There are so many interesting stories when it comes to the Portland Hearts of Pine. But it’s important to remember that there are 16 other clubs in USL League One, each with its own narrative that helps explain how the season has gone.

Every Tuesday, The Hearts’ Beat will pull together a roundup of the most intriguing stories from around the league. Some have a connection to the Hearts; others are just information readers should know.

So let’s take a look!

• Even with the USL1 final set, the biggest league news takes us back to Portland. The Soccer Club of Maine returns to the Portland Planning Board today for a second workshop on the club’s plan to build a new 9,000- to 11,000-seat soccer stadium at Cassidy Point.
  
  No vote is scheduled for the 4:30 p.m. meeting on the basement level at City Hall. To join via Zoom from a PC, Mac, iPad or Android, click here. Public comment on the project will be held as part of the workshop, which is the second held by the Planning Board in recent months.
  

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  The Planning Board’s eventual vote is only a recommendation. The City Council has the final say.
  
  “The more people understand that this isn’t a done deal, the better,” Kevin Schohl, president and chief business officer of the club, said Monday in a Zoom interview. “The Hearts are all in on this plan, but we need public support to make sure people agree that this is a good vision for the site, vs. leaving it as marine industrial. There are plenty of people who want it to stay waterfront zoning, and we need enough support from people who would rather see this stadium happen.”
  
  According to documents released by the city for the workshop, Portland city planners are leaving the biggest question about the proposed stadium to the Planning Board.

A staff memo prepared for today’s workshop takes no position on whether to rezone about 13.8 acres at 92 Cassidy Point Drive, the current home of Sprague Energy’s marine terminal, from the Waterfront Port Development Zone to B-5 Urban Commercial. Planner Taylor Colbeth wrote that either zone could advance parts of the city’s Comprehensive Plan, which makes the decision “largely discretionary.”

The remaining 9.2 acres along the Fore River would stay in the waterfront zone to maintain deep port access, according to the memo, and Sprague plans to sell the site’s 600-foot pier to tugboat operator McAllister Towing.

Staff did take a side on the other half of the request. The memo supports the club’s proposed text amendment allowing stadiums in the B-5 zone, with one condition: any stadium would need a lot of at least 2 acres. In supporting stadiums in B-5, the memo cites a 2026 University of Southern Maine study that found Portland’s four minor league teams together generate more than $110 million in annual economic activity and support more than 900 jobs statewide.

The memo also addresses a contract zone, which board members raised in September as a way to have the land revert if the stadium never gets built. Staff said that route would first require amending the WPDZ to allow stadiums.

The club’s answer to concerns about losing working waterfront is its market study by Camoin Associates. It argues the terminal’s cargo business has faded and no viable industrial replacement has emerged.

The study also records concerns from the Maine Port Authority and Eimskip. The authority said marine-industrial land is scarce, pointing to companies such as defense manufacturer Anduril and shipbuilder Davie that have struggled to find sites in the Portland area.

Eimskip, the Icelandic shipping company whose weekly service docks at the neighboring International Marine Terminal, also told the consultants that moving its storage would mean pricier space and longer truck trips, and warned that losing major customers could eventually threaten that service.

• Back to the pitch where this past weekend’s USL1 playoff semifinals provided some electric moments, including one match decided in extra time. Most importantly, the championship will be settled between the top-seeded Charlotte Independence and No. 3 seed Athletic Club Boise. From USL1:
  
  The Charlotte Independence, who rewrote the League One record book by setting new top marks for wins (20), points (66) and goals (74) in a single regular season, clinched its appearance in its first League One Final since 2023 with a 2-1 win over Forward Madison FC in the semifinals, after dispatching FC Naples, 5-1, in the quarterfinal.

Playing in its first and only League One season – the expansion club will move to the USL Championship for the 2027 season – Athletic Club Boise has embarked on a fairytale campaign. The club set a new playoff attendance record when 7,613 fans filled Athletic Club Boise Soccer Stadium for its 2-0 quarterfinal win against One Knoxville SC, then Boise smashed that record in the semifinal, where 8,003 fans were treated to a thrilling 1-0 victory over Chattanooga Red Wolves SC in extra time.

• Not only did Charlotte set a slew of records this season, but the Independence also had the top goalkeeper in the league. Matt Levy won the 2026 USL League One Goalkeeper of the Year. From the USL1 report:
  
  The keeper from Pembroke Pines, Fla., was the backbone for Charlotte in its dominant regular season, as it set new League One records for wins (20) and points (66) on its way to winning the Players’ Shield. Levy started 30 of the Independence’s 32 matches and posted 101 saves, which tied him for the second in League One.
  
  Incidentally, Portland’s goalkeeper, Hunter Morse, finished the regular season with a league-leading 107 saves.
  

• Westchester SC forward Daniel Burko was honored as the USL League One Player of the Month for October after scoring two goals and adding three assists.
  
  Burko earned the award with 54% of a weighted poll that included the USL League One Technical Committee and an online fan vote held at USLLeagueOne.com. Charlotte Independence forward Souaibou Marou finished second on 24% after recording a league-high six goals for the Players’ Shield winner over the final month of the campaign.
  

• FC Naples needs a new coach. Interim Head Coach Zak Gordon announced he is leaving the club after leading Naples to its second straight playoff berth. Naples finished the season red-hot after winning its last six regular-season games, which earned Gordon USL League One Coach of the Month honors for October. From USL1:
  
  Promoted from assistant coach midseason, Gordon quickly made his mark. He helped turn around a losing streak, rallied the locker room behind a shared purpose and brought an aggressive, attack-minded approach. His strength and determination carried FC Naples up the table and into the postseason for the second time in as many seasons.
  
  Naples was eliminated from the playoffs 5-1 by Charlotte in the quarterfinals.

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Ollie Wright has a naturally disarming smile, and recently, Instagram users got to see it up close.

Like, really, really up close.

Wright starred in an endearingly goofy Instagram Reel for BLANC Professional Teeth Whitening, a local business owned by a friend. He had just gotten off crutches from his recent knee surgery, so he was limited to standing there, saying a few lines and bouncing a soccer ball upon his head, before showing himself in a dentist’s chair with a mouth retractor splaying his lips as widely as possible.

Let’s be clear: presenting oneself so vulnerably is not normal professional athlete behavior. But being “real” is just one of the many traits that have made Wright so lovable to Portland Hearts of Pine fans. Talk to fans and many mention running into him walking around the Old Port, while others have stories of Wright playing with their children like they were his own.

Connecting with the supporters of his soccer team seems to be one of Wright’s superstrengths. It never feels forced, either. It’s just obvious that he not only appreciates those experiences, he relishes them.

“I was happy to help (my friend) out, and it was fun,” said Wright, 27, who with a chuckle called it his first foray into acting. “I enjoy helping smaller businesses out. I have a bit of a name for myself here in the community, so if I can use it to help people, I will. And I got a free teeth whitening.”

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As you read this, try to hear it in a smooth, rich British accent. Wright’s soothing voice feels like a calming liqueur. With his dreamy good looks, his short blond locks, and of course that smile, Wright exudes a classy, charming style that seems as innate as his renowned soccer skills.

It’s out there on the soccer pitch that he shows off a wholly different style, though. Call him vibrant or even vivacious, Wright is a whirling dervish of activity, with his upright running gait and arms swinging fully whenever he sprints.

All that energy has a purpose. Wright wears No. 10, the number soccer traditionally hands to a team’s creative heartbeat, and he plays like it. As an attacking midfielder, he is a dangerous scorer, just as capable of bending a ball around a goalkeeper as he is of lofting a cheeky chip over one. His ensuing goal-scoring celebrations (check out three variations as part of his hat trick vs. Union Omaha) are a cacophony of emotions that don’t seem dictated by a set routine, although they often involve an exaggerated golf swing.

But in the end, his eyes and heart always go to the fans. Every single time.

Following last season’s successful – and surprising – run to the USL League One playoff semifinals in Portland’s inaugural season, fans voted Wright the 2025 Supporters’ Player of the Year. He was also named to the USL1 all-league second team after leading Portland in both goals (11) and assists (8).

So it should be obvious why it was so painful for fans to see Wright collapse on the pitch in a Sept. 19 match at Chattanooga. He crumpled to the ground and immediately clutched at his right knee. Wright had torn his anterior cruciate ligament, ending what had been an occasionally up and mostly down season for both him and the club, which finished out of the playoffs in its second season. In 23 games, after missing a few with a hamstring issue earlier in the year, Wright finished 2026 with 6 goals and a team-leading 7 assists.

Rehabilitation so far has been arduous at best and remarkably painful at its worst. He expected it to be bad, but those first two weeks were quite rough. He couldn’t get comfortable in any position, and the painkillers helped briefly, but the pain returned faster than the drugs could handle, he said.

But with the support of family and friends, and in particular his girlfriend of nearly a year, Christen, Wright feels like he has made it to the better side of things. There were times when Christen needed to give him a little tough love to get him off the couch and on to physical therapy, he said.

Now that the worst of the pain is over, Wright finds himself embracing the rehab with his normal gusto. When he is sweating over a difficult set of leg presses, Wright finds his mind drifting toward a scene where he is scoring the game-winning goal in next year’s playoff final.

“Each day gets a lot easier,” Wright said. “But I know it’s going to be a long process. I am only in week five in what they tell me is a 40-week recovery. But, I am noticing small wins. So I focus on tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.”

Doctors have given Wright a return date of June 29, 2027. He is aiming for sooner. Currently, he is able to walk and he is working to strengthen his calf and quad, both of which have significant atrophy.

When asked if he worries about how his body will respond when he returns, Wright pondered for a few moments.

“Fear is the wrong word,” Wright said. “I am aware that there’s no guarantees. But I am definitely confident that I will return fully.”

What’s unknown for 2027 is who will be returning to the season with him. But Wright understands that’s part of the business. The Hearts expect to announce roster moves on current players on Friday, a club official has said.

“That’s the hardest part, knowing some friends on the team won’t be coming back,” Wright said. “It’s normal in this business though. Good teams lose players to the (higher division) USL Championship. Less successful teams will bring in new players.”

Earlier this year (and possibly lucky for him because it was prior to the injury), Wright signed a contract for next season, so he knows he will be back with Portland.

“Nothing surprises me though, it’s the nature of the league,” Wright said. “I have been on the chopping block myself before.”

For now, Wright will focus on strengthening his leg. He considers this the easier time of rehabilitation because there aren’t games to be played. He wonders how he will feel once preseason arrives and real matches follow. Having to sit on the sidelines won’t be easy, he said.

“I’m preparing myself for that,” Wright said. “I will cross that bridge when it comes to it.”

Editor’s notes: Videos courtesy of Ollie Wright. This is the first in an occasional series on Wright’s return from ACL surgery. We’ll be there when he crosses that bridge.

The Portland Hearts of Pine will unveil their 2027 home kit Nov. 19 at The State Theatre, the same stage where the club introduced its iconic first jersey two years ago.

The event, Woods & Water, a Celebration of Maine, runs from 6-8 p.m. and will also include a roster update from team officials.

Also planned are live music (Griffin William Sherry and the Oshima Brothers) and a short film premiere from the Hearts, titled “The USM Promise Scholars.” The University of Southern Maine is the exclusive education partner of the Hearts.

“This is a celebration of what we have started, the support we have received from the community over the past two years, and the next new chapter for the Hearts,” said Lisa Frates, senior manager, marketing and communications for the Hearts of Pine and Maine Wildness. “We are celebrating this new kit but also the things that made the original kit so special.”

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Sporting Director Ray Saari will talk about roster changes and additions. Heavy turnover is likely for the Hearts, both because players typically receive only two-year deals and because the team underperformed. Forward Madison FC is a recent example of how much a USL League One roster can change. After a ninth-place finish left Madison out of the playoffs last season, the club replaced roughly 90% of its roster. It finished fourth this season and has already advanced to the playoff semifinals.

Two years ago (nearly to the day — Nov. 21, 2024), the club hosted its first kit launch event at The State Theatre. That night brought together 1,500 people and special guests, including Gov. Janet Mills, to give the public its first look at the franchise's inaugural home uniform.

Attendees at the upcoming event, which is free, are asked to RSVP here.

The new kit (which includes the team's signature jersey, shorts and matching socks) will keep many of the elements of the Woods & Water style, but with its own new touches that will make it unique, Frates said.

The original Woods & Water jersey featured prominent horizontal stripes of alternating deep forest green and navy blue, symbolizing the massive Maine wilderness and its sprawling coastlines and rivers. Designed with a classic collar and cuffs, it incorporated subtle red accents. These pops of red were pulled directly from the Dirigo Heart in the club’s crest, a nod to Maine’s state motto, Dirigo (“I lead”).

