On a match night, you can hear the drums and cheers of Fitzpatrick Stadium from the University of Southern Maine’s Portland campus — the glow of the lights reaches dorm and classroom windows just a short walk down the road. This proximity is at the heart of the new partnership between USM and Portland Hearts of Pine soccer club. But for a handful of Huskies, that connection to the club started well before any official announcement.
Cullen McIntyre: Behind the lens, ahead of the game
Cullen McIntyre had a camera in his hand long before he had any sense of where it might get him. Sophomore year, he took a chance on photography, building out a portfolio within USM’s athletic department — sideline shots, game-day wins, work that taught him where to look, and when to shoot.
He didn’t know it then, but a class project would lead to something much bigger. A media studies major with a minor in sports communication, Cullen chose to interview a man named Gabe Hoffman-Johnson for his project, who, at the time, was in the early stages of building a professional soccer club from scratch. Hearts of Pine didn’t have a roster yet. It barely had a name.
Years later, when Hearts of Pine put out an open call for freelance media ahead of its inaugural season, Cullen filled out the form and waited. Maybe it was coincidence. Maybe it wasn’t. Either way, the club whose founder he’d once interviewed for a class project was now hiring him as a photographer.
He’s covered nearly every home game since. And this spring, he’ll be back on USM’s campus, not only with a camera, but at the front of a classroom, teaching as an adjunct professor in media studies.
“I wouldn’t be in this position without USM. It’s meaningful seeing fellow alumni working alongside me on the team, and friends from my USM days in the stands,” said Cullen.
Chris Decker: The senior project that stuck
Chris Decker has always been drawn to sports — not just watching them, but writing about them. That interest shaped his senior capstone at USM, where he built his own website and published articles on the leagues he followed most closely. He didn’t know it at the time, but that capstone would end up being his first step toward Hearts of Pine.
Chris graduated in 2024 with a degree in communication and media studies, and spent a stretch after graduation applying to jobs across the Portland sports industry. Hearts of Pine took a chance on him, hiring him as stadium and event merchandise lead.
“I started on some cold February morning almost two years ago,” Chris said. “I could never have imagined what it has blossomed into since then.”
Looking back, he attributes much of that growth to his time at USM.
“Teamwork and community were two of the biggest things I learned at USM,” Chris said. “I carry both into my work every day.”
Kiaya Gatchell & Ross Maiden: Where the classroom meets the sideline
USM graduate students Kiaya Gatchell and Ross Maiden didn’t have to look far for hands-on experience. This semester, they’re getting their training on a professional sideline. Both are in USM’s athletic training program, which requires students to complete clinical rotations. This semester, theirs are with Hearts of Pine.
Their paths to USM and Fitzpatrick Stadium couldn’t look more different. Kiaya spent her undergrad years at USM as a two-sport athlete, deeply rooted in the university’s community long before grad school. Ross made his way from Scotland to play rugby in Maine, and a teammate’s recommendation is what brought him to USM.
But at Hearts of Pine, both are working toward the same thing: figuring out exactly where they want to land in the field.
“It’s more than a sport. It’s a family, it’s love, and it’s home,” Kiaya said, echoing the feeling she had playing for USM’s women’s soccer team.
“Being a part of this and being a part of USM, you meet great people — people that can connect you and push you further in life,” Ross said.
Camden Clark: A shield for one team, the coach for another
Camden Clark’s first loyalty is to USM. For the past two years, he’s coached goalkeepers for the women’s soccer team — a job his own former coach handed him without hesitation. He knows the staff, the players, and most of the men’s team too.
Hearts of Pine came second, and almost by accident. He tried out for the club and didn’t make it — but just before the season started, an assistant coach reached out, asking him to trial instead. As assistant equipment manager, the job comes with some unusual duties: Camden calls himself a third training keeper, “the shield,” stepping into drills that could’ve hurt the two starting keepers because, as he puts it, he was expendable and they weren’t. He’s been there ever since.
“I just kind of lucked out that I happened to be involved in both USM and Hearts of Pine,” Camden said. “Once I found out it was going to be a partnership, I was excited about it, because I love USM and I love working for the Hearts.”
The overlap is visible, too. At a recent match, 30 USM women’s soccer players showed up in matching Husky gear — several of them fresh off a Hearts of Pine merch shoot earlier this year.
Paul Liwanga: From the USM roster to Hearts of Pine crew
On match day, there are few people busier than Paul Liwanga. As part of the game day operations crew at Hearts of Pine, he’s in charge of everything from setup to coordinating with the national anthem singer to running post-game interviews. He was introduced to the club through USM’s Promise Scholar director, Daniel Barton, who sent him a link to a Hearts of Pine career fair. For a former USM soccer player, it seemed a natural fit — he’s been part of the crew ever since.
Paul graduated from USM in 2026 with a degree in sports management and four years spent on a team that helped shape who he is.
“I realized how much of a family our team really was,” Paul said. “It’s a feeling I now find here.”
Soccer has always been at the core of the Liwanga household, and USM runs in the family too: JD, Paul’s oldest sibling, was the first to become a USM Promise Scholar. Paul followed, and Immaculata is just starting this fall. The three of them recently caught a Hearts of Pine game together — it’s one more place the Liwangas show up as a family.
Kevin Oates: The making of Hearts x Huskies
Kevin Oates did not grow up watching or playing soccer. He graduated from USM in 2008 with a degree in music education, spent most of his career as a musician and educator, and eventually found his way to Hearts of Pine through a LinkedIn post at the start of the club’s inaugural season. But it wasn’t the sport that sold him — it was the mission.
“It’s the club’s role in this community that stuck with me,” Kevin said. “This organization is different in the best way. I’m beyond proud to work here.”
Kevin found something at Hearts of Pine he already knew: a group of people worth sticking with. He first found it in 2004, in the halls of Upton-Hastings during his freshman year on campus. The friend group made it through graduation, through the post-grad scatter, and eventually back to Maine, where most of them have landed. These days, they catch Hearts of Pine games together and swap stories from their USM days.
“I realized how much of a family our team really was,” Paul said. “It’s a feeling I now find here.”
Now, as partnership coordinator, Kevin’s job is to connect the two communities that he knows inside and out.
“By partnering with USM, Hearts of Pine can give students from Maine and away the experience of professional soccer, right in the college’s backyard — literally,” Kevin said. “Hearts x Huskies for life.”
A partnership, now with a name
Seven different Huskies found their way to Fitzpatrick Stadium — different backgrounds, different passions, different degrees. In a lot of ways, it makes sense. The stadium’s just down the road. A three-minute walk turned into a coaching job, a clinical rotation, a family tradition, a Saturday shift at the merch table.
This connection has existed, nameless, since Hearts of Pine’s inaugural season. Now, heading into its third year, it finally has a name, with even more in store for the USM community. Hearts x Huskies means more tickets, more hands-on experience, more chances to end up exactly where these seven did: on the sideline, in the stands, or behind the scenes.
