The 2026 season hasn't been kind to Portland Hearts of Pine, who sit seven points below the playoff line with 13 games to go.
Weather and injuries defined the preseason; then long-term injuries to Masashi Wada and Titus Washington hit, and several other key players struggled to stay healthy.
Hearts have dropped 15 points from a winning position, many in odd ways.
The road loss against Corpus Cristi came after reliable goalkeeper Hunter Morse mishandled a corner kick in stoppage time.
The Greenville Triumph game had a pair of anomalies. A momentum changer occurred when the referee awarded a corner kick in the 85th minute because Morse held the ball longer than eight seconds. But Morse had been impeded, which should've led to a Hearts free kick. To make matters worse, the Professional Referee Organization released a video explaining this exact infraction on the Friday before the game.
While Greenville didn't score on the play, the home side found renewed energy and ultimately equalized in stoppage time after the referee whistled for a handball that might not have earned attention on a different night. Azaad Liadi scored the free kick to complete the two-goal comeback.
The opening goal in Saturday's home loss to Corpus Cristi came from an innocuous corner kick.
Regardless of the past, Hearts know they must stay together if they want to make a push for the playoffs.
"There are two sides to the coin as I see it," head coach Bobby Murphy told The Blazing Musket. "Yeah, we haven't done enough, but we've also given up some freak goals in really weird ways that you just shake your head, like, 'Us again?'
"I think there's only one way out of that situation, and that's sticking together. That's really simplifying things and rolling up your sleeves and doing everything you can to prevent those other moments and do a little more to create a few more [positive moments]."
Murphy noted that the final stretch is about "really focusing on identity and who we want to be."
The team has added two reinforcements: fullback Eiji Hata and striker Felipe Rodriguez Gentile.
Hata was with Houston Dynamo 2 before transferring to Hearts. Murphy had his eye on the Seattle University product since winter and reopened conversations when he added Diego Gonzalez on loan.
Although right-footed, Hata can play both outside back positions, which helps as Jaden Jones-Riley has faced setbacks in returning from an ACL injury and Josh Drack underwent a scan on Friday to diagnose his injury.
Rodriguez Gentile was most recently on loan from Preston North End in the English Championship to AFC Fylde in the English National League North.
The 19-year-old excelled in the FA Youth Cup, breaking out during the 2022-23 season as the tournament's second-highest scorer (7). He helped Flyde win promotion by collecting seven goals and five assists in 18 games.
"He's really good off the back shoulder, running in behind and stretching people, which is something we've lacked with Titus being gone," Murphy said. "I think that's where he'll give us something.
"If you watch the highlights, he's not afraid to mix it up. He's not afraid to go against bigger center backs. He lived in Liverpool for the last six years. He's got a little bit of Scouser in him. He's not afraid to wind people up and take a foul and kind of smile and laugh."
Both players are available to play this Sunday against Forward Madison.
Murphy didn't rule out more additions, noting there could be another No. 9. While Friday's training featured two trialists, the head coach wants to make sure they're maximizing the current roster.
"Let's just batten down the hatches and let's find solutions internally, which I think we can," Murphy said. "Lagos [Kunga] is finally coming around fit, so that's like a new signing as well that we've got to find time and minutes for."
A busy schedule, including three friendlies, has been another hurdle Hearts have had to navigate. The trip to Sarasota included a six-hour delay that saw the team get in at 8 pm, setting up a 10 pm dinner.
"Then you have to get up and go the next day," Murphy said. "It takes a toll."
Having just completed their first full week of training in a month, Hearts are ready to navigate the road ahead, which starts with a red-hot Forward Madison coming to Fitzpatrick Stadium before a midweek trip to One Knoxville.
It's not an easy path to forge, but Hearts are ready for the fight.
"The first thing we have to do is be honest," Murphy said. "You can't sugarcoat things and say, 'It will all be okay.'
"We have to choose to go the other way with it, and just everybody commit to pulling the rope in the same direction to get out of it."