The inaugural shirt featured prominent Maine-centric branding, reflecting the club’s partnerships with L.L.Bean and Visit Maine.

Many USL1 clubs, like their MLS counterparts, keep each kit for two years and alternate between a new primary and a new secondary each season. Staggering the releases lets clubs launch a new product every year without asking fans to replace their whole wardrobe at once. The tradeoff is that there’s something new to buy every season.

The Hearts have two current alternate kits. The Blaze Kit (released in 2025) honors Maine's wilderness and hunting culture with a vibrant camo-orange pattern. In contrast, the Lighthouse Kit (released in 2026) draws from maritime history, using bold red and white horizontal hoops that directly mimic the famous candy-striped pattern of the West Quoddy Head Light.

Portland’s first away kit, the Bandit Kit, came out the week of Valentine’s Day 2025. A white jersey covered in small red hearts, it paid tribute to the city’s anonymous Valentine’s Day Bandit. The Lighthouse Kit replaced it after one season.

The Hearts forged a relationship with USM (which is a few blocks away from their home field at Fitzpatrick Stadium) early on, and the connection includes having several graduates work for the team.

USM launched the Promise Scholarship in 2018 to help Maine students from lower-income families, many of them the first in their families to go to college, earn a degree in four years with little or no student debt. Along with the money, scholars get advising, mentoring and other support meant to keep them in school and prepare them for jobs in Maine after graduation.

The program supports up to 100 students across the university at any given time, amounting to roughly 25 scholars per class year.

If you attended a Portland Hearts of Pine game this season, you have probably seen a banner or a booth from the Lightkeepers Supporters Group, which backs the state’s new women’s soccer team, the Maine Wildness.

But if you have been to a women’s college soccer match, or possibly even a high school girls’ game, you may also have encountered a few members of the group, shouting out their support for the athletes.

That’s just how the Lightkeepers roll, according to Kara Peruccio, president of the Lightkeepers.

“We organized ‘Lightkeepers on Tour,’ where we’re seeing all of Maine’s women’s college soccer teams play,” Peruccio said. “Some of these players might end up on the Maine Wildness, so it’ll be fun to say, ‘I saw her back in September.’ It’s also been a lot of fun while the Hearts of Pine season hasn’t been the most exciting, and it’s nice for players to have fans there who aren’t just friends and family.”

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Ultimately, though, the supporters group is here for the Maine Wildness, the new women’s team under the Soccer Club of Maine, which was recently named as the parent club of both the Wildness and the men’s team, the Portland Hearts of Pine.

The Wildness will open its inaugural season in May with six home games at Fitzpatrick Stadium, part of a 12-game schedule in the USL W League. The pre-professional league gives top college players and elite prospects a taste of professional-level competition, travel and training during their off-season. Players aren’t paid, which lets them keep their college eligibility.

The Lightkeepers formed early this year following the news in fall 2025 that the Soccer Club of Maine was interested in starting a women’s soccer team. When the club held its brand reveal for the Wildness on Oct. 15, the Lightkeepers were front and center in the celebration. They also signed their 100th member that day.

One of the main reasons that the Lightkeepers formed was so the Wildness wouldn’t feel like an afterthought to the men’s side. Some of its members are also part of the Dirigo Union, the supporters group for the Hearts of Pine.

But Peruccio said the organization’s mission goes deeper than that. The group’s name hints at it. According to its website, the Lightkeepers strive to “be the light,” making the community a better place to live through advocacy and volunteer opportunities.

“It was about wanting a supporters group that was a little more politically vocal about issues, especially because women’s sports are inherently more political,” Peruccio said. “I think women have been some of the bravest athletes out there to really stand up for social issues and use their platform.”

For Lightkeepers member Julia Priceman, that was Mia Hamm, the U.S. women’s national team legend who won two World Cups and two Olympic golds in the 1990s and 2000s. Women weren’t regularly seen playing sports on television but Hamm and her teammates took the country by storm with their success on the international soccer stage. Hamm also risked her star status to join teammates in boycotts before the 1996 and 2000 Olympics. Those fights won better pay and benefits and paved the way for the USWNT’s later equal pay victory.

“For us to have a women’s team here in Maine, I knew I had to jump in,” said Priceman, who lives in Yarmouth with her husband, Mark, and their two daughters, ages 8 and 4. “I have also taken to heart, because I wanted to be more involved with my community, that if you want a village, you have to be a villager.”

Priceman’s husband “is a big sports guy,” she said, so it was an easy decision to apply for season tickets for the Wildness (the Pricemans purchased four).

“Sports have been a big part of our lives together,” Priceman said. “We have tried to show to our girls as much women’s sports as possible.”

Hannah Sirois, the Soccer Club of Maine’s vice president of fan experience, has been working with the Lightkeepers since its inception, just as she did with the Dirigo Union when it first formed. Sirois laughed at how she really had no idea about the importance of supporters groups when she first started, but now sees them as invaluable because they act as ambassadors for the club.

“They’re really our boots on the ground, right?” Sirois said. “They’re actively going out there and keeping the team, not even just the players, but the team in general and the brand, top of mind for people, because it’s part of who they are now.”

Sirois pointed out that 80% of the Wildness season ticket holders are new to the club. That’s why she sees groups like the Lightkeepers, along with the Halyard, a second Wildness supporters group, as so important in helping fans identify with the women’s team.

At Hearts of Pine games, the Dirigo Union takes up Sections 118 and 119. For Wildness games, those same sections will be set aside for the women’s supporters groups. Sirois said she gets goosebumps thinking about the first women’s match.

“I think the specialness of that moment is going to be so clear in everyone’s eyes: boys, girls, male, female, all genders,” Sirois said. “Anyone who is showing up on that day. I just can’t wait to see the faces of our fans taking in that moment.”

The Lightkeepers and the Halyard supporters groups are working well together, Sirois said, because they just want to help the women’s team however they can. Together, the two groups will bring a similar vibe to games, just like the Dirigo Union does for the men’s side. That means cheers, music and probably even some smoke like what visitors encounter at the men’s games.

“I’ve been talking to them for months, and everyone is just offering, ‘How can we help? We’re so excited. Do you want us to help set up the events? How can we show up?’” Sirois said. “And just the enthusiasm and the buy-in, even before we released the name and the brand. That’s what matters, right? It’s everyone’s team. It’s their team now, and they’re bought in.”

The Lightkeepers charge a $25 fee to be a member, but that’s on a sliding scale, Peruccio said. No one who wants to be a member will be declined. Many supporters groups use their funding for organizational expenses, while the Lightkeepers put a majority of it into the community.

One example recently was a clothing drive in which more than 100 sports bras were given to Maine Needs, a nonprofit that provides donated clothing, hygiene products, household items and other necessities to people.

“We are a Maine state nonprofit, so we can use our money as we see fit,” Peruccio said. “The goal is we’ll use our funds to put on the best match day USL W has ever seen. But we also donated several hundred dollars to different charities and we organize a lot of community efforts.”

The Lightkeepers worked closely with the club in the aftermath of the mid-July shooting of a man in Biddeford by an ICE agent. The Soccer Club of Maine issued a statement calling for ICE to be held accountable. The Lightkeepers called for stronger action by Maine state officials, while also demanding the abolition of ICE.

“The club actually encouraged the Press Herald journalists to reach out to us because they felt like part of our identity as a supporters group is speaking up,” Peruccio said. “They’ve been great to work with, knowing that sometimes they can’t always express the same things that we’re going to say.”

Both the Maine Attorney General’s Office and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General have open investigations into the shooting.

Normally, the interaction between the club and its supporters is more lighthearted, like the celebration at the Oct. 15 brand reveal.

Asked about her thoughts on the Wildness name, Peruccio said it was perfect.

“Young girls are told not to run wild and not to be loud, and ‘wildness’ gives permission to be your loudest self,” Peruccio said. “Some people see it as negative, but that’s society telling us to contain and constrain ourselves. We aren’t doing that anymore.”

It’s in these moments of supporting girls and young women that the Lightkeepers find a true sense of purpose.

“I’m really hoping that a couple (Maine) girls make the Wildness because you better believe that we as Lightkeepers are gonna be cheering them on during their college season in the fall,” Peruccio said. “We want our players to go on and make their conference teams, play in tournaments. I think the USL W will be really unique because we then get to follow these players’ careers after the summer.”

To learn about becoming a member of the Lightkeepers, click here.

Pame Chévez grew up in Mexico City and studied graphic design there. She started out in motion graphics and animation, including work at Cocolab, a studio known for large projection shows like the one lighting up the pyramids at Teotihuacán. Her clients included Nickelodeon and Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History. She moved to Maine in 2016.

In Portland, she was lead designer at Zootility, a local toolmaker, before moving into illustration and branding. She has held residencies at Indigo Arts Alliance and SPACE Gallery, and she now runs OYEH!, her own design studio. She also founded Palmar Collective, which helps people from historically excluded communities get out on the water.

In August, she was contacted by the Soccer Club of Maine (we will let her explain those circumstances in the Q&A) and asked to design the crest for the new women’s team, the Maine Wildness. The crest was unveiled Oct. 15 and has been an instant hit with many fans.

We spoke with Chévez via Zoom, and for over 30 minutes discussed a variety of subjects related to the crest, including its genesis, while also asking what wildness means to her. Pame is short for Pamela and is pronounced PAH-meh.

Editor’s note: This interview has been edited lightly for length and clarity.

How did the club first reach out to you, and how far along were they when you came in?

Pame Chévez: The team reached out in August. They saw my work and my name because of the AIGA conference that was happening at the time. Part of the team at Hearts and myself were giving talks in that conference. They were like, “My God, we really didn’t know about you, and we are very interested in potentially working together.” We just kept talking via email about what this project was about and how they were envisioning it. They had already tried a couple times to come up with something, and they were like, “We are not getting anywhere and we need some help. We would like to see if you’d like to be part of a very nontraditional process.”

Was the name Wildness already picked when you started, or were you drawing while they were still deciding?

Chévez: They had a lot of clear ideas they wanted. One of them, the name, was already decided, and there were aspects of the existing branding that they decided they wanted to keep. It obviously ended up shifting with time and realizing that maybe keeping too much of it was not necessary.

Did they give you a sense of what they wanted?

Chévez: Yeah, they gave me some guidance. They gave me a specific brief at the moment. They didn’t want to work with any animal features in the logo, mostly because there’s other logos that include animals and could become repetitive, but also because they didn’t want it to be too specific to one thing. They really wanted just to capture Maine itself, the wilderness and that vibe of women. So they provided me with what they didn’t want at all, and what they would like to see: “We like this type of movement and how dynamic it can be, and we want to explore this idea more.”

The red heart comes from the Hearts of Pine logo. What’s it like building your design around a piece that was already there?

Chévez: It was very challenging. It’s something we are used to as designers, just to respect brand guidelines that already exist. But trying to give a voice to a different audience, a different group that needs to be represented, was very hard when you have branding that works great, but it was oriented to a male audience, right? So it was trying to grab a little bit of that and meet them in the middle. Or not them, but the existing brand. We need to respect a lot of the style, which is not necessarily fully my style. I had to adapt a lot of my original style to the existing style so that it could exist and feel like they were intertwined and they were part of the same world.

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How did you keep it from looking just like the Hearts logo with flowers added?

Chévez: That process was a little hard. More than hard, challenging, because there was this idea of wanting to keep certain aspects of the existing brand, and at some point it included pine trees. It got to the point where I was like, “Listen, I can understand that, but at this point if we keep just working with these elements, it just looks like a rearrangement of your original logo for the Hearts, and I think the pines need to go.” The pine trees don’t exist in this place, not per se as an actual object. So that was a very hard decision. We tried to explore with rivers, we tried to explore with silhouettes, or just the path that a river follows.

I feel like an element that really made a shift into it, even though we ended up going through landscape, was combining elements that aren’t necessarily next to each other. We thought of Katahdin, a beautiful mountain. It’s very important for the Penobscot community. And bringing that silhouette, but with a different treatment to the water, more ocean vibes rather than very geometric and simplified curves, but more into the movement. I think it’s what helps separate it and give it more of a personality, where it’s not super geometric, but it’s more flowy in its way.

Thinking of it as, how can we break this mold of a shield, right? Every crest comes in a specific type of shield, and trying to stay with the shield, but break it a little bit. Kind of get out of your line a little bit. Breaking the frame was very important and vital to it. And the typography as well. The existing one was just not working for what we were trying to create. So changing those elements, font, adding color, focusing of movement rather than geometry and precision, was the key to it.

Most team crests are balanced, right there in the middle, and yours is not. It makes it much more distinct.

Chévez: Yeah, it’s definitely what we were trying to do. Trying to not make it symmetric, make it a little bit more asymmetric, but without exaggerating.

