Maine Wildness is the name of the state’s new women’s soccer team
The crest of the Maine Wildness women’s soccer team is reveal on Thursday in Portland. The team will play in Portland and is a member of the USL W League. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
View 10 photos
PORTLAND — The name was announced and was immediately greeted by an extended and hearty ovation.
The Maine Wildness, the newly named amateur women’s soccer club that will be a sister team to the Portland Hearts of Pine, is already a hit. And so is the club’s logo, a blend of new imagery with a clear connection to the Hearts.
“It’s perfect. All of it,” said Nicole Vinal, a native Mainer who lives in Brunswick. Vinal said the name and the story behind it represents her. “I’m scrappy. I’m a hard worker. I love the outdoors, the wilderness.”
Vinal, a season ticket-holder for both the Maine Wildness and the Hearts of Pine, was among a crowd of 500 supporters at Madrid’s in Portland for Thursday’s name and brand reveal.
The Maine Wildness will begin play in the spring and early summer of 2027, competing in the USL W League, which in 2026 had 96 teams across 16 regionalized divisions.
The name and logo were the result of months of planning and community outreach by the organization, which has achieved worldwide recognition for its Hearts of Pine branding and merchandise. Club representatives held town hall-style meetings and an online forum with U.S. Women’s National Team legends, including Michelle Akers, who has become a founding adviser for the Maine Wildness.
Advertisement
Hannah Sirois, the club’s vice president for fan experience and the point person for the women’s team, said the Wildness name was first isolated when staff members were huddled around a campfire, riffing on themes of wilderness and natural beauty.
“It’s about being your unapologetic self,” Sirois said.
Catherine Culley, one of the club’s founding co-owners, had tears in her eyes when the name was revealed and the crowd voiced their wholehearted endorsement.
“I think women need this right now as a positive environment that welcomes women for everything they are,” Culley said. “It’s something I feel the community needed right now. And I think it is important for young girls to see a path forward and it’s equal to the men. Not the same as the men.”
Prior to the name reveal, the audience heard from club personnel about how they had spent hours and hours going over 300-plus names and then shaping the asymmetrical crest logo that pays homage to Maine’s wilderness with stylized imagery of Katahdin, flowing waters and wildflowers.
In the presentation, the qualities of “Wildness” as it relates to Maine women were detailed as five main themes: resilience, communers, work ethic, leadership, and being grounded. Wildness, according to a club press release, connects the physical characteristics of Maine and “the trailblazing spirit” of Maine women.
Advertisement
“The name, it encapsulates everything a Maine women is,” said Justine Satterthwaite of Scarborough. Like Vinal, Satterthwaite is now a season-ticket holder for both the Maine Wildness and the Hearts of Pine.
By incorporating the Hearts of Pine’s distinctive Dirigo Heart image and blue-and-green colors into the Maine Wildness logo, designed by Portland-based artist Pame Chévez, the club was purposeful in connecting its two teams while providing the women’s team with its own identity. The crest emphasizes the natural beauty of wild spaces with images of Katahdin, flowing waters, and resilient flora like wild lupines, thistle, sea rose and fern.
“We asked people across Maine what they wanted for this team and we kept hearing the same response: a love for what we’ve created with Hearts and a deep desire for something distinct to the women of Maine,” said Gabe Hoffman-Johnson, the club’s founder and chief community officer, in a press release. “‘Wildness came from listening to that feedback, finding a name that captures the spirit intrinsic to both this place and the people who make it so special.”
Shortly after the name and brand were revealed, the crowded main room noticeably thinned out. That’s because half of the attendees went to the music venue’s lobby to line up and buy Maine Wildness T-shirts, sweatshirts and other swag. The women’s team items are now available on the club’s online store and its Club Shop at 127 Marginal Way in Portland.
The women’s team will consist of mostly college-age players. Because it is a pre-professional league (think wooden bat baseball leagues for a simple comparison), the players retain their college eligibility. Games are played mostly in May and June. The Maine Wildness will compete in the USLW’s Northeast Division.
The Wildness will immediately be one of top drawing clubs in the USLW. In June, the club sold 5,000 season-ticket deposits in an hour and have converted 4,400 of those deposits into season-ticket sales.
Advertisement
The men’s team, which has averaged 6,239 fans at city-owned Fitzpatrick Stadium this season, has 4,000 season-ticket holders.
The USLW does not report average attendance, but most teams draw less than 1,000 fans. Minnesota Aurora FC is a rare exception, reportedly bringing in over 5,000 fans per match. The Vermont Green, which will be a rival for the Wildness in the Northeast Division, consistently sold out 2,500-seat Virtue Field in Burlington in their first season in 2026.
“This team is intended to set the standard for what a pre-professional women’s team can accomplish,” Sirois said in the press release. “We want to grow the women’s game in this country. Consistently selling out a 6,000-person stadium has never been done at this level, and raising that standard is what we’re rallying this state around.”
The Hearts of Pine ownership announced in August its plans to build its own 9,000-11,000 seat stadium on Cassidy Point in Portland. The hope is to break ground sometime in 2027, with 2029 as the target year for both the men’s and women’s teams to move to their new home.
Copy the Story Link
Tagged: Hearts of Pine, Maine Wildness, women's soccer
Steve Craig reports primarily about Maine’s active high school sports scene and, more recently, the Portland Hearts of Pine men's professional soccer team. His first newspaper job was covering Maine. More by Steve Craig
