The Portland Hearts of Pine will cross U.S. Soccer third-division lines this summer to play an exhibition game against Connecticut United FC of MLS NextPro on Aug. 5 at Fitzpatrick Stadium.

MLS Next Pro and USL League One, which includes Portland, are both considered third-tier professional leagues in the U.S. Soccer pyramid. Most MLS Next Pro teams are affiliates of an MLS team. MLS is the only first-division U.S. league. Connecticut United FC is a first-year independent team, one of three independent teams in the 30-team MLS NextPro.

The Hearts of Pine also announced two other exhibition games (“friendlies” in soccer parlance) on Thursday. The other game at Fitzpatrick will be against fellow USL League One opponent Sarasota Paradise on July 26. That game was originally scheduled as a regular-season league contest. The regular-season game has been shifted to Sept. 26 at Fitzpatrick. In addition, Portland and Sarasota will play a second friendly in Florida on July 29. The clubs are dubbing the in-season exhibitions the Snowbird Derby.

The Hearts of Pine and other USL1 clubs had to scramble to fill their home schedule when the league announced on Feb. 23 it was disbanding South Georgia Tormenta FC. An original league member in 2019, South Georgia had not funded the players’ workman’s compensation fund and lacked financial stability. The announcement came a month after the players had gathered in the Statesboro, Georgia, area and barely two weeks before their scheduled season opener.

South Georgia had been consistently successful on the field. It won the League One title in 2022 and finished sixth last season, one spot ahead of Portland. But attendance lagged and a stadium opened in 2022 is yet to be fully completed. Last season Tormenta’s average home attendance was 678.

Portland (1-0 in USL1) is back in action at 10:30 p.m. Saturday (ESPN+) at fellow second-year club AV Alta FC in Lancaster, California. In 2025, AV Alta beat Portland 2-0 in California and earned a 2-2 tie at Fitzpatrick in the final regular-season game.

The Hearts are coming off a 1-0 loss on Tuesday in the U.S. Open Cup at USL2 squad Vermont Green. Portland put one shot on frame in the game while Portland goalie Hunter Morse made five saves. Even the Hearts of Pine’s own social media team suggested the club gave a sub-par performance, stating on Instagram, “when the effort isn’t there, Mainers are the first to own it, get back up, and go again.”