Why those four plants, the lupine, the thistle, the beach rose and the fern? What did each one have to earn to make the cut?

Chévez: There’s the love people have for lupines, right? Lupines are a very distinctive part of the landscape. Most of the lupines that we see out there are not the native ones, though. But we wanted to honor the native lupine that actually exists in Maine.

The beach rose was to speak more about the women that are water women, in the ocean. I think wildness in Maine is not necessarily just focused on the forest and what we have inland. I feel like a lot of women resonate a lot with the ocean, with the coast.

Then we have the ferns, which are very resilient plants. You have fiddleheads that are very nurturing, but also when they open up, they become this beautiful fern and they just take over. Even when it has a pattern, it also feels like it takes its own journey.

The thistle, that flower, is very native to Maine. It has this very specific shape that is not what you would expect from a flower. I think that’s also a part of it, to represent the difference and the diversity that exists within the community, the women and femme community in Maine.

How did the women who showed you Maine shape this work?

Chévez: Women in Maine definitely inspire me a lot. When I first moved to Maine, most of my community was shaped by women. There were all these women who were sailors, who were gardeners, who were paddlers, kayakers, hikers, a lot of women who were just thriving outside. That’s what really kept me and connected me to Maine. I think all that knowledge I took from each woman that I spent time with in my time in Maine has to do with this.

Every little thing they showed me, I fell in love with. I fell in love with hiking. I fell in love with snowboarding, the mountains, because I had a wonderful friend that showed me all those things. I had wonderful people in my life that are gardeners. They just taught me so much, so many corners of Maine that I ended up loving and just feeling part of it. Because I feel like the most important part of being a human is just recognizing that your connection with nature is because you are part of nature, and because you belong there. That opened up a sense of belonging for me and made me love Maine even more.

What Indigenous stories about Maine have stayed with you, and how did they show up in the design?

Chévez: When I first moved to Maine, my partner at the time took me to Katahdin for the first time. Katahdin was probably my second hike in my life, and it was a struggle. It was very rough. It was 11 hours nonstop. But I definitely enjoyed it, and that gave me curiosity for the mountain. I bought a book about Katahdin and I started reading it.

It started mentioning stories and the legends around the mountain, and that just brought me back home. We have so many stories around the mountains back in Mexico. I was like, I want to learn about this. I know a lot about my country, where I come from, and all these legends that are set around nature, because it’s a way of explaining nature. It just interested me more. And there is the legend of Katahdin and Pamola, and what Pamola represents, and this emotion and intensity and this passion, I would say, impredictability.

One of the things they tell you when you go to Katahdin is watch out for the Knife Edge, because you never know when it’s going to get windy. So it’s that part of wildness, right? It’s just, sometimes there needs to be a current and it will happen. It’s not asking for permission. It’s existing. It’s wanting to just be free while also belonging in the space.

As a woman who came here from somewhere else, what does wildness mean to you?

Chévez: That’s a very interesting question. Coming from afar, or from a different part of the continent, I grew up in a big city. What you would describe as wildness there is completely different from what you would describe as wildness in the outdoor world, being around nature. I think for me, being part of those two things, to be wild is to be resilient. It’s to be moving free, learning in the process, not being scared of living, to just move through the paths. I go for a hike or I go to places I don’t know, and it takes me back to living in a city. How am I going to get to places? I have to thrive and ask and connect with locals to get to know more about the area.

Wildness is just to take that opportunity to live it. Take that opportunity of the unknown and live it, because ultimately it’s what makes you free to just be able to go and get through everything that life throws at you. That’s nature, basically. It’s this freedom of being able to feel the downs, the ups, but to continue the journey. To be wild is to maybe not give up, to just keep going.

How many versions did you go through? And is there one that didn’t make it that you still love?

Chévez: Yes, there’s always that one, that piece that you wish had stuck. I lost count of the variations we did, because it was not a traditional process. It was very unique. There were a lot of stakeholders at the beginning trying to decide, is this going to work? So there were so many voices that you needed to kind of put into place. The variations that happened were more than we had planned. Ultimately, I think we ended up going back to things that we originally wanted, just a different approach, and it ended up working great.

Yes, there’s that piece that I wish had stayed. It’s so much more coastal driven, and you can see more of the movement in it. There’s no landscape. It’s just more an integration of elements, but not necessarily as a landscape. It didn’t make the cut because it was just very focused on water from the ocean, and the currents, and that rugged sense you get from the rocks in Maine, and the waves crashing. It was beautiful. A lot of people on the team liked it too, but there was a need to respect some of the elements from the brand, and at that moment, there were too many left out. We had to go back to the original.

Is there a detail in the crest that you hope people finally notice five years from now?

Chévez: Everything was made with so much intention. For example, how the leaves follow the shape of the shield was very much intentional. We didn’t want it to just be chaotic. There were so many variations we tried to bring Katahdin as the shape of the shield rather than being present there.

Part of the lupines were little hearts. Some of the leaves are made of hearts that are together, so you can’t see them at first glance. But some of the leaves, I think I left one there. It’s just a very imperfect heart, because we wanted to make reference to it, but we didn’t want to saturate it.

What do you hope a 10-year-old girl in the stands sees when she looks at the crest?

Chévez: I hope the young girl that sees this really, really thinks it’s possible, right? I wish that they see this crest and they’re like, we are great. We are big. As a community of women and femme community, we are powerful. We are strong. We are much more than what anyone else would want to put in a box for us. We are more than that box.

I hope that they understand that there is a greatness that they can be. There’s much more than what people present to us. That it’s possible, whatever you want to be doing out there. You can play soccer, you can play basketball, you can be a designer and work on these types of projects. You can be what you want to be.

There are so many interesting stories when it comes to the Portland Hearts of Pine. But it’s important to remember that there are 16 other clubs in USL League One, each with its own narrative that helps explain how the season has gone.

Every Tuesday, The Hearts’ Beat will pull together a roundup of the most intriguing stories from around the league. Some have a connection to the Hearts; others are just information readers should know.

So let’s take a look!

• It’s Election Day in the United States, so this will be briefer than normal. Make sure you exercise your constitutional rights and cast your ballot today if you have not. Not sure where your voting location is? Click here if you live in Maine. And click here for your voting location if you live elsewhere in the U.S.
  
  Politics can be frustrating, but as this story shows, voting can be good for your health!
  

• The first weekend of the USL1 playoffs is complete and four teams – Charlotte, Chattanooga, Athletic Club Boise, and Forward Madison – have advanced.
  
  From USL1: While the top seed won three of four quarterfinal matches, Chattanooga pulled out an all-time upset against Union Omaha, the second-place finisher in League One. The Red Wolves scored in the first minute of play to immediately put the Owls on the ropes, but the hosts later equalized. The sides sat deadlocked after extra time, then Chattanooga prevailed in a dramatic penalty kick shootout.
  

• Three of the four teams chosen by The Hearts’ Beat in our playoff predictions advanced to the semifinals. This weekend will go a long way in determining whether it’s an overall success as Madison, our predicted champion, heads to play top seed Charlotte.
  

• The Richmond Kickers announced that interim coach Brian Ownby will take over the job permanently. He’s the ninth coach in club history. Richmond finished at the bottom of the table in 2026.
  
  “For me, I want to bring back an enjoyable product out there on the field,” Ownby said. “Something that matches what the fans believe in, what I believe in, what ownership believes in and the way I played the game. That’s the way I want to lead this group.”
  

• The Omaha City Council voted to approve the redevelopment agreement and stadium lease for Union Omaha’s new $140 million downtown stadium.
  
  “This is a big win for Omaha,” said Mayor John Ewing Jr. “We are taking largely unused land and turning it into a destination that will bring new jobs, housing, entertainment, and economic activity to our city. By using proven economic development tools and partnering with private investors, we are making a major investment in Omaha’s future while creating a valuable public asset that the City will own. This is smart economic development, and it’s another example of Omaha moving forward.”

  
  

  Groundbreaking is targeted for late 2026, with the stadium expected to open in 2028; until then, the Owls will keep playing at Creighton University’s Morrison Stadium.

  
  It’s a path Hearts fans may watch closely as the club pursues its own stadium plans at Cassidy Point.

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We have a winner for the new logo of The Hearts’ Beat, thanks to our readers!

It wasn’t particularly close. The majority of votes selected Logo E, with the Hearts’ navy and green stripes, the blue-violet ring for the Wildness, and the red heart in the middle.

Here are the results:

• A - 0

• B - 1

• C - 2

• D - 1

• E - 10

• F - 4

And here were the options.

We are grateful to everyone who took the time to vote. The change will be immediate.

Masashi Wada wants to come home.

Not to the place he was born. He’s actually there now, recovering at his parents’ place in Yokohama, Japan, after a gruesome injury sustained in April. No, Wada wants to return to his new home in Maine — the place where he evolved as a star player for the Portland Hearts of Pine.

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“I cannot say I’d be 100% back because I don’t have a contract right now, but we have to figure it out with the team,” Wada said during a Zoom call last week. “Hopefully, I’ll be able to come back to the pitch at Fitzpatrick Stadium. I want to show my ability, what I’ve done last year, even more. I just want the supporters to say, ‘Oh, Masa’s back, and he’s better than before.’ That’s what I want them to think. That’s my message for them.

“And I just want to say thank you.”

Wada’s gratitude comes from the acceptance he felt while living outside of Japan for the first time last year. He felt supported by his teammates, by his coaches and the front office, but perhaps even more importantly, he felt accepted by the community. His first year in Portland was a remarkable experience for him because it helped him grow as a person.

Asked what he missed most about Portland, Wada, who calls himself Masa but goes by Sashi around the club, responded quickly.

“Nature, and the people,” he said. “Of course, I like Japanese people, Japan. The food is amazing. Everything is cheaper than the U.S. But relationship-wise, American people, especially supporters, especially Mainers, have been really nice to me. Every time I went outside, they said, ‘Hi, Masa.’ They are so sweet. And especially after I got injured, every time I see the supporters, they said, ‘I hope you’ll get better.’”

The fans aren’t the only ones who want Wada to get better soon. Hearts Sporting Director Ray Saari has been monitoring his rehabilitation from afar since taking his job in late August.

“We’re getting very consistent updates on how he’s doing, how he’s progressing,” Saari said. “We’re happy to say he’s progressing very well, and, as you would expect from Sashi, he’s ahead of schedule. That, in a nutshell, explains his professionalism and his dedication to his craft. He’s a consummate professional. It’s a devastating thing that happened to him, but we’re very hopeful he’s able to make a full recovery, and I feel good that that’s going to happen.”

Wada’s contractual situation may be up in the air, but it’s clear both he and the team would like to see him return. Wada plans to speak with his agent and then team management soon. He is hoping to head back to Maine next month, where his wife has remained.

Recently, Saari was asked about what he looks for in players and he made it clear one of the most important factors is finding winners who have not only succeeded but shown they will lead the way. Character matters when it comes to the club’s plan to build future teams, and from Saari’s perspective, Wada has more than enough of it.

“Sashi epitomizes the values we want in players in so many different ways,” Saari said. “He’s an amazing professional. He’s a competitor. In his first year he was very successful in the league and a very important player for our team. If we had a starting 11 full of Sashis, we’d win a lot of games. Just a very good player, an amazing person, a true competitor and a great teammate.”

Wada has been a fan favorite since the beginning of the Hearts’ first season last year, when he scored 9 goals and earned USL League One all-league first team honors. He is an attacking midfielder, known as the No. 10 in the soccer world, the engine that gets a team’s attack in full gear.

Wada has as much of a symbiotic relationship as a player can have with fans. The player gives as much as is possible on the pitch and the fans reciprocate with support and adoration.

Sometimes, as in Wada’s case, players give so much more.

On April 11, Portland played its first home game of the year against One Knoxville, the defending USL1 champions. Wada remembers the date well because it was his 29th birthday. He was already off to a promising start, having notched a goal and an assist in the season opener a few weeks earlier.

Wada described what happened next in a post he wrote 12 days later and published on Substack (more on his writing a bit later in the story).

“About ten minutes in we had a corner. My role was to attack the second ball if there was one. The cross went to the far post and a teammate headed it back toward goal. It came toward me, but instinctively I sensed it was slightly closer to the keeper. I saw out of the corner of my eye that the keeper was coming, so instead of going for the ball I shifted to get ready to pounce on a spill.

I saw him fumble it and thought I might get there, so I moved in. In that moment the keeper came at a speed and with a power I’d never experienced—full extension dive with all his weight—and landed on my left leg.

‘Are you kidding?’ I thought, and tried to pull my foot away, but my leg was already trapped. Even now as I write this I can feel the pain of that moment and my face involuntarily contorts.

And then in the next moment —

Crunch.”

