night, and could have left Portland with a win if not for some timely saves by Hearts of Pine goalkeeper Hunter Morse.
A crowd of 5,784 braved the rain on Sunday at the Portland stadium that seats 5,500 and also features some standing room only tickets. The home fans provided a raucous atmosphere despite the rain, and were rewarded with spirited play the rest of the game from Hearts of Pine following that flat start in the first few minutes.
“I just want to send my thanks and gratitude to everybody who turned up,” Murphy emphasized after the game. “The fans were fantastic.”
Portland Hearts of Pine moves to 0-1-3 in its first season in the United Soccer League’s League One division. It has yet to win in league play, lost one game against South Georgia Tormenta FC, and tied both Spokane Velocity FC and FC Naples while crisscrossing this country to start the season. Along with those USL games on the road in USL action, the Hearts of Pine squad has also played in three Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup games and won two of them, winning two games played at Lewiston High School.
Hearts of Pine will follow up Sunday’s home opener with a trip to Nebraska to play Union Omaha on May 10 and then will be back in Portland on May 17 to host FC Naples.
