Hearts of Pine to play another Open Cup game in Lewiston
Mar. 21—The Portland Hearts of Pine accomplished a bunch of firsts on Thursday at Lewiston High.
On Friday, the Maine men's professional soccer team learned it's headed back to its welcoming home-away-from-home for the second round of the 110th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
United States Soccer announced Friday that the Hearts of Pine, coming off a definitive win in front of an estimated 3,200 fans at Lewiston High, will host a second-round game against USL Championship foe Hartford Athletic FC, on April 2 at 6:30 p.m.
General admission tickets are $17 and on sale through the team's website.
"We're proud and excited to have won our first game, and I thought the players reacted really well to their first competitive match," said head coach Bobby Murphy. "The fan support was tremendous and really gave our players a lift, and we look forward to seeing everyone at Lewiston again."
Portland advanced in the 110th edition of the Open Cup by beating Boston amateur squad CD Faialense, 4-0. It was the franchise's first official game, first game in the Open Cup, first game in Maine, and first win.
Hartford should provide a stiffer challenge. The two teams did meet in a closed door preseason scrimmage. With Hartford playing its second unit, comprised mostly of academy and practice players, Portland won, 4-0. Hartford had played a preseason game against New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer the day before.
Hartford won its Cup opener with relative ease, beating New York Shockers, 3-0, on Tuesday.
Portland's depth and conditioning will be tested. The Open Cup game will be the middle test of three matches in eight days. Portland will play its first USL League One game (and first road game) on March 29 at Naples (Florida) FC. After the Open Cup game, the club will travel across the country to Spokane, Washington, to face league foe Spokane Velocity.
YOUTH IS SERVED
Lewiston's Khalid Hersi made his professional soccer debut Thursday night on the same field he starred on at Lewiston High. Hersi, 20, entered the game as a midfielder in the 79th minutes with the score 4-0.
"I've preached to everyone, patience with him, because it's going to be a long journey. He's never been through this before. He's never had to train this hard or play this hard every day," said Murphy. "He's got ability and it's going to be a long journey for him but we had the opportunity to get him on and I think to be able to play in front of your family and your hometown, it's pretty special. I'm glad it was able to happen for him."
Hersi is the youngest player on a youthful Hearts squad. Of the current 23 players on the roster, 14 are aged 25 and under, including 10 in the 20-23 age range. Defender Sean Vinberg, 30, and forward Walter Verala, who turned 29 on game day, were the only starters on Thursday older than 26. The starting 11's average age was 25.3, and the overall roster average is under 25 even with the recent addition of 34-year-old forward Jake Keegan.
One of the Hearts' younger players, defender Colby Quinones, 21, is currently on assignment with Puerto Rico's national team.
LIADI SHOWS SCORING TOUCH
Azaad Liadi, who is with Portland on a season-long loan from Lexington SC, scored the Hearts' second and third goals against CD Faialense.
Lexington SC advanced from USL League One to USL Championship this year.
Portland is Liadi's seventh pro stop since he signed with FC Tucson of USL League One in 2020. He's played in USL Championship and a brief stint in the MLS, scoring nine goals in 2021 for South Georgia Tormento (USLL1) and 12 in 2023 for Huntsville City FC (MLS Next Pro).
PROMOTION-RELEGATION COMING TO USL?
On Wednesday, USL announced it will implement a promotion-relegation system. Advancing to higher-level leagues based on performance is a staple of soccer worldwide but has not been used in the United States. It also means franchises that struggle on the pitch move down.
When the pro-rel actually begins has not been determined.
"The concept was approved," USL senior vice president of expansion Steven Short told the Press Herald a few hours after the announcement. "There's not a specific year."
USL had previously announced it plans to launch a top-tier, or Division One, league to rival MLS by 2027-28. USL League One is Division Three. USL Championship is the only current Division Two league. Look for promotion-relegation to begin once the USL has leagues at all three divisions.
AMATEUR TEAM SUCCESS
With one first-round game remaining to be played, here's the amateur vs. pro tally from the 31 other Open Cup first round games. Six amateur teams beat pro teams. Three pro wins came in extra time (i.e., overtime) plus two more with winning goals in stoppage time. Two pro teams advanced via penalty kicks.
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