Wada said he suffered a dislocated ankle and a broken tibia. The bone tore through the skin. Wada remembers sitting on the grass just outside of the goal, trying to push the bone back under. An ambulance came onto the field, there were many tears and even more pain, and he was whisked away to the hospital, where he would undergo the first major surgery of his life.

The aftermath was a whirlwind; he had to take strong pain medications because the pain was even worse than in the moments after the collision. In some ways, what proved worse than the pain was his active mind, as he wrote in another Substack post:

“That’s when reality started sinking in.

This really is a major injury.

And then a more practical kind of fear suddenly hit me.

‘What if the team decides they don’t need me anymore because of this?’

As the panic started to calm down, a heavier, more realistic fear came rushing in all at once:

‘What’s going to happen to me now?’

That thought hit hard. My mood dropped instantly.”

Within a few days, he was walking outside with help from crutches. Right away, he encountered fans who wished him well. A restaurant owner whom he had become friends with asked him if he would dog sit for the man’s pet, which Wada was happy to do. He found solace in kindness, something that clearly kept him grounded and focused on the task at hand.

Those feelings of community can be especially healing. So too can family. In August and at the urging of Hearts coach Bobby Murphy, Wada traveled home to Japan for continued rehabilitation, along with something Wada relishes: his mother’s home-cooked meals. He has stayed with his parents in Yokohama since, building strength and healing mentally from the injury.

Before long, he found himself missing Portland. In some ways, it’s not surprising that Wada has found such an affinity for his new home away from home. Portland shares some similarities with Yokohama, which, despite a population of almost 3.8 million, is loved for its laid-back, romantic seaside vibe and diverse culinary scene. Yokohama sits close to Tokyo but feels removed from the thick of its sprawl, and the energy there is different, fresher. Like Portland, it’s a historic, seafaring alter ego to a bigger city nearby. (Wada cited Boston.)

It’s Hearts fans who have pushed him forward.

“What surprised me most was how many messages I got from Hearts supporters.

The club’s official account had posted an update explaining my situation, and seeing all those messages come in honestly moved me.

So I started reading through them one by one.

They were full of kindness. And what made me happy too was that I had gotten to the point where I could understand most of them without translating them into Japanese. Being able to understand the English directly made me both happy and emotional.”

Wada’s Substack is a portal into the psyche of an injured athlete, an empathic journey that feels more like a poem. With its staccato cadence, his writing offers insight into a man who is both thoughtful about the world around him and struggling with what could be the first true trauma of his life.

These days, Wada gets to train with a ball on his feet. He pushes himself daily with his rehabilitation. He finds joy in the aches that come post-training because they mean his body is healing.

“I need to be careful not to hit my ankle again, of course,” Wada said. “But that being said, if I keep being worried about my ankle, my condition wouldn’t come back, and then I couldn’t play a hundred percent. So personally, I think I shouldn’t care too much about my ankle once it gets better.”

Saari has heard from the doctors in Japan. He’s seen videos of Wada’s rehab and training. None of it surprises him because Saari knows that Wada is a technical and energetic player with a high level of professionalism and a powerful engine that drives him. The expectation is that Wada will be ready to play sometime during preseason, which opens in February.

The Hearts sporting director is excited at the prospect of bringing back the team’s No. 10.

“We talk about it as a group quite a bit: he raises the level of the people around him,” Saari said. “When one of the best players on your team is also the hardest-working player on your team, younger players and guys who maybe haven’t been in the league look at that and think, man, our top guy is also running the most. If he’s doing it, I have no excuse. I have to do it.”

Saari added, “He’s going to leave everything on the field. And I’m sure everybody who has been around the team has seen that’s what this fan base demands. When you go out on the field, you have to empty the tank.”

Wada feels like Hearts supporters emptied their tanks for him by showing him so much love. Now, he is ready to give it back, a man driven by all of those messages he received.

“That made me think I need to work hard to get back to the pitch, even when I got back to Japan,” Wada said. “That made me work hard even when nobody was watching me. Because nobody was watching me, I could have done nothing. But I do it every day, because a lot of supporters, a lot of people, are waiting for me.

“So that’s my responsibility.”

Editor’s Note: Both videos are courtesy of Masashi Wada, who kindly shared them with The Hearts’ Beat.

The USL League One playoffs kick off Friday with a pair of matches and The Hearts’ Beat is ready to make predictions.

Hopefully, we won’t embarrass ourselves too much!

First off, let’s take a look at the four playoff games scheduled for this weekend.

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Quarterfinals (Tonight and Sunday)

No. 2 Union Omaha vs. No. 7 Chattanooga Red Wolves SC

Friday, Oct. 30, 7 p.m. ET, Morrison Stadium (ESPN+)

Season series: Omaha, 2-0-0 (May 23 at Omaha: Omaha 2, Chattanooga 0; Aug. 8 at Chattanooga: Omaha 3, Chattanooga 1)

Union Omaha (19-8-5)

Omaha is in the playoffs for a seventh straight season, a League One record, and has won the title twice (2021, 2024). The Owls led the table for much of the year but lost their grip in October. A 1-0 home loss to Fort Wayne on Oct. 10 was Omaha’s first home loss in 15 months, and Charlotte moved past Omaha into first.

Strengths: Home field and defense. Omaha went 11-1-4 at home and allowed 34 goals, second-fewest in the league. It doesn’t fold when it falls behind: Omaha earned a result in 8 of the 16 games in which it trailed, and won five of them.

Weaknesses: Breaking down a packed defense, which is exactly what Chattanooga brings. Omaha has no dominant scorer; Sergio Ors Navarro led the team with 12 goals.

Heat Check: Lukewarm. 2-2-1 in its last five. Omaha lost two straight in October, at home to Fort Wayne and at Westchester, which cost it first place. It finished with a 0-0 draw at Madison.

Chattanooga Red Wolves (14-13-5)

The Red Wolves are a former finalist (2022) and have playoff history with Omaha: they beat the Owls 1-0 in extra time in the 2022 playoffs. Chattanooga is happy to let opponents keep the ball. Omaha had at least 67 percent possession in both meetings this year.

Strengths: The counterattack, plus Omar Hernandez, who scored 13 goals. Chattanooga also comes back: its 12 points earned from losing positions ranked fourth in the league.

Weaknesses: The road (5-8-3) and defense (45 goals allowed). It lost both meetings with Omaha.

Heat Check: Cold. 1-3-1 in its last five, scoring four goals in those games. It clinched its playoff spot on the final day with a 1-1 draw at the Cosmos.

Prediction: Omaha advances.

No. 4 Forward Madison FC vs. No. 5 Spokane Velocity FC

Friday, Oct. 30, 7:30 p.m. ET, Breese Stevens Field (ESPN+)

Season series: Split, 1-1-0 (July 1 at Spokane: Madison 1, Spokane 0; Sept. 26 at Madison: Spokane 1, Madison 0)

Forward Madison (16-8-8)

The ’Mingos opened the season with an extended road trip while new turf was installed at Breese Stevens Field, and didn’t play a home league game until May 29. Once they got home, they became the league’s toughest defense: Madison allowed 30 goals in 32 games, the only team under one per game, and a top-10 mark in league history in the highest-scoring season the league has had.

Strengths: One of the best defenses in USL1 history, plus Ryan Carmichael, who scored 14 goals, third-most in the league. Madison went 9-1-6 at home.

Weaknesses: Its one home loss came against Spokane, and Madison drew six games at Breese Stevens. In a single-elimination game, those draws mean extra time and penalties.

Heat Check: Lukewarm on defense, cold on offense. 1-2-2 in its last five. It allowed only four goals in those games but also scored only four, and was held scoreless three times.

Spokane Velocity (16-10-6)

The Velocity are chasing a third straight League One Final appearance after losing in the championship match in 2024 and 2025.

Strengths: Balance. Nine players had five or more goal contributions, so Spokane doesn’t depend on any one player. It has already won at Madison this season.

Weaknesses: The road (5-7-4) and defense. Spokane allowed 44 goals, more than any top-five team except Charlotte, and has no double-digit scorer to win a close game against the league’s best defense.

Heat Check: Lukewarm. 2-2-1 in its last five, but up and down: a 4-3 loss at Greenville, a 3-3 draw at the Cosmos, and a 94th-minute 1-0 loss at Naples in the finale.

Prediction: Madison advances.

No. 1 Charlotte Independence vs. No. 8 FC Naples

Sunday, Nov. 1, 7 p.m. ET, American Legion Memorial Stadium (ESPN+)

Season series: Charlotte, 2-0-0 (won 5-1 at Naples on June 3 and 4-3 at home on June 13)

Charlotte Independence (20-6-6)

The Independence are the league powerhouse, smashing several scoring records along the way. Charlotte was the highest-scoring team in the history of USL1, demolishing the league’s single-season record for goals scored with 74. Not only that, the Independence have also scored goals at a higher rate than any team in USL1, a league whose seasons have ranged from 16 to 32 games.

Strengths: Scores more than anyone ever has in this league. Souaibou Marou won the Golden Boot with 18 goals, and Jon Bakero set a league single-season record with 18 assists. Charlotte was nearly perfect at home, 14-1-1.

Weaknesses: Defense. It allowed 46 goals, tied with Naples for the most among the eight playoff teams.

Heat Check: Warm. 3-1-1 in its last five. The Jacks won three straight to clinch the Players’ Shield, then lost 4-1 at Portland in the finale with nothing left to play for.

FC Naples (14-14-4)

Naples has won six straight games and hasn’t lost since early September. This was a monumental run for Naples as that early September loss left it in 13th place, five spots out of the playoffs.

Strengths: Momentum. It won its final six games and went unbeaten in its last eight to claim the final playoff spot. It’s 9-4-2 under interim coach Zak Gordon and wins tight games late.

Weaknesses: Road games (4-9-3). Naples scored 39 goals in 32 games, 1.22 per game, the fewest of the eight playoff teams. Against a Charlotte team that scored 74, Naples probably can’t win a high-scoring game. Even during the six-game winning streak, several wins came by one goal.

Heat Check: Scorching. 5-0-0 in its last five and six straight wins overall, the hottest team in the playoffs.

Prediction: Charlotte advances.

No. 3 Athletic Club Boise vs. No. 6 One Knoxville SC

Sunday, Nov. 1, 8 p.m. ET, Athletic Club Boise Soccer Stadium (ESPN+)

Season series: Knoxville, 1-0-1 (July 2 at Boise: Knoxville 2, Boise 1; Aug. 22 at Knoxville: Boise 2, Knoxville 2)

AC Boise (17-8-7)

Boise had one of the best expansion seasons in league history. It finished third, set league attendance records with 16 matches over 7,000 fans, and became the fifth team to make the playoffs in its first season. It will also be Boise’s only League One playoff run, because the club moves up to the USL Championship in 2027.

Strengths: Crosses and headers. Boise scored 11 headed goals, tied for the league lead, and completed 183 crosses, second-most in the league. It went 10-3-3 at home in front of the league’s biggest crowds.

Weaknesses: Knoxville and experience. Boise didn’t beat Knoxville in two tries despite outshooting it 32-15, and this is the club’s first playoff game.

Heat Check: Hot. 4-1-0 in its last five. After losing at Corpus Christi, Boise won four straight, including the 2-0 win at Fort Wayne that clinched a home playoff game.

One Knoxville (15-8-9)

The defending champions won both the Players’ Shield and the title in 2025, beating Spokane 2-0 in the final.

Strengths: Defense (36 goals allowed) and road play. Knoxville was better away (8-4-4) than at home. Denis Krioutchenkov scored 11 goals.

Weaknesses: Consistency. A three-game losing streak followed by a four-game winless run in midseason knocked Knoxville out of the race for first.

Heat Check: Lukewarm. 2-2-1 in its last five, alternating results all month. It closed with a 3-0 win at the Cosmos on Oct. 17 but hasn’t played since, so it’ll be coming off two weeks of rest.

Prediction: Boise advances.

Semifinals (Nov. 6-8)

No. 1 Charlotte Independence vs. No. 4 Forward Madison FC

Prediction: Madison advances.

No. 2 Union Omaha vs. No. 3 Athletic Club Boise

Prediction: Boise advances.

League One Final (Nov. 13-15)

No. 3 Athletic Club Boise vs. No. 4 Forward Madison FC

Prediction: Forward Madison wins the title.

Conclusion: Would this be the craziest result in USL1 history? Absolutely. No team seeded No. 4 or lower has won the final in the seven previous years that the league has held its playoffs. The 2020 final was canceled because of a COVID-19 outbreak, with the title awarded to No. 1 seed Greenville Triumph SC, while No. 3 seed South Georgia Tormenta FC took home the top prize in 2022. Otherwise, only the top two seeds have won the championship (No. 1 has won five times and No. 2 just once).

