PORTLAND, Maine — The Hearts of Pine’s long season is coming to a close, and the club is asking fans to choose their player of the year.
“The regular season is nearing its end, and it’s time for you, the fans, to help select your 2026 player of the year,” the club stated. “The winning player will be honored during the end of year team award ceremony thanks to your input.”
Fans must submit their vote by noon EDT on Thursday.
Despite a down season, there are a multitude of excellent choices. Options include:
Midfielder Diego González leads Portland in goals scored with 9 in 19 games and is tied for the seventh-most in USL League One. He has been one of the league’s top goal scorers since joining this season, including this miraculous tally.
Goalkeeper Hunter Morse has more saves (106) this season than any player in USL1. He has been a stalwart, making incredible saves and being the one reliable Hearts player at keeping the ball out of the net, despite a leaky defense that has given up the third-most goals in the league.
Midfielder Ollie Wright leads the team in goal contributions (6 goals and 7 assists). The charismatic whirling dervish may be the most beloved player on the club, and he won the club’s first Supporters Player of the Year award in 2025. His season ended early when he suffered a knee injury on Sept. 19 but not before scoring goals like this.
Midfielder Jay Tee Kamara plays the most attractive style of any Portland player and is known for his dynamic dribbling that slices artfully through a series of defenders. He is fourth on the team in goals (4) and second in assists (6).
Midfielder Matteo Kidd has been a steadying influence in the center of the field and has teamed nicely late in the season with fellow midfielder Michel Poon-Angeron. He has also been a strong leader off the pitch while scoring clutch goals.
Forward Aboubacar Camara is second on the team with 8 USL1 goals and has shown the ability to deliver lethal strikes from a variety of spots in and out of the box. It’s been a heckuva season for a player who joined on a performance-based contract out of Penn State.
You could make arguments for Poon-Angeron and midfielder Konstantinos Georgallides too, depending on what mattered most to you this season.
From the perspective of The Hearts’ Beat, it comes down to González and Morse. One joined one-third of the way through the season and brought an offensive spark, and the other manned the goal and saved the Hearts time and again.
Our choice? We will go with Morse because he was the most consistently reliable player on the pitch, keeping the Hearts in matches, oftentimes spectacularly. But let’s be honest, there’s not a wrong selection!
Who is your choice? Make sure to place your vote here!
