Vermont Green FC will host pro club Portland Hearts of Pine in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup First Round on Tuesday, March 17 at 7pm on Virtue Field.
The highly anticipated clash will be the first meeting of the two emerging New England clubs, and the first match of the 2026 campaign for the Boys in Green. With only three short days of preparation for the Vermonters, they’ll need every voice of a sold out Virtue Field if they are to pull off a cupset against the USL1 outfit from Maine.
HISTORY
Vermont Green and Portland Hearts of Pine will meet for the first time on Tuesday night, but it will seem to many that these two clubs have been on a collision course. While Hearts compete in the fully professional, year-round USL1—and the Green in the summer-only, pre-professional USL2—both have captured the fervorous support of their local communities and, in turn, the eyes of national and international soccer fans.
Burlington (metro population 225,000) and Portland (metro population 575,000) are separated by just over 150 miles as the crow flies, and each boasts its own distinct culture. Despite this, no one can deny they share one thing for certain: an obsession with soccer and their local clubs.
HEARTS IN FOCUS
Portland Hearts of Pine is a professional soccer club based in Portland, Maine, that competes in USL1 at the 6,000-seat Fitzpatrick Stadium. The vision for the club was announced in 2020 and the team played its inaugural season in 2025.
Hearts have made headlines since their founding, maxing out season tickets in their inaugural season, selling out every home game, and leading USL1 in attendance.
The success of their first campaign wasn’t just in the stands. The club—coached by the MLS-experienced Bobby Murphy and anchored by former Vermont Green defender Nathan Messer—agonizingly missed out on a USL1 Final appearance, falling in penalties to Spokane Velocity in the semis.
Hearts are no strangers to the U.S. Open Cup, either. In 2025, they defeated amateur club CD Failense and USL Championship club Hartford Athletic before falling to Rhode Island FC in the Third Round.
The Mainers will venture northwest to Burlington looking to assert themselves with an experienced and attack-minded team that features USL1 All-League stars Masashi Wada and Ollie Wright. The pros have been training since early February, and should be a fairly well-oiled machine by the time they arrive at Virtue Field on March 17. With their USL1 season opener just three days prior at the New York Cosmos, Murphy’s men will be ready to start their sophomore season strong.
THE GAFFER
As the might of Maine converges on the Green Mountains, Vermont Green Head Coach Chris Taylor will be the man tasked with building the defenses.
In his first match since completing an undefeated, national championship-winning campaign in his first season at the helm, Taylor has now earned himself a clash with the pros. While the visitors hold most tangible advantages, the Liverpudlian gaffer won’t be without a few tricks up his sleeve. For one, he can keep his hand close to his chest. While the talented Hearts squad is well documented and will be on full display this Saturday against the Cosmos, the Green roster has yet to be revealed.
Vermont Green has established itself as a club for college soccer’s aspiring pros. Taylor’s men will enter this contest knowing exactly what’s at stake: a nationally televised showdown where they can prove that they, too, are worthy of a professional contract. The Boys in Green will have a golden opportunity on Tuesday night to punch well above their weight, and with the entire state in their corner, they can play the part of David against USL1’s Goliath.
A RIVALRY IS BORN
March has arrived. As the Vermont winter starts to thaw, and the maple sugar makers flock to the forest to collect the new season’s sweet bounty, so too will the Green reemerge at the Chamber of Champions, the Cathedral of Class that is Virtue Field.
It’s been over 200 days since the USL2 Final, but those hallowed grounds still radiate with the heroics of the Invincibles, and the legion of Vermonters who willed them to unforgettable glory in 2025.
The future is unpredictable, but many have pointed to the inevitability of this type of match: two local clubs determined to represent their communities. They see its potential to resonate, reoccur, and to mean something more.
This is New England. Each of the six states in this corner of the country has taken to the game of soccer, but nowhere has it pierced the popular culture like in Vermont and Maine. Now, these two hotbeds are set to clash, with hundreds of Mainers expected to make the trip from the Pine Tree State to the Green Mountain State on Tuesday night. The amateur Vermonters and the professional Mainers may not have a clear trajectory to battle regularly, but sometimes the best rivalries exist in anticipation.
A new chapter in New England soccer history will be written at the 2026 U.S. Open Cup.
TICKETS
Tickets to the match are sold out, but fans can watch the match for free on the hill behind the north goal.
WATCH THE MATCH
The U.S. Open Cup First Round will be nationally broadcast on CBS Sports Network and streamed exclusively on Paramount+.
ON THE CONCOURSE
Folino’s Pizza, Maharaja Spice, South End Sliders, Jilib Jiblets, Vivid Coffee, and The Caracas will be serving on the concourse. Ben & Jerry’s will be serving free ice cream bars. Arrive early to enjoy these local eats.