Portland Hearts of Pine Fall to Rhode Island FC in U.S. Open Cup
Portland Hearts of Pine’s run in the U.S. Open Cup came to an end on Tuesday night as Maine’s soccer club suffered a 2-1 defeat against Rhode Island FC.
Portland Hearts of Pine’s run in the U.S. Open Cup came to an end on Tuesday night as Maine’s soccer club suffered a 2-1 defeat against Rhode Island FC.
The Hearts trotted out a first-choice starting XI with Hunter Morse returning between the sticks after getting a weekend off. The goalkeeper was behind a backline that featured Nathan Messer and Jaden Jones-Riley on the flanks while Sean Vinberg and Kemali Green were the center back duo.
In the midfield, Ollie Wright and Walter Varela were on the wings while Michel Poon-Angeron and Mikey Lopez were the men in the middle. Masashi Wada and Titus Washington were the striker duo up front.
Rhode Island trotted out a strong starting XI while giving some key players a break. Jackson Lee took over in goal with club captain Koke Vegas getting the night off. The backup goalkeeper was behind a backline that featured the center back trio of Karifa Yao, Frank Nodarse, and Grant Stoneman. Clay Holstad and Aldair Sanchez played as wing backs while Zachary Herivaux and Taimu Okiyoshi played as defensive midfielders.
Further up the pitch were Joe Brito and Amos Shapiro-Thompson, with J.J. Williams the lone striker option. Jojea Kwizera, Maxi Rodriguez, and Noah Fuson started the match on the bench.
The match got off to a slow start with both teams adjusting to the pitch and also exchanging fouls. Lopez was the first player to enter the books with a tackle from behind, earning him a yellow card.
After previously going down hampered with an injury early in the match, Jones-Riley was forced to come off just over 10 minutes into the match, with Patrick Langlois replacing him.
Wright forced Lee to make a diving save off a 30-yard free kick with a well-placed and powerful shot in the 30th minute. The Hearts were unable to take advantage of the ensuing corner as Wright’s ball went across goal and out of bounds.
Rhode Island found the back of the net first as Holstad buried a cross courtesy of Shapiro-Thompson in the 34th minute. While Morse got a touch on Holstad’s shot, he was unable to keep the ball out of the net.
The Amber and Blue would convert shortly after as a mistimed header fell to Nodarse in the box and the defender calmly slotted it home. A cupset was already going to be difficult but overcoming a 2-0 deficit only made the feat more improbable.
Wright and Wada were the star players for Portland in the first half. The duo was able to create chances and added some venom to the Hearts of Pine attack.
RIFC made its first change in the 57th minute as Rodriguez replaced Herivaux in the midfield.
Portland attempted to crawl back but struggled to create and take advantage of quality chances. That changed in the 65th minute when Titus Washington snuck a near-post shot past Lee to cut the deficit to one.
Shortly after the goal, RIFC made another change, replacing Williams with Noah Fuson. Portland made a change in the 70th minute, with Evan Southern and Nathanial James replacing Wright and Varela.
Messer nearly drew the match even with a curling free kick but it sailed over the bar but tested Lee. After the goal, Portland was energized and received a further boost in the 78th minute as Yao picked up his second yellow card and was sent off. But the advantage was shortlived as Lopez received his second yellow card and was sent off in the 87th minute.
In the sixth minute of extra time, some set-piece brilliance nearly leveled the score. Southern played the ball short to James who curled a shot towards goal that forced Lee to fully extend and knocked the shot wide.
Portland deserves credit for putting up a strong fight, but now that the Hearts of Pine are out of the tournament, the focus will return to USL League One and Jägermeister Cup play.