This story will be updated with quotes and reactions from tonight’s event.
PORTLAND, Maine — The city’s newest soccer team finally has a name. Say hello to the Maine Wildness.
After months of anticipation, the Portland Hearts of Pine unveiled the name of its new women’s team Thursday evening as part of a VIP brand launch event held at Live at Madrid’s.
Earlier this year, town hall feedback showed supporters wanted the women’s team to have its own voice, culture and sense of purpose while continuing a strong link to the Hearts of Pine identity.
The women’s team will play six home matches starting next May in the USL W League. The Wildness, which up until now had been known as USLW Maine, will host matches for its first two seasons at Fitzpatrick Stadium before moving into a new home that the Hearts intend to build at Cassidy Point for both the women’s and men’s teams.
The USL W is a preprofessional league primarily made up of college-age players. Players are not paid.
The branding event capped off an exciting day for Maine soccer. Gov. Janet Mills declared Thursday as the second-ever Maine Day of Soccer. The announcement harkened back to April 2024 when she similarly honored the Hearts of Pine for the first-ever Maine Day of Soccer as the club was announcing the name and brand identity of the men’s team.
The creation of the new team is one more piece of evidence displaying the explosive growth in women's sports.
Nielsen, the media research firm best known for TV ratings, reports that “women’s sports have hit the mainstream, with record ratings, sold-out arenas and fans engaging across every platform.” Additionally, it found that Americans watched 28.3 billion minutes of women’s sports in the first half of 2026, up 18% over the same stretch of 2025, while 52% of Americans say they are interested in women’s sports.