Hearts Have Two Goals Waved Off, Held to Draw on Road in Madison
May 24, 2025 - United Soccer League One (USL1)
Portland Hearts of Pine News Release
PORTLAND, Maine - Perhaps this result was inevitable: Portland Hearts of Pine (1-1-5) and Forward Madison FC (1-1-6), who combined are responsible for half of all USL League One drawn matches in 2025, finished level at 1-1 on Saturday night.
But the story of the night was less the goals that were displayed on the scoreboard and more the ones that weren't, as the difference between the two sides came down to two Hearts goals that were judged to be offside, erasing potential debut league scores for rookies Titus Washington and Mickey Reilly.
Madison took an early 1-0 lead after Derek Gebhard was knocked to the ground in the penalty area in the seventh minute, leading referee Amin Hadzic to point to the spot. Devin Boyce stepped up and sent Hunter Morse the wrong way, drilling his penalty home into the open bottom left corner of the goal.
Portland thought it had tied the match in the 26th minute when Ollie Wright sent the ball over the top to Washington, who knocked it past Wallis Lapsley and into the Madison goal. Hearts' celebration was short-lived though, as the assistant referee raised his flag to indicate Washington had started his run a step too early.
Nathan Messer took the decision out of the officials' hands entirely in the 35th minute, blasting through a crowd from the top of the penalty area and into the back of the net. Messer's goal capped an outstanding series that saw multiple Portland attackers link up, and was set up when Wright rolled a perfectly weighted pass into his path.
In the 53rd minute, Mickey Reilly thought he had given Hearts the lead with a beautifully placed shot, only for his shot to also be waved off for offside.
Reilly was energetic all evening for Hearts, and came close to teeing Washington up in the 58th minute when he broke free down the right and threaded the ball towards the six-yard box, but Washington failed to connect and the ball rolled to safety.
UP NEXT - Portland Hearts of Pine's second outing in the USL Jägermeister Cup sees the Mainers host USL Championship side Detroit City FC. The match will kick off at 5:00 p.m. ET at Fitzpatrick Stadium, and will air live on NESN+ and ESPN+.
GOALS
POR - Nathan Messer 35' (Ollie Wright)
MAD - Devin Boyce 7'
DISCIPLINE
YC - Damià Viader (MAD 38'), MIkey Lopez (POR 41'), Walter Varela (POR 45+3'), Christopher Garcia (67'), Michel Poon-Angeron (POR 69'), JayTee Kamara (POR 72'), Sean Vinberg (POR 76'), Ollie Wright (POR 90+3')
RC - NONE
LINEUPS
PORTLAND HEARTS OF PINE - Hunter Morse, Nathan Messer, Sean Vinberg, Shandon Wright, Mikey Lopez (Mo Mohamed 46'), Patrick Langlois © (Michel Poon-Angeron 11'), Masashi Wada, Mickey Reilly (JayTee Kamara 62'), Ollie Wright, Titus Washington (Azaad Liadi 62'), Walter Varela (Natty James 80')
Unused Substitutes - Kash Oladapo, Jake Keegan
FORWARD MADISON FC - Wallis Lapsley, Jake Crull, Timmy Mehl, Damià Viader (Juan Galindrez 56'), José Carrera-García (Jackson Dietrich 85'), John Murphy Jr., Ferrety Sousa, Nico Brown (Christopher Garcia 56'), Devin Boyce (Lucca Dourado 85'), Derek Gebhard (Nazeem Bartman 68')
Unused Substitutes - Owen Finnerty, Riley Binns, Adrien Graffin,
United Soccer League One Stories from May 24, 2025
- Forward Madison FC Draw 1-1 in First Match Against Portland Hearts of Pine - Forward Madison FC
- Forward Madison FC Draw 1-1 Against Portland Hearts of Pine - Forward Madison FC
- Tormenta FC Comes up Short in 2-1 Versus Chattanooga - South Georgia Tormenta FC
- Hearts Have Two Goals Waved Off, Held to Draw on Road in Madison - Portland Hearts of Pine
- Westchester Soccer Club Hosts Richmond Kickers FC in Third Match of Six Match Homestand - Westchester SC
- Alfredo Midence Recalled to Lexington SC - Charlotte Independence
- Match Forecast: Tormenta FC vs. Chattanooga Red Wolves - South Georgia Tormenta FC
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