As Maine's first and only professional men's soccer club wraps up its inaugural season, the founder of Portland's Hearts of Pine says he's now exploring the addition of a women's pre-professional soccer team to the franchise.
Gabe Hoffman-Johnson says a women's team has long been part of the mission of Hearts of Pine and is a natural evolution.
One of the things he's enjoyed most this first season "is this aspirational element of what this club can do for young kids around Maine, and to have real professional players playing in their backyard," said Hoffman-Johnson. "To be able to provide that same opportunity for boys and girls is pretty special."
Hoffman-Johnson says the pre-professional summer league would be predominantly for collegiate players, and that he's in early conversations with the USL W league and the City of Portland. The soonest the women's team would take the field is the 2027 season.
