Portland Hearts of Pine Secure Playoff Berth In First Season
“To be able to go out and do it with a couple of games left in the season, for an expansion club is a huge accomplishment.”
Portland Hearts of Pine will be playing post-season soccer.
The first-year club secured a spot in the USL League One playoffs on Saturday when they recorded a 2-2 draw with Westchester SC.
Hearts, wearing their Blaze jersey, got on the scoresheet just after halftime when Jake Keegan drew a penalty by getting on the end of a long ball from Ollie Wright. Wright’s Penenka gave the home side a 1-0 lead.
Westchester fought back, equalizing through Golden Boot leader JC Obregón in the 72nd minute. The striker timed his run well to get his 16th tally of the season.
The deadlock lasted just three minutes as Masashi Wada pushed the ball over the line during an in-box scrum. It was a heads-up play by the Japanese midfielder.
Obregón struck again in the 90th minute—increasing his output to 17 tallies—on a free-kick that will be a Goal of the Week contender. The game ended with both teams getting a point.
But the storyline of the night was that Hearts now have plans in November.
“I told the guys before the game that we had a chance tonight to accomplish something that a lot of people hoped would happen, and we knew would happen,” head coach Bobby Murphy said. “To be able to go out and do it with a couple of games left in the season, for an expansion club, is a huge accomplishment.”
Hearts have two home games left, welcoming Spokane Velocity on Tuesday before AV Alta comes to Fitzpatrick Stadium on Saturday.
With a game in hand over the three teams ahead of them, the seventh-placed Hearts could still host a first-round game.
“I think we made the playoffs, but we’ve got to win as much as we can,” Wada said. “Hopefully, we can make top four, and then we can play the first game of the playoffs here.”
Regardless of what happens, Hearts have done a lot both on and off the field this year. The future looks promising for a club that means so much to the state of Maine.
“I think this group deserves a lot of credit,” Murphy said. “I keep saying it, but I think it requires perspective that a year ago I wasn’t even hired, and in January it was cold and we were in the bubble and at the first practice I wasn’t sure who all was still going to be here.
“I’m really proud of what we’ve done, I’m proud of the whole club, not only everyone on the field, but all the people who pull this stuff together. I’m glad we were able to reward them with a playoff in the first year.”