But over the last few weeks, we have watched a lot of recorded games from throughout the season. Madison plays a suffocating defensive style that limits shots (it allowed the fewest shots in the league), while also tying for the third-most goals. Meanwhile, Boise has been on a roll, winners of four straight, and just seems to have a lot going right for it.

There’s an easy argument for Charlotte to roll through the playoffs. It has been USL1’s best team, and the squad is deep and clearly remains lethal offensively. But the Independence defense can be spotty. Charlotte also got banged up in the final game of the season at Portland with two starters going down with injuries, although there has been no update on their status.

Enough of the predictions. Time to settle it on the pitch.

We have been working on a number of feature stories today that will be coming out soon, so let’s just do a quick notebook dump.

• If you’ve been trying to work out how the new women’s team fits with the Portland Hearts of Pine, you’re not alone. Since the club announced in June that it had secured a USL W League franchise, the women’s side has mostly been described as the Hearts of Pine’s women’s team, which made it sound like Maine Wildness was a branch of the men’s club.

  
  It isn’t.
  
  Both teams now sit under a parent organization called the Soccer Club of Maine. Hearts of Pine and the Wildness are sister clubs under that umbrella, and The IX reports that they will share much of the same front office and corporate partners.

  
  The name shouldn’t surprise anyone who has followed the club closely. Founder and Chief Community Officer Gabe Hoffman-Johnson has been calling it “the soccer club of Maine” for a while, including in the club’s February announcement of the women’s team town halls and in Gov. Janet Mills’ Day of Soccer announcement this month.

  
  Until now it was a slogan. Now it’s the name of the organization, and that should make things simpler to talk about: Hearts of Pine is the USL League One men’s team, the Wildness is the USL W team, and the Soccer Club of Maine is the organization that runs both.

• The Soccer Club of Maine’s breakdown of the Wildness’ new crest is worth a look. It’s a beautiful piece of art that, just like the Hearts’ crest, is filled with details that each have their own specific and intentional meaning.

  

Want to know how the crest came to life? We will have a Q&A with designer Pame Chévez coming up soon.

• Hoffman-Johnson’s monthly letter, posted Oct. 20 on the club’s website, was mostly about the Maine Wildness, and the idea of a women’s team goes back further than you might realize. He wrote that the club has been thinking about a women’s team in Portland since 2018, years before the Hearts played a game.
  

  The Wildness name came out of a year of asking Mainers what the team should stand for, plus some help from writers like John Muir, Henry David Thoreau and Terry Tempest Williams, Hoffman-Johnson wrote. It clicked for him with three words: Wildness, not wilderness.

  Hoffman-Johnson didn’t dodge the men’s season, either. He called it a hard year with missed chances, saying the answer is honest work on what needs fixing, and thanked the players who may have played their last match at Fitzy.

  Thanks for reading The Hearts' Beat! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

We are looking for some help today.

We cover the Soccer Club of Maine, which is the parent organization that is home to the Portland Hearts of Pine and now the Maine Wildness, the new women’s team that kicks off its inaugural season next spring.

The Hearts’ Beat logo was created several months ago, before the announcement of the name and crest for the women’s team. Our original logo only contained colors from the Hearts of Pine, and it needs to incorporate colors chosen for the Wildness. It’s very important to us that fans of both teams feel represented.

The teams’ crests share some of the same colors, but the women’s team includes the color of lupine, the blue-violet of the wild plant that blooms along the side of Maine’s hills and roads in June. All six of the logo options include the blue-violet in various degrees.

Please give these a look and then vote on which one is your favorite. Just use the comment section to type the letter representing your choice. We will also be tabulating votes via Instagram. Voting will run through Sunday, and we will announce the winner Monday. Those of us who live in Maine are familiar with ranked-choice voting, but we are limiting this to just your top choice. (And remember to cast your ballot next week if you haven’t voted early!)

Thank you in advance for helping us out. And especially, thank you for following along with The Hearts’ Beat in this wild and still burgeoning world of soccer that you all are playing a role in growing.

There are so many interesting stories when it comes to the Portland Hearts of Pine. But it’s important to remember that there are 16 other clubs in USL League One, each with its own narrative that helps explain how the season has gone.

Every Tuesday, The Hearts’ Beat will pull together a roundup of the most intriguing stories from around the league. Some have a connection to the Hearts; others are just information readers should know.

So let’s take a look!

• The USL1 regular season has concluded, and what a last month it has been in the race for the playoffs.
  
  Let’s start with the Charlotte Independence, which won the Players’ Shield as the club garnering the most total points in the regular season. After a brief late-season stumble, the Independence retook first place from Union Omaha over the final few weeks and pulled away, despite losing their final match of the season Saturday to Portland.

  

  
  Charlotte coach Mike Jeffries’ 65th League One win made him the winningest manager in league history, while the Independence became the first team in league history to win 20 games in a single season.

  
  How did Charlotte do it? With the greatest offense in the history of USL1, shattering the league’s single-season record for goals scored with 74 (the previous record was the 2023 Union Omaha club with 61). The next closest team in 2026 was Westchester SC with 55 goals.

  

  The Independence’s high-flying attack also set the USL1 record for goals per game: 2.31. Charlotte was particularly dominant at home, scoring 45 goals in 16 games, for an imposing 2.81 goals-per-game average.
  
  That means teams must go through Charlotte, where the Independence are 14-1-1 this season. Good luck with that.
  

• The club needing that luck is heavily involved in the other big news from the final regular-season standings. FC Naples chased down Fort Wayne FC for the eighth and final playoff spot. Naples hit a rough patch midway through the year, going 1-10-0, which led to the firing of coach Matt Poland on July 10. Andrés Ferrín scored a stunning stoppage-time winner against Spokane, and Naples clinched its playoff positioning when Fort Wayne fell to Boise the same night.
  
  Naples has to be a team no one wants to play in the playoffs, as it has won six straight matches and hasn’t lost since Sept. 5. It will now head to Charlotte, where it lost 4-3 back in mid-June when the club was in the midst of its struggles.

  

• Charlotte’s Souaibou Marou won the Golden Boot for most goals this season. From the league: A hat-trick from Marou in Charlotte’s penultimate match distanced him from the rest of the pack as the forward ended the campaign with 18 goals; Westchester SC’s Conor McGlynn finished second with 16 goals. The Cameroonian – who appeared in the 2022 World Cup – scored a goal every 121.3 minutes on average, leading Charlotte to a record-setting season as the club scored a total of 74 goals in 2026.

• The Independence’s Jon Bakero finished with the most assists for the season, and it wasn’t close. He tallied 18 assists while the New York Cosmos’ Ajmeer Spengler was the closest with 11. It was a superlative season for Bakero, who broke USL1’s all-time career assist record, set a league record for most goal contributions in a single game (2 goals, 3 assists), and, unsurprisingly, led the league in total goal contributions with 26 (18 assists + 8 goals). Bakero has to be the leading choice for player of the year.
  

• Union Omaha goalkeeper Cole Jensen took home Golden Glove honors as the league’s top keeper. From USL1: Jensen started 17 games for Union Omaha, where the 25-year-old racked up 54 saves on a 78.26 save percentage to win the Golden Glove award. Only conceding 15 goals in the season, Jensen posted five clean sheets to help Omaha finish in second place in the League One standings. After playing sparingly in his first League One season, the 6-foot-5 goalkeeper emerged in 2026 as one of the league’s top keepers.
  

• Two Hearts players led the league in two other categories. Goalkeeper Hunter Morse, who was just named the MVP of the club, finished with the most saves in USL1 (107) while center back Brecc Evans led the league in clearances (178).

• Portland’s Diogo Barbosa is a candidate for USL Goal of the Week, as the league wrote: Barbosa corralled a turnover near midfield with Charlotte’s Giorgos Tasouris off his mark, and made the keeper pay by doubling Portland’s lead to put the match out of reach.

• In off-the-pitch news, Westchester and Corpus Christi will be leaving USL1, according to a report by League One Updater, which wrote, “Multiple sources close to the clubs and within the league have confirmed that Westchester SC and Corpus Christi FC will not be part of USL League One in 2027. The exact reasons for the departures were not confirmed, and the league typically does not share exit reasons.”
  
  League One Updater also made a smart observation, writing, “Both clubs saw breakout performances from several players who should be in demand as free agents this off season. Corpus Christi was led by defender Blake Bowen, who tallied eight goals and nine assists, leading his squad in both. Meanwhile Westchester midfielder Conor McGlynn finished second in the Golden Boot race with 16 goals.”

• In terms of new additions to the league, let’s go back to League One Updater, which is reporting that Fort Lauderdale United, Port St. Lucie and Sporting Cascades in Eugene are confirmed to be joining. Ventura County is a strong possibility.

League One Updater puts the 2027 league at 17 or 18 clubs, writing, “There are constantly rumors of clubs and markets looking to join USL League One as expansion sides. But in our experience covering league expansions for the last few years, very few of them ever pan out. The number one reason we’ve found is a lack of investment, something we’ve heard the league is cracking down on after this season.”

PORTLAND, Maine — Mikey Lopez was the first member of his family to play soccer, and as his father, Miguel Lopez, watched his then-4-year-old boy running around the pitch, he said to his wife that he could already see something special.

“After the first game, I told my wife – and she won’t let me lie – ‘Wait and see, this kid is going to be a pro soccer player,’” Miguel said. “I kid you not. And ever since, I really believed, and we’ve been supporting him ever since.”

Miguel was one of 20 family members to attend Mikey’s final match as a professional Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium, where the Portland Hearts of Pine won 4-1 over the first-place Charlotte Independence. Mikey announced last week that he was retiring after 14 years as a pro soccer player, prompting 16 members of the Lopez clan (the other four attending were his wife’s family) to make the arduous trip from Texas to Portland because this was a match not to be missed.

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Mikey’s mother, Martha Lopez, agreed with her husband’s prediction, although she acknowledged that they had never expected all of the pageantry at the end of it. As part of the festivities, Mikey’s family joined him on the field pregame as the club gave him a framed No. 5 jersey while supporters chanted “Thank you, Mikey.”

“You always think hopefully, right?” Martha said of her son becoming a pro. “You always think and hope that he will get to be a professional, but we never thought he was gonna get to this point.”

As she said her last sentence, she looked around the stadium, which was completely full and teeming with energy. All 6,400 seats had been sold, and so many had come to say goodbye to her son in the Hearts’ final match of 2026. Fans carried signs, they screamed enthusiastically any time he made a play on the field, and then there were of course the Dirigo Union supporters, chanting songs about the Hearts’ beloved captain.

Elena Lopez, Mikey’s wife, said she had been asked a lot about whether this was a wistful moment. She understood the sentiment but she knew how much her husband had given to the game, particularly physically because his knees are shot. Since they have been together, there have also been moves to eight different communities “in less than that in years,” she said. This job as a pro soccer player has allowed her to meet so many new people and experience so many different things that she found Saturday to be a summing up of all that time.

“I think this is exciting,” Elena said. “We have so much family here, we have the crowd here. I think everyone’s like, it’s bittersweet, but for me, it’s exciting because you know being a player, at a certain point, you’ll hit a dead end. But when you have a new next chapter opening, the possibilities are totally open to him.”

Mikey has said he plans to become a soccer coach. He has already obtained the credentials for it, and he is hoping he can stay in Portland for a new direction in life. His first choice is to remain with the club, and while he has acknowledged he doesn’t know what will happen, club officials have spoken highly of him as a coach and seem interested in trying to make it work.

The one person who was most missed was Mikey’s grandfather, Jose Luis Lopez, who died in July. In the aftermath of his death, the family went into his workshop, a shed behind the house that no one else entered much. And did they ever find a surprise. Covering the walls beside Jose Luis’ workbench were clips and photos of Mikey playing soccer over the past three decades.

“My dad was a very loving person, but an old school loving person – not one that would come to you and say ‘I love you, I love you,’” Miguel recalled. “You would never imagine him taking his time to have all these clippings of all the stuff since Mikey was little and went with the national team. He had his clippings on a wall meticulously displayed there.”

But as Miguel explained, Mikey just had that kind of impact on his family.

“I feel like … he united the family all these years,” Miguel said as a few tears fell. “We had something to look up to, to look forward to watch him play and you know, we’re gonna miss it.”

Asked to describe his son, Miguel said simply, “He’s a great player but better than anything, a better person.”

As this interview with Miguel was concluding at the south end of the stadium, a roar erupted. Amid a loud whistle at the far end of the field, there was a mass of players converging close to the front of the goal, and it was clear something big was happening. Miguel and Martha rushed back toward the field to take a look.

A few moments later, Mikey was setting up for a penalty kick. He shot the ball and the goalkeeper dove and saved it but could not corral it. Mikey sprinted forward and buried the rebound into the back of the net, giving Portland what would turn out to be the game-winning goal.

