The newly incorporated Maine USL-W League women’s soccer team just announced its official name, “Maine Wildness.” The Wildness is a sister team to Maine’s men’s USL League One team, Portland Hearts of Pine, which has gained popularity and notoriety in Maine since its March 29, 2025 debut. Both soccer teams are owned by The Soccer Club of Maine.
Maine Wildness’ identity was crafted with intentionality, an effort led by designer Pame Chévez. To begin creating the team’s image, Chévez drew on influences of Maine people, women specifically, and had this to say, “They’re rough when they need to be, they’re gritty when they need to be, but they can be the most tender people as well.” Chévez used this sentiment as inspiration for the team’s logo to capture the core idea behind the Wildness, having a “forever untamable” spirit complemented by the tender nature of Maine, coexisting as one.
The team’s crest incorporates famous Maine landmarks and defining features, including Mount Katahdin, Maine flora and waters, the Dirigo heart, and a typeface that was inspired by the etchings found on hand-carved trail markers around the state’s wilderness.
There has been public conversation surrounding the name selection, with people wondering why the team is not called the Maine Wild or Maine Wilderness. Gabe Hoffman Johnson, founder and chief community officer of Portland Hearts of Pine, had this to say about the name: “I like the quirkiness. You have to stop and think a little bit…it’s not surface level…What these things are, what they represent and mean to people, is so much more than that.” Additionally, the team’s website explains, “The name reflects the spirit shared by the place and its people: the enduring power of the natural world and the grit, independence, and resilience of Maine women.”
Now that the Wildness’ name and brand image are established, the launch is the team’s next focus. Hoffman-Johnson has expressed that the Wildness will be focused on building the women’s soccer community in Maine and learning from other USL-W League clubs that “…are doing this and doing this well,” adding that the Wildness is a “second or third act.”
Interest in the club has been strong. When a pre-sale of 5,000 season-ticket deposits opened, they were all claimed within an hour.
The Wildness represents an opportunity to boost women’s soccer in Maine and show community members across the state what can be achieved.
The team is set to begin playing in May 2027 in the W League’s Northeast Division, and the season will run through July.