Saturday afternoon's USL1 matchup between Portland Hearts of Pine and Greenville Triumph SC at Fitzpatrick Stadium featured two squads who were both looking to find their footing following uneven starts to their league campaigns.

Portland, who have struggled to return to their top form following their incredible inaugural season, were riding the momentum of a cup-set victory over regional rivals Rhode Island FC of the USL Championship, while Greenville looked to recover from a four-game losing skid in all competitions.

Portland was without numerous key contributors, including striker Titus Washington and midfielders Matteo Kidd and Mikey Lopez. Their starting lineup included multiple changes from the aforementioned cup victory, with rookie (and recent Bowdoin) Tyler Huck getting the starting nod alongside Aboubacar Camara. Greenville's starting XI included striker Azaad Liadi, who netted 6 goals in 18 appearances for the Hearts in 2025. Liadi became the first former Hearts player to visit Fitzpatrick Stadium as an opponent and received a warm welcome from the Portland crowd.

In the first half, the pattern of play was somewhat disjointed, with neither team really finding a rhythm. Both squads struggled to string passes together, only managing 74% and 69% pass completion for Portland and Greenvile, respectively. The first big chance came in the seventh minute, when Camara played a through ball into the path of Tyler Huck's overlapping run. The rookie managed to get a decent shot away from 10 yards out, but his effort was too close to Greenville goalkeeper Amal Knight who pushed the ball away for a Portland corner.

Camara and Huck continued to combine for the hosts, with the pair pressing Greenville's back line. In the 16th minute, Camara forced a turnover in the attacking third, with Huck running onto the ball and towards Greenville's back line. Center back Evan Lee fouled Huck inches from the 18-yard box, nearly conceding a costly penalty. The ensuing free kick nearly put the Hearts 1-0 up, but Josh Drack's effort clanged off the crossbar.

The visitor's best scoring chance came in the dying seconds of the opening half. Following a free kick from midfielder Connor Evans, the ball arrived at the feet of Evan Lee following a drop from Portland goalie Hunter Morse. His attempt was blocked but fell to winger Devin Boyce on the rebound. Boyce's effort flew over the crossbar, much to the relief of the Hearts' defense. Azaad Liadi then nearly made his mark on the match with a winding run on the counter, but was brought down by Hearts midfielder Diogo Barbosa, earning the veteran a yellow card.

The rhythm of the game remained unchanged in the second half, with managers Bobby Murphy and Dave Dixon trying to turn the screws and get a sought-after breakthrough. After twenty minutes of back-and-forth and occasionally disjointed action, Greenville found the opening goal of the match. A long ball from Greenville midfielder Chapa Herrera found the feet of striker Rodrigo Robles on the left flank. Robles took the ball down with a deft tough, then fired the ball past Hunter Morse on the half-volley for his third goal of the campaign.

Greenville looked poised to take home their first win since March 29th, but the Hearts were intent on getting back in the game. The hosts found parity in the 76th minute, when a curling effort from Kemali Green was cleared off the line by the left hand of Greenville fullback Anthony Patti. With the handball incident being a clear denial of a goal, Patti was sent off and the Hearts were awarded a penalty kick. Ollie Wright stepped up to the spot and calmly slotted the ball into the side netting, setting up a grandstand finish to the match as Greenville needed to see out the final fifteen minutes down to ten men.

A game that formerly lack rhythm now sprang to life, with the Fitzpatrick faithful trying their hardest to push the Hearts onward to a winning goal. The match was suddenly a wide open affair. In the 85th minute, Zion Scarlett nearly got on the end of a Michel Poon-Angeron long ball, but Knight made a crucial tackle against the breakaway ten yards outside his box. Despite their best efforts, Portland was unable to find a winning goal, and the final whistle meant a fifth draw of the season for the hosts, the most in USL1 and a trend that Bobby Murphy and his squad will surely want to correct.

The Hearts will enjoy the comforts of Fort Fitzy yet again next weekend when they welcome Spokane Velocity FC on Saturday May 30 their first matchup against the Pacific Northwest outfit since Spokane knocked them out of the USL1 playoffs last November.