No one has a perfect career, but Mikey Lopez, with his family and 6,400 friends in attendance, found the perfect ending.

His line in the box score looks like an aberration. Lopez had scored only one goal in his two years with the Hearts, and he had taken only one penalty kick in a professional match (he made it). But in the final game of his career, which also closed out the Hearts’ 2026 season, his teammates insisted he take the kick. The goalkeeper saved his shot, but in pure Mikey Lopez style, he dashed forward and buried the rebound for a 2-1 lead.

When he did, 6,400 fans at Fitzpatrick Stadium erupted in delirium, then took it up a notch as Lopez was immediately subbed out. (He said his legs were cooked by halftime.) Joining the fans in the celebration were 20 members of Lopez’s family, including 16 who made the long trip from Texas, because this was not a game to miss.

In the minutes after the match, Fitzpatrick became a lovefest as his teammates carried him across the field. Lopez then joined the Dirigo Union in the stands to keep the celebration going.

Before the match ended, and in most cases before it even began, we at The Hearts’ Beat asked several fans and three family members what they are grateful for when it comes to Mikey Lopez.

We hope you enjoy our first published video. We can’t think of a better subject to focus on.

PORTLAND, Maine – Most professional athletes don’t get to leave their sport on their own terms, and even fewer get a storybook ending.

Apparently, most athletes aren’t Mikey Lopez.

Since the Portland Hearts of Pine’s first-ever match back in 2025, Lopez has been the team’s captain, who made his way into fans’ hearts because he played the game so hard and he connected so deeply with his new community. So on Saturday night, with Fitzpatrick Stadium buzzing with an electricity that had been absent for a few months, Lopez put on a show for the ages.

Take a look at how Lopez ended his 14-year career:

• He served as team captain while playing one last time for coach Bobby Murphy, who got Lopez’s career off and running when Lopez was just 13 years old.

• He walked out with an entourage of 20 family members during pregame when he was honored for his career and then got to speak to the crowd after the completion of the game.

• His critical defensive stop led to the game’s first goal.

• He angrily kicked his own team’s goalpost after the Hearts conceded the tying goal.

• His penalty kick was saved, but he pounced on the rebound and scored, enabling the Hearts to retake the lead.

• He was then immediately subbed out and serenaded by 6,400 Portland Hearts of Pine fans.

• In the end, on the final day of the regular season, he and his Hearts teammates ran over the Charlotte Independence by a 4-1 score, defeating the recent winners of the Players’ Shield as the top team in USL League One.

“I think it was the best night possible, getting a 4-1 victory, getting on the score sheet, having my family here, being able to play my final game with Bobby – it truly is a storybook ending,” Lopez said, adding, “Some really good writer upstairs wrote something amazing and this was the perfect way to end it.”

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Lopez announced his retirement Monday. His 33-year-old knees just couldn’t endure it anymore. A season after starting 27 USL1 games, Lopez underwent two knee surgeries this summer and only started eight times. As disappointing a year as it has been for Lopez, it’s been even more so for a Portland team that came into 2026 after a run to the semifinals in its inaugural season. It’s led Lopez to apologize multiple times to fans, despite his only real fault being that his body was failing him.

On this day, though, his body held up just enough, even though he said he could feel his knee was swollen during warmups. But with 16 of his family members in town and four more from his wife Elena’s family, Lopez used adrenaline and a whole lot of grit to play into the 56th minute.

Lopez got the offense into gear after his defensive header fell to the feet of teammate Michel Poon-Angeron, who lofted a pass over Charlotte’s last line of defense, springing Aboubacar Camara for a breakaway, which he buried for a 1-0 lead in the 40th minute.

Charlotte (the USL1 single-season record holder for most goals) tied up the match 13 minutes later on a corner kick that was headed in by the Independence’s Joel Skinner. Suddenly, the energy filling the stadium drastically dropped as fans were left wondering if this would be another disappointing result, particularly because Portland had conceded its 15th set piece goal (third most in USL1).

But the Hearts recovered, stemming any further trouble and taking the match into halftime tied. Shortly after the teams returned for the second half, the Hearts’ Diego González sent a bounding ball to teammate Walter Varela, who was tackled in the box unnecessarily by Charlotte’s backup goalkeeper, Giorgos Tasouris.

After the referee awarded the penalty kick, the Hearts’ Matteo Kidd stepped up, holding the ball as if he would take it. Suddenly, Lopez appeared. Kidd handed him the ball, hugged Lopez, who then strode forward to take the penalty kick. It was only the second time in his lengthy career that he was asked to take a PK in a match, but that’s just not the normal role for grinders. Lopez has just never been a goal-scorer (keep in mind that he had scored only one goal in his Hearts career up until Saturday).

As the fans cheered “Mikey, Mikey!” repeatedly, Lopez stepped up and hammered the kick. Tasouris made a diving save but left a juicy rebound. Then in perhaps the most Mikey Lopez moment ever, Lopez sprinted forward and pounded in what would be the game-winning goal.

“Everyone was saying that if we do get a (penalty), that I was gonna take it, so I was down to take it,” he said, and then with a laugh, added, “I didn’t think it was gonna go that poorly. I got really scared. I thought he was gonna catch it but he left it there for me.”

A completely gassed Lopez then subbed out to cheers and a lot of hugs. JayTee Kamara replaced him.

Portland (8-10-14) scored two more spectacular goals. First, Diogo Barbosa stole a clearing pass by Tasouris and dribbled three times before lofting a perfect shot over the Charlotte goalkeeper, who was off his line. The 82nd-minute goal looked to clinch the match, but Camara wasn’t done. In the 90th minute, Camara took a swerving Josh Drack crossing pass and one-timed a wicked shot past a helpless Tasouris to put the game out of reach.

Camara was a menace all night, scoring a brace and launching six shots while cutting through the Independence defense with wild abandon. Murphy praised his striker for growing as a player this season.

“If you look at the goals he scored today, relative to maybe where he was three months ago, he doesn’t score those goals,” Murphy said. “Because he’s not running off the back shoulder, he’s not getting it behind, he’s not stretching. There’s been times where he just sort of kind of drifts around up there and sort of waits for something to happen. I think he deserves a huge amount of credit for the goals he scored tonight, but I think the credit, not only in the way he took them, but in the way they came about … shows his maturation.”

Murphy was full of praise for his players after the match. But he saved the most for Lopez, the player he coached as a teenager and who was one of the first calls he made when Murphy was hired to coach the Hearts. At the same time, Murphy also offered a twinge of regret, wondering aloud whether a healthy Lopez might have changed a season that instead left Portland in 14th place and out of the playoffs.

“You can always say what if, but you know, looking back, like his leadership, his energy, if that’s in the lineup all year, not two knee operations, that certainly changes things a little bit,” Murphy said. “I’m really grateful that he got to end his career in a place like this and not so many other clubs that wouldn’t have been able to accurately congratulate him on a career. I think the fans and the supporter section leading all of that, and the club really taking time to organize the thing with his family at the beginning, … he’s a special person and a special player and this is a special place and a special club and it all came together for them.”

But then, with a gulp as he composed himself, Murphy made it clear exactly how he felt about Lopez.

“I used to tell all those guys I had when they were kids that the world is littered with people who once had potential,” Murphy said. “He got every ounce out of his ability. He’ll tell you he’s not the most talented player, right? But he got the most out of everything. And to be able to do that and be able to retire on his own terms, I hope someday he recognizes how important, how special that is, because it should bring him a lot of peace.”

For his part, Lopez said he felt honored to end his career in front of Hearts fans. Their love and support have become a part of him, he said, explaining that he will forever remember the passion and love that so many Mainers have for the club.

“I haven’t been in many clubs where it’s this passionate and it’s truly, truly inspirational and truly something I will always cherish to the day I die, and it’s something that I’m always gonna remember,” Lopez said.

Editor’s Note: The attached video of Lopez scoring off his PK is from fan Jack Mainella.

Throughout the Portland Hearts of Pine’s first two seasons, Mikey Lopez has given his blood, sweat and knees in search of victories on the pitch, all while winning the affection of fans who fell in love with his earnest efforts to connect with his new community.

On Saturday against the first-place Charlotte Independence, Lopez will take the field as a professional soccer player for the final time of his 14-year career. Lopez announced Monday that his body, particularly his knees that have undergone two surgeries this season, has told him it’s time to retire.

Lopez will be a starter in his final match, Hearts coach Bobby Murphy said Thursday after practice. It’s a bittersweet moment for both men, who first met when Lopez was a teenager and came to grow as a player at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Texas, where Murphy was the director of the soccer academy.

“I’ve known Mikey since he was 13 when he came to live with me in Austin and I think one thing Mikey will be able to do is, when it’s all said and done, know he gave his very best every day,” Murphy said. “Like the kid got every ounce out of his God-given ability. You see so many kids in this world who have potential and don’t ever realize it, because for one reason or another, and you know he did not fit into that category at all.”

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Lopez has described it as a dream to finish his career playing for Murphy.

“I love that guy so much and to be able to be coached by him when I was young, and then again now as a professional and as a man, it means the world to me, and to be able to finish my career with him here as my coach, is the perfect ending for my playing career,” Lopez said.

Murphy said it’s not often that a player gets to leave the sport on his own terms. He called Lopez “lucky” because “he got the absolute most out of his ability and I think every club he’s been at, he was a great servant too, and this place is no different.”

“When I took the (Hearts) job, he was one of my first calls to come up here with me,” Murphy said. “I’m sorry that this year’s been hard on him with the injuries and the two knee operations, but you know he never gave in, never stopped trying, and only wanted the best for this place. I am just really proud of him.”

Lopez has never been the biggest or fastest player to take the pitch, and he rarely scored goals. But he played with a passion for the game, and it was always clear his heart was as large as, if not larger than, anyone’s around him. During matches, his eyes stayed locked on the action. Off the field, they were on his teammates and whatever they were going through. That’s what made two clubs, Portland and Birmingham Legion FC, choose him to captain their inaugural seasons.

He has been a defensive stopper, a piece so valuable that Patrick Vieira, one of the greatest Frenchmen to ever play and a well-respected manager, once chose a 23-year-old Lopez to start a playoff match for NYCFC over English superstar Frank Lampard.

It’s Lopez’s work off the pitch that likely sealed the deal for Hearts’ fans. Lopez visited schools and hospitals and attended so many community events. If there were kids to talk to and to inspire, you could count on Lopez being there. Because of it, the club presented Lopez with its first-ever Lead With Your Heart Community Award in 2025.

Lopez said he doesn’t quite know what to expect Saturday. He is just looking forward to giving back to the fans one more time.

“I’m extremely grateful for them, and thankful for them, because they’ve never left our side, and I’m looking forward to having one more game together, and hopefully, I don’t cry!” Lopez said. “Hopefully.”

Ray Saari has overseen Lopez in his role as the Hearts’ sporting director only since late August. But their paths first crossed years ago. Saari, a Kansas City native, was playing college soccer at Tulsa when Lopez was with Sporting KC, and the two trained together during Saari’s time back home before later playing against each other in the USL Championship.

“I have the utmost respect for a person like that who’s been to where he’s been in his career and played the amount of games, the amount of years,” Saari said. “I think not a whole lot of people understand how hard it is to put together top-end performances like that on such a consistent basis like he has in his career. So I think the club is doing right by him to give him a proper send-off and honor what he’s done in the game because it’s not easy, and … his career is a testament to his mentality and his professionalism and his true dedication and passion.”

And now for the part that should truly excite Hearts fans. Lopez has said that he wants to get into coaching after retirement, adding that he hopes it can keep him in Maine. When Saari was asked whether Lopez could have a coaching future here, he made it clear that it’s a real possibility.

“He’s the club’s first-ever captain, and he’s done a lot of good things here and it’s definitely conversations that Bobby, myself and the ownership group have had about: how do we keep a guy, a good person like this who’s been advancing as a professional, in our organization?” Saari said while pointing out that Lopez already has a license for advanced professional coaching. “It’s a testament to his professionalism and his passion for the game that he was going through this education process while he was still playing, which not enough players do, I can promise you that.”

Quick notes:

• Lest we forget, there’s a match to be played. A few weeks ago, when Charlotte was battling Union Omaha for first place, it looked like the match might provide an opportunity for Portland to play a spoiler’s role. Alas, Charlotte took control of the table and has already clinched the Players’ Shield for the top team in the regular season.

  
  What remains unknown is whether Charlotte coach Mike Jeffries (who just became the all-time USL1 leader in coaching wins) will give any of his regular starters a rest or play them all to ensure they remain in form for the playoffs.
  
  “I think I don’t know what Mike’s gonna do,” Murphy said. “They got one guy who’s in contention for the Golden Boot, so I’m sure he’ll play and try and win that, and it doesn’t change what we need to do. Like we need to come out and put in a good effort for the home fans and send them and Mikey off with the best possible result.”
  
