History
On September 7, 2023, the United Soccer League announced that the city of Portland, Maine, had been awarded a USL League One expansion team which would start play in the 2025 season. Gabe Hoffman-Johnson, a former soccer player at Dartmouth College and a standout at nearby Falmouth High School, was announced as the club founder, with the ownership group including local real-estate developers Jonathan and Catherine Culley and NESN broadcaster Tom Caron, a native of Lewiston, Maine. [2]
On April 22, 2024, Kevin Schohl, a former vice president at DraftKings and former executive with AMB Sports and Entertainment, the owner of Major League Soccer club Atlanta United FC, was hired as president and chief business officer. [3]
On September 19, 2024, the team announced that a League One-record 96% of its season ticket deposits had been purchased. [4]
The club named St. Louis City 2 coach Bobby Murphy the team's inaugural head coach and sporting director on November 14, 2024. [5] The club's first player, Trinidadian midfielder Michel Poon-Angeron, was signed on December 17, 2024. [6] The club signed Maine native and Lewiston High School alumnus Khalid Hersi on January 8, 2025. [7]
The club played its first ever competitive match, a 4–0 victory over CD Faialense of the Bay State Soccer League in the U.S. Open Cup, on March 20, 2025. [8] The club's first ever goal was scored in the 18th minute by Walter Varela. [8] The match was played at Lewiston High School due to ongoing renovations at Fitzpatrick Stadium. The team's first league match was a 0–0 draw on the road against FC Naples on March 29, 2025. [9]
Club crest and colors
The club's Hearts of Pine nickname and crest were unveiled on April 27, 2024. [10] [11] The crest features a pine tree, waves, and a heart inside of the starburst featured on the Seal of Maine. [12] The font for "Portland" was inspired by the Portland Company building on Portland's waterfront, and the scroll bearing "Hearts of Pine" is a nod to Maine's literary tradition. [13] [14]
The inaugural home jersey was unveiled on November 21, 2024, during a sold-out event at the State Theatre in Portland attended by Maine Governor Janet Mills. [15] [16] The inaugural home jersey, dubbed the "Woods and Water Kit," features forest green and navy blue hoops with red accents on the collar and sleeve cuffs. [17]
The club's inaugural road jersey, nicknamed the "Bandit Kit," was released on February 11, 2025. The kit is white with red hearts in a polka dot pattern, and has navy blue sleeve and collar cuffs. [18]
The club released two goalkeeper kits for its inaugural season: a red primary keeper with a brick motif, nicknamed the "Brick Wall Kit", and a blue secondary keeper kit, designed to look like the Welcome to Maine signs at the state's borders, called the "Welcome to Maine Kit." [19]
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