Ollie Wright Hat Trick Powers Hearts to Incredible Come-From-Behind Win over Omaha

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USL1 Portland Hearts of Pine

Ollie Wright Hat Trick Powers Hearts to Incredible Come-From-Behind Win over Omaha

June 15, 2025 - United Soccer League One (USL1)
Portland Hearts of Pine News Release


PORTLAND, Maine - Union Omaha came into the match against Portland Hearts of Pine as USL League One's defending champions, but the biggest star on the night turned out to be Hearts left winger Ollie Wright, who scored the first hat trick in Portland history to power the hosts to a stunning 3-1 victory in front of a sold-out Fitzpatrick Stadium.

Omaha was the stronger team in the first half, taking 10 shots to Portland's one and creating both of the half's big chances. In the 37th minute, Charlie Ostrem won a 50:50 ball and picked out Dion Acoff making a run behind the Hearts defense; Acoff coolly slotted his shot past Hunter Morse, and Omaha took a 1-0 lead that they then carried into halftime.

At that point Hearts were reeling, and the crowd of 5,703 Portland fans were stunned.

"You could hear a pin drop," said head coach Bobby Murphy.

Throughout most of Portland's inaugural season, Wright had tantalized and teased his way down the left sideline, but had never put together the breakout performance of which he seemed capable.

But in the second half, with Hearts needing a jolt of energy to get them back into the match, the Londoner put the team on his shoulders and landed blow after blow against a stunned Omaha side.

In the 48th minute, Nathan Messer found Wright in the Omaha penalty area-but near the touchline and with two players between him and the Omaha goal, Wright had some work to do. Wright pulled the ball onto his left foot, leaving one Omaha defender sitting on the ground, and moved towards the touch line. Omaha goalkeeper Cole Jensen lunged out a leg to stop Wright's shot, but the winger lifted the ball over him and inside the far post.

Wright struck again in the 73rd minute when Michel Poon-Angeron picked him out in stride running behind the Omaha defense. Wright collected the long ball, cut back inside onto his right foot, and once again fired the ball inside Omaha's far post.

With the crowd on its feet celebrating the stunning turn of events, Wright proved he had one more trick up his sleeve-and his third and final goal wasn't just one for the history books, it was one that belongs in an art gallery.

In the 80th minute, Wright received the ball wide on the left touchline, with Omaha midfielder Laurence Wootton bearing down on him. Within a fraction of a second Wootton was behind him, lunging desperately for a handful of his jersey to slow him down, as Wright nutmegged him and began sprinting towards the penalty area. While still a yard outside the penalty area, with Brandon Knapp trying to close down his shooting angle, Wright moved to his right and unleashed a curling long-range shot that-you guessed it-snuck inside Omaha's far post.

Wright peeled off his jersey in celebration, cupped his ears to fire the crowd up even further, and was mobbed by his teammates at the corner flag; meanwhile somewhere in Bristol, Conn., ESPN producers were adding Wright's name to the shortlist for an upcoming edition of SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays.

Omaha tried valiantly to come back as the match crossed the 90-minute mark, but Morse proved more than up to the task at the other end of the pitch. Ryen Jiba sent a diving header goalward in the first minute of stoppage time, but Morse punched the ball into safety and Portland ultimately held on for an unforgettable 3-1 come-from-behind win.

Up next: Portland Hearts of Pine will be spending the next two weekends on the road,

beginning with a cross-country road trip to face AV Alta FC in Lancaster, Calif., on June 21. The match will kick off at 11:00 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN+.

Bobby Murphy had this to say about the match, "We were talking about how we needed somebody to step up, and I think Ollie did fantastic. The goals were great, but his running against the ball was the best it's been all year. I'm really proud of him. What we're here to do is pick up points and make this place a fortress. There's a reciprocal relationship between a team and its supporters, right? Against Knoxville we gave up a goal early, and what happens? The whole crowd stands up and gives us a lift. Tonight we had to give them a lift. For the first time, you could hear a pin drop in that first half. There was some apprehension, and you could feel it in the crowd."

GOALS

POR - O. Wright (48' - Messer), O. Wright (73' - Poon-Angeron), O. Wright (80' - unassisted)

OMA - Dion Acoff (37' - Ostrem)

DISCIPLINE

YC - Anderson Holt (OMA 25'), Lopez (POR 50'), Schneider (OMA 57'), Vinberg (POR 58'), Liadi (POR 68'), Portland bench (68'), O. Wright (POR 80')

RC - NONE

LINEUPS

PORTLAND HEARTS OF PINE - Hunter Morse, Nathan Messer (Mo Mohamed 77'), Sean Vinberg, Kemali Green, Colby Quiñones, Michel Poon-Angeron, Mikey Lopez ©, Masashi Wada (Mickey Reilly 86'), Ollie Wright (Walter Varela 86'), Azaad Liadi, JayTee Kamara (Titus Washington 74')

UNUSED SUBSTITUTES - Kash Oladapo, Shandon Wright, Jake Keegan

UNION OMAHA - Cole Jensen, Max Schneider ©, Anderson Holt (Ryen Jiba 81'), Brent Kallman, Charlie Ostrem, Dion Acoff, Isidro Martinez (Mark Bronnik 87'), Brandon Knapp, Sergio Ors Navarro (Joe Gallardo 46'), Laurence Wootton (Prosper Kasim 81'), Patricio Botello Faz

UNUSED SUBSTITUTES - Rashid Nuhu, Josh Ramsey

Check out the Portland Hearts of Pine Statistics



United Soccer League One Stories from June 15, 2025


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