  Charlotte forward Souaibou Marou leads the league in goals with 18, two more than Westchester SC’s Conor McGlynn.
  

• Statistically speaking, two Hearts players have a chance to lead the league in different categories. With 106 saves, goalkeeper Hunter Morse has the most in USL1 this season. We get to see how this plays out head to head Saturday as Morse is trailed by Charlotte’s Matt Levy, who has 101 saves.
  
  Center back Brecc Evans is the league leader in clearances with 173. He has four more than Jordan Skelton of One Knoxville SC.

• On Thursday, the Hearts announced that Morse had been chosen as the club’s MVP and the Supporters’ Player of the Year. Morse was selected for his “dependable presence in goal and making crucial stops to keep Hearts in matches throughout the season. His composure under pressure and ability to deliver in key moments have been central to his contributions this year,” the club said. Morse also won MVP in 2025.
  
  Matteo Kidd won Newcomer of the Year, while Mo Mohamed took home the Lead With Your Heart Community Award, the same honor Lopez won in 2025.

  

  Thanks for reading The Hearts’ Beat! Subscribe for previews, match reports and features like this one on Mikey Lopez.

As part of a rebrand unveiled earlier this week, the USL doubled down on its plan to launch promotion and relegation for the 2028 season, a shift that may well shape how the Portland Hearts of Pine build their roster in the years to come.

Amid ongoing doubts over the feasibility of the 2028 start date, the USL’s new visual identity challenges that skepticism, embedding a stair-step design into the “S” of its new wordmark, a nod to clubs climbing and falling between divisions. While fans generally support the concept, some club owners, investors and soccer executives have had reservations centered around financial survival and logistics.

Promotion and relegation (pro-rel) is the standard organizational model used in soccer leagues around the world, in contrast to the “closed-shop” franchise system used in traditional professional U.S. sports, such as Major League Soccer, the NFL, NBA or MLB. Teams that finish at the top of the table are promoted to a higher league, while those finishing at the bottom are relegated to the lower one.

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It has seemed, though, that the Hearts’ organization has embraced the idea. On multiple occasions, club officials have talked enthusiastically about using pro-rel to climb the USL ladder and gain entrance through promotion into higher divisions.

Ray Saari, Portland Hearts of Pine’s sporting director, called it an exciting development.

“It’s the way it should be, right?” Saari said. “It’s what everybody’s been screaming for, for 20-plus years, so (it’s) certainly exciting.”

Saari said pro-rel will be a consideration for his plans in constructing the club because part of his job is to build for the long-term future of the Hearts. That means finding players who are battle-tested with positive results and who will relish high-pressure end-of-season moments.

“You’re not just playing for yourself, but the chance to be promoted adds an extra pressure,” Saari said. “What is the mental profile of the player that we’re looking for? Is this player mature enough and have the emotional intelligence to work through pressure situations like that, is something that we think about.”

Saari said pro-rel also pertains to setting up player contracts that Portland wants for the long term.

“You’re starting to think about, ‘do you want the player’s contract to be through that 2029 year?’” he asked. “Do you want it to end right before? There’s a lot of strategy that goes into that, but certainly (it) is exciting.”

Despite any enthusiasm fans and some executives might have for pro-rel, there remain a host of unanswered questions about how it can work in the United States. Issues still needing to be addressed include stadium size (the higher the league’s level, the bigger the stadium is required to be) and the loss of revenue (relegated teams can face a reduction in TV broadcast revenue, sponsorship deals and ticket sales). Relegated clubs could also still be locked into player contracts that were negotiated for the higher league (the higher the league, the more a player is paid).

Another issue is the potential problem for owners/investors who spent big money to build stadiums and brands and don’t want to risk losing their entire investment because a team has a bad season.

Built around the slogan “United for Soccer,” the rebrand is a visual overhaul designed to align the USL’s marketing identity with its long-term sporting structure. By replacing a series of disconnected league logos with the new USL wordmark and matching marks for each league, the USL has woven its seven leagues, plus 2028 newcomer USL Premier, into a single, cohesive identity.

“We believe American soccer is stronger when more communities have clubs to call their own, more players have opportunities to advance and competition rewards performance on the field,” Paul McDonough, president and CEO of the USL, said in a statement. “United for Soccer reflects that belief and our commitment to working alongside our owners, players, fans, and stakeholders to grow the game together.”

Hearts coach Bobby Murphy called the news “exciting if it gets off the ground.”

As he is apt to do, Murphy then offered brilliant yet somewhat esoteric commentary: “What’s the old Billy the Kid movie, ‘Young Guns’? Yeah, many a slip twixt a cup and a lip. You know what I mean?”

No, we did not, but after an internet search, we learned that it’s an English proverb similar to the line, “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”

Murphy added, “I think if we can get it all together and the owners can decide on what that format looks like, I think it’ll be really exciting for fans. For teams like us in our situation this year, it (would make) the end of the season really important … because you have something to fight for.”

He then praised Hearts’ leaders for their work on pro-rel.

“I think the owners have been really prudent and smart in keeping their powder dry, waiting for this and really not jumping the gun, but building a club in terms of infrastructure and everything else that’s sustainable, that’s ready to make a push if and when that becomes the reality,” Murphy said.

For a deeper look at the USL rebrand, check out the video it released. And here is a link to the USL story about it.

Portland Hearts of Pine midfielder Mikey Lopez quickly endeared himself to fans in the club’s inaugural season. They loved his relentless work ethic and inspiring comeback story after overcoming career-threatening injuries, and then they watched as he made a genuine connection with Maine through his community service.

When Lopez announced his retirement Monday, fans and fellow players, both current and those from his 14-year career, made it clear how grateful they were to him. His Instagram page has been an outlet for the thanks and love people have for Lopez. The Hearts’ Beat covered the news of his retirement, and readers asked what more we could publish about it. So we turned our interview with Lopez into a Q&A because there’s so much more that he spoke about that we could not fit into a story.

We hope you enjoy this. We certainly enjoyed the privilege of speaking with him.

Editor’s note: This interview has been edited lightly for length and clarity.

Q: You have had some injury issues this season. Is this decision because of your knees?

A: Yeah, it’s a big reason, for sure. My body hasn’t been feeling the way that it should be, and it has been hindering me and my ability to play the way I want to play. It’s just frustrating. I think it’s just my body telling me that it’s time.

Q: Well, it’s nice that you get to make that decision yourself.

A: Yeah, exactly. I think that was a big thing for me, and why I try to play as much as I could after my Achilles. That was the determining factor, and that was my determination and my goal: to be able to come back from my Achilles and play and be able to go out on my own terms, and not have it be taken away from me for an injury. So, it’s bittersweet, because I’m able to call it time on my own, but it just sucks that it’s ending this way, with my body failing me at this point.

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Q: When you look back on 14 years as a professional, what’s the moment you’ll replay most often?

A: I think the draft is something that is always gonna be on my mind. But that first time stepping onto Yankee Stadium with New York, and the game last year, our first home game as a club against Naples in May, that’ll always play on my mind.

So it’s three big moments in my career that are big staples because of the nature of my career. The beginning, with the draft. New York, my first home game in New York. Even my debut was the first game of the season. That was like a restart of my career. And then here, because it’s the second restart of my career, after my big Achilles injury. So those are three moments that will always stick out for me.

Q: You first met Hearts coach Bobby Murphy at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Austin, Texas, when you were 13. What has it meant to you to finish your career playing for him?

A: Honestly, a dream come true. I didn’t think it would be possible, but I’m thankful that it is, because Bobby has always been another father figure for me. I love that guy so much, and to be able to be coached by him when I was young, and then again now as a professional and as a man, it means the world to me. To be able to finish my career with him here as my coach is the perfect ending for my playing career.

Q: After a year out with the two surgeries, you told your wife after a game here, “I forgot how fun this is.” What made Portland feel that way?

A: It’s just the people. Honestly, the people, the players, the intensity of the fans, the amount of support that they had for us. It just felt like a family, and I think that’s the biggest thing that, as a soccer player, you’re always searching for. You’re searching for a place where you feel like a family, where you feel like it’s a home, and I had found that here, again. It just makes things so much better and so much more fun.

After going through such a long year of 2024, of not playing and not being able to contribute in any way, and just seeing everything from afar, getting that taste and feeling back when I got here last year was just the best case of everything. It was just a culmination of everything. I was thankful that I was here, and like I said, it was really fun. Last year was extremely fun, so I’m thankful for that.

Q: You’ve been a club’s first captain twice, in Birmingham and here. What do you hope players say about the culture you helped build here in Portland?

A: I hope that people will say that this is a hard-working team, and it’s a humble team as well. It’s a team that doesn’t take anything for granted and will work their asses off every minute of every game, every single day of training. I just hope that I left that legacy that no matter where you’re from or what you come from, you gotta work hard every single day and make the best out of everything.

I’m sure that’ll continue, especially with having Bobby and the rest of the front office and staff. I’m sure they’ll do a great job with the future teams and future players, and I’m sure they’ll keep that culture going. But hopefully anybody that has seen me and played with me or played against me will have that same sentiment, that I was a hardworking person and I was a warrior every single day, and I fought and played for every game like it was my last. Hopefully that’ll stick around for years to come.

Q: Your first and only Hearts goal came in a comeback win over FC Naples back in July. Take me back through that moment.

A: It was a special moment, for many reasons. Obviously, getting that goal, first goal for my time here, after going so many years without scoring a goal, was a big burden off my shoulders. And also, so I wouldn’t have to hear Bobby say that he’s never seen me score a goal, so I got that monkey off my back as well.

That goal is special because it was also the last time my grandpa saw me play and score. He passed away, like, two days after. So it’s something that I’ll always remember and I’ll always think about, and it’s something that is extremely special, not just for the player side, but for the personal side as well. It was a special moment.

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to make more out of it for the season, but it was good, because it showed the fight that we have as a team. Things haven’t gone our way for most of this year.

Q: From North Carolina to Sporting KC and every stop since, which teammate or coach shaped you the most, and how did they do that?

A: People always ask me who are my favorite coaches, and I always had Bobby in there, even before I had him as a coach here. He was always one of the best coaches I’ve had. And the other coach would probably be... well, not probably, it’ll definitely be Patrick Vieira. He helped me a lot during my time in New York, and he put a lot of things in perspective as well. It’s funny hearing it from him, because he’s won everything and he’s such a legend of the game, but he reminded me that soccer’s supposed to be fun, and at the end of the day, it is a game. So we have to enjoy it. We have to enjoy our life as a player, but we have to enjoy our lives, just our lives, because soccer is just a game, and we gotta go do stuff to make that part better, you know? I learned a lot from him, and I think he’s one of the best coaches I’ve had, because he taught me a lot about on-the-field stuff. He’s up there for me.

The other one is Bobby, just because he’s an amazing person. I’ve learned so much from him growing up and now as a player. But I think the most important thing that I’ve learned from him is that he cares about us as people more so than just as players. I think that’s extremely important as a coach, because you have to understand your players as people and know what makes each person tick. His biggest attribute is that he really understands a lot of players, and he’s a great manager of people. I’ve learned a lot from Bobby.

Q: Patrick Vieira started you ahead of Frank Lampard in New York City FC’s 2016 playoff opener. You got to play with Andrea Pirlo (He also got to play with Spanish star David Villa but we forgot to mention him!) What’s it like to be 23 in a locker room with those guys, and on the pitch with those guys?

A: It was an amazing experience. They’re honestly even greater people than they are soccer players, which is really hard to imagine, because they are legends of the game, all three of them. They were just really great people. They spoke to all of us, and they gave us all good words of advice, and they helped us all a lot through navigating the media circus of being in New York. I would have never thought I would be playing with them, and it was just such a cool time.

It’s where I played some good soccer, and it’s where I enjoyed my life a lot more. Like I said in my video, it rejuvenated my career and my love for the game, and they played a big part in that. So it was an amazing experience. It was kind of a once in a lifetime experience, and I’m thankful that I was able to experience that and be able to say that I was able to play with legends of the game and being coached by another. It was cool. And then seeing where all of them are at now, it’s like, yeah, I played with that guy. He played with me, and he’s a coach of so-and-so team. A super cool thing to do.

Q: Your parents both came to the U.S. as children, and about two months ago you gave the keynote address at the Maine Immigration Forum, at a time when few pro athletes speak publicly on the issue. Why was it important to use your voice, and what do you hope people in Maine take from your family’s story?

A: I think it’s important for professional athletes to use their platform, because a lot of people don’t have the platforms that we have. We’re fortunate enough to do what we do and have a bigger platform than most, and we gotta shed light on things that happen to other people, and not that just happen to us personally. We can shed light on what’s going on in the world, on people that are going through things, and if people don’t hear them, at least they can hear us speaking about those things. So I think it’s important.

