Hearts of Pine ousted from USL Cup despite winning in penalty kicks
Joshua Drack of the Portland Hearts of Pine leads the celebration after the Hearts beat the New York Cosmos in penalty kicks in a USL Cup match Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland. (Daryn Slover/Staff Photographer)
Mo Mohamed, left, Esteban Espinosa, center, and Brecc Evans acknowledge the crowd after the Portland Hearts of Pine beat the New York Cosmos in penalty kicks in a USL Cup match Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland. (Daryn Slover/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
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PORTLAND — Their slim hopes for USL Cup survival had been dashed. But the Portland Hearts of Pine still gave themselves and their fans something to celebrate.
Diego Gonzalez scored the tying goal late in regulation and then got the winner in penalty kicks, keeper Kash Oladapo stopped a pair of shots in the tiebreaker, and the Hearts defeated the New York Cosmos in their final USL Cup group stage match Saturday night at Fitzpatrick Stadium.
After finishing regulation tied 1-1, thanks to Gonzalez’s goal in the 80th minute, the Hearts prevailed 4-2 in penalty kicks, with Josh Drack, Diogo Barbosa, Tyler Huck and Gonzalez netting the goals.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy game. It’s a Cup game, my first time playing it,” said Gonzalez, who entered the game midway through the second half. “I didn’t know we were going to PKs at the end of the game. But it was a good feeling to score the winner.”
The USL Cup pits USL League One teams, like the Hearts, against teams from the next tier up in the USL Championship. Saturday’s game was Portland’s last of the group stage before the knockout round. The path for Hearts to advance was razor thin, as they needed to score at least four goals and get help from other teams.
Coach Bobby Murphy looked at the positives of pulling out the victory, Portland’s third straight after four losses in a row.
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“I heard there was some way we could get through, but it would take the moons aligning or something,” he said. “The big thing was to keep winning. … Get in the habit of doing it, get in the habit of grinding out results.”
Oladapo stopped New York’s first penalty kick, then made another save in the fourth round, putting Gonzalez in position to clinch the victory.
“It’s kind of just belief in yourself,” he said. “Those two guys were doing those stutter-steps, so it’s kind of just waiting for the last moment, and just dive. (I) got a good jump on those two.”
Gonzalez calmly put his shot inside the right post.
“I felt good. It’s not the first time that I’ve shot a PK or a game-winner like that,” he said. “But it felt good to do it in front of the fans and make them celebrate and go home happy.”
Until late in regulation, the Hearts appeared headed for a frustrating night. Portland dominated possession in the first half and outchanced the Cosmos but put nothing past keeper Tristan Stephani.
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In the 15th minute, Ollie Wright got free on a breakaway, but Stephani raced out to cut off the angle. In the 25th minute, Michael Poon-Angeron’s header off a Konstantinos Georgallides corner kick sailed inches wide of the left post. And in the 40th minute, Wright and Lewiston’s Khalid Hersi were denied by Stephani, with the keeper making a leaping save of Hersi’s arcing shot.
In the 60th minute, the Cosmos took the lead when Chevone Marsh scored on a two-man rush.
Gonzalez, though, turned the tide. Eleven minutes after subbing in, he intercepted a Cosmos pass in the New York end, maneuvered around a pair of defenders and finished with his left foot to tie the game.
“When I was on the bench, (I said) when I come in, I’m going to try to make a difference,” he said.
Murphy said Gonzalez’s play off the bench showed the high level of skill he brings.
“He’s a good player. I think you see his class,” he said. “He gets there and he’s one versus two, and he doesn’t panic. A lot of guys want to stay on their right foot because that’s where they’re comfortable. He’s not afraid to go left. … That’s what we brought him here for.”
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Drew Bonifant covers sports for the Press Herald, with beats in high school football, basketball and baseball. He was previously part of the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel sports team. A New Hampshire. More by Drew Bonifant
