{"id":1973,"date":"2026-06-04T23:36:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T23:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1973"},"modified":"2026-06-04T23:36:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T23:36:00","slug":"portland-hearts-of-pine-to-add-a-womens-soccer-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1973","title":{"rendered":"Portland Hearts of Pine to add a women\u2019s soccer team"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

The Portland Hearts of Pine, Maine\u2019s USL men\u2019s soccer club, will soon add a women\u2019s team. <\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Orioles\u2019 six-run first inning against Brayan Bello sinks Red Sox in series finale at Fenway<\/a><\/p>\n

The Hearts of Pine announced Thursday the club has secured the rights to a USL W League team that will kick off its inaugural season in May 2027. The men\u2019s side has developed a cult following since its first season in 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHaving a women\u2019s team has been part of the plan since Day One,\u201d Gabe Hoffman-Johnson, Hearts of Pine\u2019s founder and chief community officer, said in a release. \u201cThis is about creating new ways for Mainers to connect with the sport, new pathways for players to develop, and more opportunities for women and girls across the state to see themselves represented on the pitch.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The USL W League is a pre-professional league designed to bridge the gap between youth, college, and professional soccer, giving high-level collegiate players meaningful summer competition while maintaining their NCAA eligibility. The USL W League season runs from May through July, and the club expects the women\u2019s team to play approximately six home games next season.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Portland team, for which a name and branding have not been announced, will join the Northeast Division alongside fellow New England-area clubs AC Connecticut, Hartford Athletic, Hudson Valley Crusaders, Vermont Green FC, and New England Mutiny.<\/span><\/p>\n

The club held a series of town halls in March of this year to gauge interest and gather community input about bringing a USL W League team to Portland.<\/span><\/p>\n

Feedback from the meetings indicated that supporters favor a strong connection to the Hearts of Pine identity, while also giving the women\u2019s team \u201ca distinct voice, culture, and sense of purpose.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Trump says Pulte won\u2019t be his nominee for director of national intelligence<\/a><\/p>\n

The team will play at Fitzpatrick Stadium, where the Hearts of Pine play their home matches, pending Portland City Council approval of an amendment to the club\u2019s lease agreement.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHearts of Pine has shown what\u2019s possible when a club is built with a deep commitment to its community, and we\u2019re confident it will bring that same purpose and intention to the launch of its women\u2019s team,\u201d said Joel Nash, the senior vice president of USL Youth and Pre-Professional.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Hearts of Pine compete in USL League One, a professional league in the third tier of American soccer organized by the United Soccer League. The league draws about 3,000 fans per game, but sellouts are the norm in Portland. Nearly 6,000 fans pack the stands each week, and the 4,000-plus season tickets for the inaugural season sold out. <\/span><\/p>\n

The match-day experience for the women\u2019s side will reflect the festival-style environment that the Hearts have made their signature, featuring local partners and vendors and a welcoming supporter base. Season ticket deposits for the team\u2019s inaugural season will go on sale June 11 at 12 p.m. at tickets.uslwmaine.com. <\/span><\/p>\n

Interest in women\u2019s sports has surged across the country in recent years, and Maine is no exception, despite not being home to any women\u2019s professional teams. In March, The Sports Bra, a popular sports bar dedicated to showing women\u2019s sports, announced it will open a location in Portland to be called The Sports Bra Maine (to avoid confusion with the original location in Portland, Ore.).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe launch of a USL W League team builds on the incredible momentum around soccer in our state and creates a new platform for women and girls to lead and compete,\u201d Maine\u2019s governor, Janet Mills, said in the release. \u201cHearts of Pine has brought Maine people together in a powerful way, and I am excited to see that same energy help grow the women\u2019s game here in Maine.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more R.I. House unanimously passes bill to make crash data public record<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Hearts of Pine have secured the rights to a USL W League team that will kick off its inaugural season in May 2027.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"\nPortland Hearts of Pine to add a women\u2019s soccer team - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1973\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Portland Hearts of Pine to add a women\u2019s soccer team - Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Hearts of Pine have secured the rights to a USL W League team that will kick off its inaugural season in May 2027.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1973\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-04T23:36:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=1973#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=1973\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"headline\":\"Portland Hearts of Pine to add a women\u2019s soccer team\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-04T23:36:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=1973\"},\"wordCount\":665,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=1973#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/d0328dfc9ee0471e06743e5665347fc9.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=1973#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=1973\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=1973\",\"name\":\"Portland Hearts of Pine to add a women\u2019s soccer team - Boston Relocation Insider\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=1973#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=1973#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/d0328dfc9ee0471e06743e5665347fc9.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-04T23:36:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=1973#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=1973\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=1973#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/d0328dfc9ee0471e06743e5665347fc9.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/d0328dfc9ee0471e06743e5665347fc9.avif\",\"width\":1440,\"height\":1013},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=1973#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Portland Hearts of Pine to add a women\u2019s soccer team\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Boston Relocation Insider\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Portland Hearts of Pine to add a women\u2019s soccer team - Boston Relocation Insider","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1973","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Portland Hearts of Pine to add a women\u2019s soccer team - Boston Relocation Insider","og_description":"The Hearts of Pine have secured the rights to a USL W League team that will kick off its inaugural season in May 2027.","og_url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1973","og_site_name":"Boston Relocation Insider","article_published_time":"2026-06-04T23:36:00+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1973#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1973"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e"},"headline":"Portland Hearts of Pine to add a women\u2019s soccer team","datePublished":"2026-06-04T23:36:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1973"},"wordCount":665,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1973#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/d0328dfc9ee0471e06743e5665347fc9.avif","articleSection":["Sport"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1973#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1973","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1973","name":"Portland Hearts of Pine to add a women\u2019s soccer team - Boston Relocation Insider","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1973#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1973#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/d0328dfc9ee0471e06743e5665347fc9.avif","datePublished":"2026-06-04T23:36:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1973#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1973"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1973#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/d0328dfc9ee0471e06743e5665347fc9.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/d0328dfc9ee0471e06743e5665347fc9.avif","width":1440,"height":1013},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1973#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Portland Hearts of Pine to add a women\u2019s soccer team"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/","name":"Boston Relocation Insider","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com"],"url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1973"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1973\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}