For me, I just wanted to share my story, share that I am like a lot of people that live in the States that are first-generation born Americans, that have families that are immigrants. I know my story is not unique, but I just want people to know that they can make it in whatever they want to do, that no dream is impossible, and that we are extremely fortunate that our parents did the things that they did for us, for us to have a better life. I hope that people in Maine and kids in Maine can see me as a success story and as a kid like them, and see the things that I’m doing, and see them as not impossible, and that everything is possible.

Q: You won the club’s first Lead With Your Heart Community Award. What part of your work off the field are you proudest of?

A: Everything that the club does is amazing. I just wanted to be a steward of that. I just wanted to immerse myself in the community, and the best way to do that is just being a part of it. Going to speak to kids in middle school and just showing them that their dreams aren’t impossible, again. I think that’s really cool.

I think the best way to buy into a club is through the community. If you can immerse yourself in the community, you have a better understanding, a better devotion or passion for the club and for the people that you’re trying to represent, and you have a better understanding of who you’re trying to represent. Being able to speak to the kids, and being able to just be around the people of Maine, you get a better understanding of what it means to be a Mainer and what it means to be a supporter of the Hearts of Pine, and I take that and I use that every single time I step onto the field.

The one memory I have from my time doing a lot of our community outreach things was talking to a little girl. I guess she’s little, but she was in middle school at the time, and she was telling me how she is Mexican-American as well, and she asked me, ‘what does it feel like being Mexican and not being close to your people? You’re kind of a fish out of water over here. How does that make you feel, and how do you navigate that?’ And I just told [her], ‘I am proud to be Mexican-American, and I’m proud to be somewhere where maybe there’s not a lot of us here, but we can show them what it is to be a Mexican-American, and have people understand our culture, our ways of thinking, and show them the best things about being a Mexican, and that sometimes things in media are not really portrayed like that.’

It was just nice being able to talk to her and speak about our shared experiences being here, her obviously living here more than I did. I think that was just such a cool thing, and it’s something that I’ll always remember during my time here with the Hearts and doing our community outreach stuff.

Q: What comes next for you, and what excites you most about it?

A: I think the exciting part is that I don’t know. I want to get into coaching, so I hope that’s the pathway that I want to go. So it’s just seeing where it takes me. It’d be amazing if I could get something here, but I don’t know if that’ll happen, so we’ll see. If it’s not here, then I gotta start looking elsewhere and see where I land. I think that’s the exciting part, is that it’s just, we’ll see what happens, and hopefully I can find something in coaching and start my coaching career. I hope not to move around so much, but if it happens, it happens. So we’ll see what happens, but that’s the goal.

Q: What do you hope fans feel at Fitzpatrick on Saturday, and what would you like to say to them?

A: Well, I hope that they enjoy the game. I hope that we can win one more time for them, because they stuck with us through thick and thin, and there’s been a lot of thin moments this year, and they never left us. They’ve always stuck with us, and so I hope that that’s the feeling we can have one more time together. I want them to know that I’m appreciative of everything that they’ve done for me, and for the team, and for the club, for always supporting us, and traveling every which way, every corner of this country, and always being there for us, and being passionate for the club, and for us, for me.

What I want to tell them is that I am extremely grateful and thankful for everything they’ve done. But I also wanna apologize for this year. It didn’t go the way that we all envisioned. It didn’t go the way I envisioned, personally. I wasn’t able to help out as much. I know that the team is extremely disappointed with how the season went, but I just want to personally apologize for how it went, that we weren’t able to bring them as much success as they wanted, and we weren’t able to achieve our goals that we wanted either.

So I just want to apologize to them for that. But as I said, I’m extremely grateful for them and thankful for them, because they’ve never left our side, and I’m looking forward to having one more game together, and hopefully I don’t cry! Hopefully they don’t cry, and I just hope that it’ll just be one fun party, one last party together. That’s how I envision Saturday, and hopefully it comes to fruition, but we’ll see.

Q: Results don’t always work out the way that we want them to. But you guys never stopped fighting. You personally, it was very clear, never stopped fighting. You gave everything you could.

A: Well, thank you. But I still feel that way. I appreciate your kind words, and hopefully everyone thinks that as well. But that’s part of the bittersweet part as well. It didn’t go the way we wanted it to go, and I feel terrible that we weren’t able to bring the success that we had last year, and the success that they deserve as well. It’s tough, but it’s part of the business, it’s part of soccer, and it’s part of the game. I’m sure everyone will learn from this, and hopefully we won’t have another season like this again. Silver linings, I guess.

Lopez will play his final match Saturday vs. the Charlotte Independence at Fitzpatrick Stadium.

There are so many interesting stories when it comes to the Portland Hearts of Pine. But it’s important to remember that there are 16 other clubs in USL League One, each with its own narrative that helps explain how the season has gone.

Every Tuesday, The Hearts’ Beat will pull together a roundup of the most intriguing stories from around the league. Some may have a connection to the Hearts; others will just be information readers should know.

So let’s take a look!

• With a week to spare, the Charlotte Independence clinched the Players’ Shield as the top team in USL1. Charlotte (20-5-6) shut out the Greenville Triumph by a 3-0 score.
  
  From the match report: Not only did Saturday signify club history, but men’s professional soccer history for the Queen City – the Independence become the first men’s professional soccer team since 1981 to win a trophy. With the victory, head coach Mike Jeffries has now won 65 USL League One matches, making him the winningest manager in league history.

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Earlier this month, Union Omaha (19-8-4) had taken over first place, but since then, Charlotte has stormed back. Meanwhile, Omaha has faltered, losing two straight to cede the title to the Independence. Charlotte now will play all of its playoff matches at home, where it has a sterling 14-1-1 record. Omaha has clinched second place.

• Charlotte won that match against Greenville on the foot of Souaibou Marou, who scored all three of the Independence’s goals. He now has 18 – giving him a two-goal lead in the Golden Boot race while also setting a new Charlotte Independence single-season record.

  

• Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the final weekend of the regular season is now the battle to host an opening-round playoff game. Four clubs are vying for third and fourth place, and all won last weekend’s matches. But only one of them - the Spokane Velocity - has two matches remaining.
  
  Home playoff matches are big deals beyond the home-field advantage they offer. Hosting a USL League One playoff match provides a vital financial lifeline for lower-division clubs, allowing them to keep crucial local revenue from spikes in ticket sales, concessions and merchandise while avoiding heavy postseason travel expenses.
  
  Here’s how the clubs’ seasons conclude:

  • Forward Madison FC host Omaha

  • Athletic Club Boise host Fort Wayne

  • One Knoxville SC play at New York Cosmos

  • Spokane Velocity play at New York Cosmos and at FC Naples
    

• The final race for the playoffs entails Fort Wayne attempting to hold off Naples. Fort Wayne has a five-point lead, but Naples has two matches remaining (at Sarasota, home vs. Spokane). As shown above, Fort Wayne finishes at Boise.
  
  Naples has been charging hard with four wins in its last five matches, but the hot streak might be a little too late.
  
  Midfielder Kevin O’Connor said: “We are going into games expecting again rather than hoping. We have worked hard, and the rewards are coming.”

• USL1 released its weekly power rankings. Portland dropped a spot to 15th.
  
  Here’s the blurb for the Hearts: Best wishes to Mikey Lopez as he announces his retirement from professional soccer. A great ambassador for the sport, and he’ll continue to make an impact from here.

• USL1 has also published an interesting story about former Omaha coach Dominic Casciato finding success in the USL Championship.
  
  Read more here: Having previously led Union Omaha to USL League One Players’ Shield titles in both the 2023 and 2024 seasons, the 39-year-old became the first Head Coach in the USL’s modern era to lead clubs to regular season crowns in both leagues.

  Thanks for reading The Hearts' Beat! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Mikey Lopez has won championships, shared the pitch with such all-time luminaries as Andrea Pirlo and Frank Lampard, and most recently, helped bring soccer to the hearts of Portland fans everywhere.

Today, Lopez, 33, announced he is retiring after 14 years of professional soccer following the Portland Hearts of Pine’s final match of the season on Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium.

“My body hasn’t been feeling the way that it should be, and it’s kind of been hindering me and my ability to play the way I want to play,” Lopez said in a Zoom call with The Hearts’ Beat. “It’s just frustrating. I think it’s just my body telling me that it’s time.”

Lopez helped the University of North Carolina win a national championship as a freshman in 2011. Sporting Kansas City selected him 14th overall in the first round of the 2013 MLS SuperDraft. Lopez played for three seasons in Kansas City before moving to New York City FC for two more seasons. He then continued his career with San Antonio FC and Birmingham Legion FC before eventually joining the Hearts in Portland’s inaugural season in 2025.

The road to Portland wasn’t an easy one. Lopez missed the entire 2024 season with Birmingham after a pair of surgeries on his Achilles tendon before his return earned him 2025 USL League One Comeback Player of the Year honors. This year, he also battled a knee injury that caused him to miss time.

He finishes his career with 12 goals in 285 appearances, taking the pitch in MLS, the higher-level USL Championship and USL League One, where Portland competes. Beyond taking home the college title, he also won an MLS Cup and a U.S. Open Cup with Sporting KC. During a career that enabled him to play with Pirlo and Lampard (including starting a playoff match over Lampard), he was coached by former French national team star Patrick Vieira.

But to truly understand Lopez’s soccer journey, one has to go back to seventh grade when he attended St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Austin, Texas, which was one of four full-time soccer academies in the United States. That’s where he first met Bobby Murphy, the then-director of the soccer academy and future Hearts coach, who two decades later would bring Lopez to play for Portland.

Asked what it means to come full circle, Lopez replied, “Honestly, a dream come true. I didn’t think it would be possible, but I’m super thankful that it is, because Bobby has always been another father figure for me.

“I love that guy so much and to be able to be coached by him when I was young, and then again now as a professional and as a man, it means the world to me, and to be able to finish my career with him here as my coach is the perfect ending for my playing career.”

Lopez made a career out of being a stalwart at defensive midfield. He wasn’t flashy, he didn’t score lots of goals, but he locked down the middle of the field while often providing the glue that kept teams together.

The only goal he scored with the Hearts was a dramatic stoppage-time winner in the 90’+1’ to complete a 3-2 comeback victory against FC Naples on July 3. Lopez joked that Murphy could no longer tease him about having never seen him score in person before.

“But that goal is special because it was also the last time my grandpa saw me play and score,” Lopez said. “He passed away two days after, so it’s something that I’ll always remember, and I’ll always think about.”

Twice, Lopez was chosen to be the captain of new teams just starting out in a league, first in 2019 for Birmingham Legion in the USL Championship, and then last season with Portland.

“I just hope that I left a legacy that no matter where you’re from … that you gotta work hard every single day and make the best out of everything,” Lopez said.

In addition to his role on the field and in the clubhouse, Lopez always wanted to work with the local community. Last year, he was honored with the first-ever Lead With Your Heart Community Award.

“I just wanted to immerse myself in the community, and the best way to do that is just being a part of it, going to speak to kids in middle school, and showing them that their dreams aren’t impossible,” Lopez said. “I think that’s really cool, and I think the best way to be able to buy into a club is through the community. So if you can, if you can immerse yourself in the community, you have a better understanding, a better devotion or passion for the club, and for the people that you’re trying to represent.”

Last month, Lopez served as the keynote speaker at the annual Maine Immigration Forum. It took him outside of his normal comfort zone, and while he claimed to be nervous, he never showed it.

“I think it's important for professional athletes to use their platform because a lot of people don't have the platforms that we have,” Lopez said. “We can shed light on what’s going on in the world, on people that are going through things.”

For now, Lopez wants to play in the final match of his career, but he already has some ideas for the future.

“I want to get into coaching,” Lopez said. “So it’s just kind of seeing where it takes me. It’d be amazing if I could get something here, but I don’t know if that’ll happen. If it’s not here, then I gotta start looking elsewhere, and see where I land.”

Do you hear that, athletic directors of Maine? If you’re in need of a soccer coach, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone else here in Maine who is more passionate about soccer, more knowledgeable about the game, while also bringing the background of a player who has shared the field with the world’s best.

Lastly, Lopez was asked what he hopes for in that last match at Fitzy (Portland has been eliminated from playoff contention).

“I hope that we can win one more time for them, because they stuck with us through thick and thin, and there’s been a lot of thin moments this year, and they’ve never once left us, they’ve always stuck with us,” Lopez said. “I hope that that’s the feeling we can have one more time together.

“I want them to know that I’m super appreciative of everything that they’ve done for me, and for the team, and for the club, for always supporting us, and traveling every which way, every corner of this country, and always being there for us, and being super passionate, for the club, and for us.”