In a rematch of the USL League One opener for both sides, Portland Hearts of Pine came out in their orange Blaze kits with New York Cosmos firmly in their sights from the opening touch.
Portland wasted no time testing Cosmos keeper Tristan Stephani, with midfielders JayTee Kamara and Ollie Wright consistently linking up to create chances. Kamara forced an early save, but just minutes later, in the 10th minute, Portland broke through.
Defender Brecc Evans found Wright, who quickly played the ball to Kamara on the right flank. Driving into the 18-yard box, Kamara unleashed a left-footed strike that found the upper right corner, beyond Stephani’s reach.
The pressure did not let up.
In the 19th minute, Mikey Lopez headed the ball forward to Kamara, who returned the favor by springing Wright on a run. As Wright broke through, Cosmos defender William Noecker took him down, but with no foul called, Wright quickly rolled back to his feet as play continued. He then calmly lifted a shot over the advancing Stephani who had come off his line, to double Portland’s lead.
Portland nearly added another in the 29th minute. A shot from Emiliano Terzaghi was deflected, and Kamara’s follow-up appeared to strike the hand of Davey Mason inside the box, but no call was given. Moments later, Terzaghi was taken down in the area, only for the play to be ruled offside.
The second half brought more of the same. Just four minutes after the restart, Terzaghi disrupted a Cosmos possession and pushed the ball to Kamara, who delivered a long pass upfield to Wright in a one-on-one situation. Wright created space with a quick stop inside the box and fired across goal into the far corner, making it 3–0 and securing his second of the night.
While Portland’s attack was sharp, the defensive effort matched it stride for stride. The Cosmos struggled to generate meaningful chances for much of the match, finding little rhythm in the final third against a well-organized Hearts back line.
New York finally broke through in the 80th minute.
A cross from William Noecker found Jordan Chavez, whose header was saved by Portland keeper Hunter Morse. However, Morse couldn’t control the rebound, and Sebastian Guenzatti was there to finish, spoiling the clean sheet.
The 3–1 result matched its previous meeting between these sides and marked a significant offensive surge for Portland, who had scored just four goals through its first six league matches. Hearts of Pine now head on a Midwest road swing, with a Wednesday matchup against Fort Wayne FC followed by a visit to Union Omaha on Saturday.
