Portland Hearts of Pine's 3-0 road loss to Fort Wayne on May 6 led to some soul-searching, according to head coach Bobby Murphy.

Hearts held 55% of possession and created two more big chances than their opponent, but three unanswered goals in 16 minutes left them with zero points.

"I took this job because it's not like any other job in the league," Murphy explained after Hearts' 2-1 win over Rhode Island FC in the Pinx Tires USL Cup on May 16. "There's a responsibility that comes with putting on the shirt and wearing the badge and representing this community and the people that travel to support us and that come out every week.

"To act as we did, which to me, in a lot of ways, was all the things that we don't want to be – I'm not going to describe them – is the antithesis of what we aspire to be.

"I'm not going to make excuses, but you've got to decide. If you want to be part of this club, then there's a responsibility that comes with it. You have to live up to that responsibility."

Murphy sensed a disconnect within the group, which is almost evenly split between returning and new players. While the locker room is full of "really good guys," they hadn't fully jelled.

"I think they acknowledged themselves, they didn't feel like a family yet," Murphy said. "Last year, you could tell there was a real family atmosphere to it. I think part of that was because it was all new and nobody knew each other, so you had to stick around.

"Now you've got guys who have been here a year, who have a life. We had new guys come in late and injuries. So that culture took a little while."

Recognizing the disconnect was part of the solution. Another part was karaoke.

The busy schedule meant that Hearts traveled from Indiana to Nebraska as part of a two-game road trip. Upon arriving in the Cornhusker State, the players were given a night off to go out to dinner, but it came with a strict order to head to a private karaoke room afterward.

Everyone – including the coaching staff – had to sing.

Murphy and his daughter went with "Can You Kick It?" by A Tribe Called Quest. Hunter Morse belted out Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up." Kemali Green, Michel Poon-Angeron, and Jay Tee Kamara sang Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds," which Green joked was almost ruined by Aboubacar Camara.

While Morse praised Ollie Wright and Josh Drack's rendition of Justin Bieber's "Baby," the night's clear winner was goalkeeper coach Yuta Nomura, who sang PSY's "Gangnam Style" in Korean.

"It was unbelievable," Murphy reviewed.

While fun, the night also had a lesson.

"When someone tripped over the lyrics, the rest of the group started singing," Murphy said. "That's sort of the nature of what you have to do to succeed in a team sport."

Days later, Hearts scored two first-half goals against Omaha. While they ultimately drew 2-2, it felt like a step in the right direction.

One week later, Hearts scored twice in 27 minutes in a home game against RIFC. A set-piece goal in the 61st minute cut the lead in half, but Hearts held on to earn the win.

"We needed a result, we needed to stick together, we needed to suffer, to come through it," Murphy said. "It's been a rough couple of weeks for the group after what happened in Fort Wayne."

He later added, "I knew it was going to take some time for this group with the injuries and late arrivals and that sort of stuff. It's taken a little longer than I hoped, but we're hopefully turning the corner."

A road draw and a home certainly feel like positive moments for the second-year club.

"I think you saw in Omaha them congratulating each other on plays," Murphy said. "I think you saw it today. I think this is a closer group than it was two weeks ago."