For the last few weeks, I’ve written about League One like it’s a nine-horse race for eight playoff spots. That’s no longer the case. A marathon schedule has a funny way of equalizing things out, and it’s allowed Corpus Christi to get back into the hunt while assumed contenders like Antelope Valley, Fort Wayne, and Chattanooga have dragged. At this point, it would only be surprising if there were no more surprises in store for 2026.
Which clubs stood out in Week 23, and what should we take away from the action? Let’s dig in.
Portland’s long-term vision (and short-term frustration)
Portland Hearts of Pine are the paradox of the 2026 season. On one hand, there’s the stadium project that the club announced this week, which will result in a $50 million facility that could seat as many as 11,000 fans. It’s one of the biggest moves a club in League One has ever made, solidifying hearts as a model organization – one with vast potential within the USL’s pro-rel future. Then, there’s the on-field piece. Hearts have been the biggest disappointment of the 2026 season in USL League One, and that letdown only deepened in Week 23.
Start with the positive. Hearts led League One with a record attendance average above 5,800 in their expansion campaign last year, and they’re up to a full-capacity mark of 6,200 in 2026. Portland’s season ticket waitlist is thousands of names long; from the moment they first kicked a ball at Fitzpatrick Stadium, the club had outgrown their venue.
From their picture-perfect branding and community-first ethos to their active marketing efforts and slew of local partnerships, Portland has done everything right since kicking off in the USL. You can quibble with their competitive showings this year, but anyone who’s taken in a Hearts game and rubbed shoulders with the Dirigo Union supporters is sure to come away pleased with the experience. There’s nary a club in the USL – or, frankly, anywhere else in the United States – that can match the environment in Maine.
In every sense, Portland has been a model expansion effort, and building a stadium of the club’s own is the natural next step. Depending on the makeup of the future USL Premier, a club like Portland (and their peers in Boise) could and should have a genuine claim on a first-division spot. If long-term sustainability is the goal, Hearts have laid out a blueprint for making it happen.
Unfortunately, that blueprint is missing the “fielding a halfway decent soccer team in the year 2026” section. This weekend, Hearts welcomed Corpus Christi FC to the northeast and were summarily played off the pitch. Portland lost 2-0, allowing 2.3 xG and generating just one shot on target on the way to said defeat.
Blake Bowen is in the right place at the right time to put @CorpusCFC ahead! 🦈 pic.twitter.com/A0CYsfC7j1
— USL League One (@USLLeagueOne) August 9, 2026
The same problems that have become familiar throughout a five-match winless run – lacking presence in the midfield, bad central defensive play, inefficient offense – were all hallmarks of Saturday’s performance. Portland’s game-losing concession in the 19th minute was a clear case in point. There, Hearts didn’t have the proper structure to win a second ball and quickly allowed play to carve through their left channel. Diogo Barbosa didn’t put in a tackle from the No. 6 spot, left back Josh Drack was caught flat-footed, and neither Kemali Green nor Brecc Evans had any sense of positioning in central defense. The result was a simple rebound goal for Corpus Christi.
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On the ball, meanwhile, Portland turned 130 final-third passes into just 0.5 expected goals. The midfield patterns that began to look effective last weekend against Greenville were nowhere to be found against a physical, man-centric opponent, and manager Bobby Murphy didn’t have an answer. Now, Portland remains seven points away from Chattanooga in the #8 seed – and that’s despite having played two more games than the Red Wolves.
