PORTLAND — Two struggling clubs come together Saturday night at Fitzpatrick Stadium with both hoping to win the match and start a late season playoff push.
Portland Hearts of Pine has not won in seven matches, drawing three times and losing four since its last USL League One victory. Its opponent, Fort Wayne FC, has lost four straight and six of its last seven. Both squads currently sit outside of the playoff table: Portland has 23 points and Fort Wayne has 27, while eighth place AV Alta FC has 33 points. It’s also important to note that Portland has played 22 games so far this season while Fort Wayne has only played 20.
Fort Wayne shut out the Hearts 3-0 on May 6 at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium in Indiana. It was Fort Wayne’s first victory in its brand new stadium. Forward Lilian Ricol notched his first professional brace as he headlined the victory with his club netting all three goals in the second half.
Fortunately for Portland, it won’t have to worry about Ricol, who was transferred on August 14 to San Antonio FC, which plays in the higher-level USL Championship division. Fort Wayne said it was for a near-record transfer fee, although that amount was not provided by the club.
Without the ultra-fast Ricol, who was clocked earlier this year at 24.8 miles per hour, Fort Wayne has been shut out twice and only scored a single goal in the two other matches during its current four-game skid.
Here’s what to know going into the rematch:
Portland played its inaugural USL1 season in 2025 and recorded an exciting first campaign that ended with a surprising run to the semifinals before losing to eventual champion One Knoxville FC.
Fort Wayne was initially founded in 2019 and had planned to play in the National Premier Soccer League but then covid led to the season being canceled. In 2021, the club joined the lower level USL League Two and proceeded to dominate years 2023-25.
Fort Wayne made the move to USL1 for the current campaign and looked to be having a similar first season as the Hearts early on with a seven-game unbeaten streak (three wins and four draws, including the 3-0 victory over Portland). The playoffs seemed a certainty. But the proverbial wheels fell off, leading to Fort Wayne’s current 10th place position.
It will be interesting to see what style Fort Wayne plays against Portland. In that first match, Fort Wayne employed more of a counterattacking strategy that led to both of Ricol’s goals, including the match’s first tally.
But generally, Fort Wayne has focused on possessing the ball, which makes these teams first matchup more intriguing, because Portland outpossessed Fort Wayne 55 percent to 45 percent.
In an interview earlier this year, Fort Wayne manager Mike Avery described his club’s style, saying, “We’ve really built an identity over the last four or five years as a team that values possession and technically is very clean, and we keep the ball very well... I think it’s going to be a fun team to watch, how we move the ball and how we circulate the ball.”
It’s clear Fort Wayne still desires to play with that style. Two weeks ago, in its most recent game, Fort Wayne managed to possess the ball 69 percent to Chattanooga Red Wolves’ total of 31 percent. (Incidentally, Fort Wayne had a week off because South Georgia Tormenta FC dropped out of the league back in February after schedules had already been set.)
The question now is, without Ricol to attack with his speed, how will Avery draw it up Saturday night?
Another important query is: Can Portland defend in the air better?
The Hearts are tied for second worst in the USL1 for conceding goals off set pieces with 10 goals allowed. Fort Wayne is eighth in the league, having scored seven goals from set pieces this season. Additionally, Fort Wayne wins more than 52 percent of aerial duels while Portland comes in just at 48 percent.
In that match against Chattanooga, which was its first without Ricol, Fort Wayne scored first off of a Ryan Becher volley before eventually going on to lose 2-1.
If Portland is going to win this game, the Hearts will need one of their better games in the air.
Game info: Portland hosts Fort Wayne at 7 p.m. Saturday at Fitzpatrick Field. The match can also be viewed live on ESPN+.