Portland Hearts of Pine's Nathan Messer and Head Coach Bobby Murphy Named as Finalists for 2025 USL League One Awards
USL1 Portland Hearts of Pine

Portland Hearts of Pine's Nathan Messer and Head Coach Bobby Murphy Named as Finalists for 2025 USL League One Awards

Published on November 7, 2025 under United Soccer League One (USL1)
Portland Hearts of Pine News Release


PORTLAND, Maine - The USL League One announced today its finalists for the 2025 League One Awards, recognizing the top players and coaches from this year's regular season. Portland Hearts of Pine earned two nominations, with Nathan Messer named a finalist for Defender of the Year and Head Coach Bobby Murphy nominated for Coach of the Year following a stellar inaugural campaign.

Nathan Messer emerged as one of the league's breakout performers, anchoring the Hearts of Pine back line while contributing decisively in attack. The 24-year-old fullback recorded six goals and four assists and had 119 clearances, 29 interceptions, and 32 tackles won at a 78% success rate. Messer's +5.31 Goals Added mark ranked third among all fullbacks in League One.

Head Coach Bobby Murphy guided Portland to the playoffs in its first year of competition, leading one of the league's most entertaining attack-oriented sides. Under Murphy's leadership, Hearts of Pine ranked third in League One with 48 goals, posted a +9.84 Expected Goal Differential in the regular season, and notched memorable victories over USL Championship opposition like Hartford Athletic (U.S. Open Cup) and Detroit City FC and Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (USL Jägermeister Cup).

Hearts of Pine will feature in this weekend's USL League One Playoff Semifinals, as No. 7 seed Portland visits No. 3 seed Spokane Velocity FC on Sunday, Nov. 9 at 9 p.m. ET (ESPN+).

Winners of the 2025 USL League One Awards will be announced next week:

Goalkeeper of the Year / Defender of the Year: Tuesday, November 11

Coach of the Year: Wednesday, November 12

Young Player of the Year: Thursday, November 13

Player of the Year: Friday, November 14

The 2025 USL League One Awards were voted on by team management following the conclusion of the regular season.

For more information, visit uslleagueone.com.

Check out the Portland Hearts of Pine Statistics

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United Soccer League One Stories from November 7, 2025


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