PORTLAND, Maine – The importance that soccer legend Michelle Akers will bring to Maine soccer goes beyond simply advising the new women’s team starting next year.
That’s because girls across the state will see women playing competitive sports while the team itself is being advised by one of the greatest players in the history of soccer (and yes, that includes men, Akers was indeed that good).
Portland announced on Tuesday that Akers was joining the club as a founding advisor for the Maine women’s team. Akers will help shape “the team’s foundation, its sporting identity, culture, and long-term vision,” the club said in a news release. Fans will get their first chance to see Akers as a member of the club during Thursday’s Heartsapalooza, which is a community-focused soccer fan festival held at Thompson’s Point.
“I believe we have an opportunity to set a new precedent for women’s soccer,” Akers said in the news release.
Experts in sports sociology, psychology, and public health agree that visibility and representation are critical to keeping young girls active. Research from the Women’s Sports Foundation shows that during middle childhood, typically ages 6 to 10, boys and girls show comparable levels of interest in sports. But by age 14, girls drop out at twice the rate of boys, largely because of social expectations, a lack of investment in girls’ programs, and a shortage of visible role models.
A 2024 survey of girls ages 10 to 17 in England found that two-thirds credited seeing successful female athletes with boosting their own confidence, and 55% said watching women compete made them feel like they could do anything. The same survey found 66% of girls linked their own interest in sports directly to the influence of female athletes they’d seen play.
Heidi Parker, an associate professor of Sport Management and Associate Dean of the School of Business at the University of Southern Maine who researches gender issues in women’s sports and consumer behavior, said that when she was growing up, girls who played sports had few options but to look up to male athletes.
“As women’s sports has become more visible on TV, talking about it on Sports Center, girls can now look at this and see there’s an avenue to be an athlete professionally, there’s an avenue to work in sports, and there’s an avenue to be a fan of sports,” Parker said. “Having a women’s team is hugely important as girls can see women in these roles.”
Parker said bringing in Akers brings even more credibility to the Portland Hearts of Pine club, calling her an “iconic founder of soccer” in the United States.
“It shows a commitment to not only put a good team on the field, but it’s building a good culture,” Parker said. “And it says something about Portland too, that (Akers) wants to invest her time in it.”
The new soccer team, whose name has not yet been revealed, will play in the USL W League, which is a pre-professional sports league, meaning it is designed to prepare athletes for a professional career while maintaining their amateur status. It functions as a bridge between the youth and college levels and the fully paid professional ranks.
Maine’s new women’s team has been a hot ticket since the team was announced June 4. Season ticket deposits went on sale a week later and all 5,000 sold out in an hour.
During a 2019 interview with PBS, Akers said, “Winning that World Cup allowed us to put a foot in the door in the world of soccer... It just cemented in the value of women’s sports, women’s athletics in the corporate world, in media, and the desire to be connected to women’s athletes and female sports.”
Jesse McDonough, the head coach of the Waynflete varsity girls soccer team, recalled seeing Akers at a Hearts event a year ago while watching Club Founder and Chief Community Officer Gabe Hoffman-Johnson climb into a dunk tank.
“I look over and have a double take – she is literally there watching and laughing, and I was like, wait a second, I know this person!” McDonough said. “I remember at this moment thinking, ‘I wish some of my girls were here to see her.’”
McDonough, who has led the Waynflete girls for three years and has eight years of coaching experience total, including stints at Deering and Yarmouth, knows well how important it is for girls to see women represented in sports. He has been getting some members of the team to attend the Maine Footy (a pre-professional women’s soccer club based in Portland) with the goal of helping girls see role models on the pitch.
“One of my players didn’t see herself as a Division III college player, and now she does,” McDonough said. “If there could be the same level of excitement around the women’s team, as there seems to be, it could change things entirely. It would also be great to see it start more at the elementary age and then slowly translate up to the high school age group.”
Akers initially learned about the club through social media and built a connection with Hoffman-Johnson, the Hearts said.
Akers was a precedent setter of her own as she won two World Cup titles, an Olympic gold medal, a place in the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame, and in 2000 was named as FIFA’s Player of the Century. Her 1991 season is considered one of the greatest years in soccer history when she scored 39 international goals in only 26 games while scoring both goals in the 2-1 final victory over Norway.
“Michelle has never been someone who simply participated in the growth of the women’s game. She helped define what was possible,” Hoffman-Johnson said in the news release. “That kind of vision, courage and competitiveness is exactly what we want around this club as we build something new. To have her helping shape the foundation of our women’s team is a huge moment for Hearts and for soccer in Maine.”
McDonough said that Akers brings such a level of excellence that it can only help girls see the possibility of what they can do in the sport. Additionally, McDonough is pleased that his two young sons get to witness women succeeding in sports.
“I am excited for them to see that women’s sports are just as important,” McDonough said. “It’s one of the reasons I take pride in coaching a girls team. It’s great for the boys to see that too.”
Heartsapalooza starts at 4:45 p.m. on Thursday. Tickets are free. Mini soccer pitches will be set up for kids and adults to kick a ball around. Contemporary folk and Americana singer Connor Garvey will perform, while Maine Needs will be collecting donated items. Maine Needs collects everyday basic essentials to help individuals and families across the state who are facing financial hardship, domestic violence, or homelessness.
For those who have never seen Akers play, or just want to see her play again, take a look:
Great to see the interest in Women’s Sports in Portland!