Lewiston High School boys soccer coach Dan Gish, center front, is surrounded by some of his players in the bleachers at the school Friday. They and many in the soccer community and beyond are inspired by Khalid Hersi, the former Lewiston standout who signed to play for the Hearts of Pine last week. Front row, from left, Pedro Sebastiao, Gish, Annimer Ibriham. Back row, from left, Jimmy Morgan, Fernando Bengue and Abdirauf Hersi, Khalid’s brother. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Khalid Hersi knows he’s a role model. It’s not something that was thrust upon him last week, when he became the the first Mainer to sign with the Portland Hearts of Pine, the men’s professional soccer team that will begin its inaugural season in just a couple months. This is something Hersi has embraced for a while.

“To be the first Mainer signed to the team is an honor,” Hersi, 20, said, “but there’s a lot of players motivated now to do it, too.”

Hersi was 9 years old when he was introduced to Amy Bass. It was Iftar, a daily fast-breaking feast during Ramadan. Bass was in Lewiston working on what became her wonderful book “One Goal,” a chronicle of the Lewiston High boys soccer team’s run to the 2015 Class A state championship and the obstacles it faced. Halima, Khalid’s sister, invited Bass to join the family for dinner. Khalid and his brother, Bilal, always had a soccer ball at their feet.

You know the old adage, don’t play ball in the house? That didn’t apply at the Hersi home. It was play ball anywhere you can, as often as you can.

“Abdijabaar (their brother) would say, get in 1,000 touches a day, and that’s an advantage,” Bass said. “That stayed with me because of a conversation I had with Abdijabar. That’s something their dad (Abdullahi Abdi) really instilled in them. … For it to be one of his sons, it’s really fitting. It’s coming full circle for this family.”

Hersi’s story is really an American dream story, isn’t it? Parents and older siblings flee Somalia as refugees and end up in Atlanta, where Khalid was born. When he was 2, his family moved to Lewiston. He grew up here, a first-generation immigrant, finding his path on the pitch.

Other Mainers have played professional soccer. Falmouth native Roger Levesque spent time with the Seattle Sounders of Major League Soccer. Belgrade native Wyatt Olmsberg has also played in the MLS, with the Chicago Fire and Minnesota United. He recently signed a one-year contract to join the New England Revolution.

Lewiston’s Khalid Hersi handles the ball during a 2021 game for Lewiston. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Where Hersi stands apart is his status as a beacon for an entire community.

Soccer has always been a key to assimilation for Lewiston’s immigrant community, and Hersi’s signing with the Hearts of Pine is the next step forward in that. Lewiston has produced Gatorade Maine players of the year and sent players to Division I college programs. Now, it has a pro, Bass said. This is another one of those moments.

“Khalid is the first Mainer signed. It wasn’t anyone saying, ‘Where’s he really from?’ None of that garbage we’ve seen,” Bass said.

Dan Gish has been Lewiston’s varsity boys soccer coach since 2020, taking over the program when longtime coach Mike McGraw retired. He sees the impact Hersi has on the current Blue Devils every day. There’s a passion for soccer in Lewiston. Hersi’s success fuels it further.

“It’s just getting started. They’ve got that confidence. Khalid broke through. I’m sure Bilal (Khalid’s older brother, who played collegiately at Siena) is going to break through at some point. There are kids, young players, that can make it at that level,” Gish said.

Like Bass, Gish sees soccer changing views of immigrants in Maine. Like Bass, Gish looks back at something Abdijabar Hersi said.

“I’ll never forget, Abdijabar said this to me, ‘It’s one person at a time we’ve got to change their minds,'” Gish said. “That always kind of stuck with me.”

Khalid Hersi surrounded by his family while holding a Hearts of Pine jersey after he became the first Mainer named to the professional soccer team’s roster last week. Photo courtesy of Hearts of Pine

Abdirauf Hersi, Khalid’s little brother, was a sophomore midfielder for Lewiston last fall. He’s seen what his brother has done to motivate Lewiston players. Fernando Bengue was also a sophomore midfielder for the Blue Devils last season. He tries to emulate Khalid’s ability to stay calm when the action on the pitch seems to be doing whatever it can to make you frantic.

“I really learned how to be calm in those types of situations where you’re under pressure. He really helped me on those steps. On the field, he’s really calm, he doesn’t feel any pressure at all,” Bengue said.

Annimer Ibrahim, a senior Lewiston midfielder last season, said when Hersi played alongside him in high school, “he was untouchable. It was hard to get the ball.” Pedro Sebastiao was a junior midfielder for the Blue Devils last fall. He sees the hard work Hersi put in, and how it inspires others to do the same.

“Lewiston is like a soccer town. Everywhere you go, you see people doing soccer stuff. There’s a lot of talented people here, and I feel like more people are going to get this opportunity,” Sebastiao said.

Gish can drive home from Lewiston High at the end of the day, at any time of year, and he’ll drive past a group of people playing soccer, playing on an open field or in a parking lot.

“I can stop and say hey, and there will be alumni, and they’ll stop playing and they’ll come over and say hello. Soccer is the universal language,” Gish said.

During the Hearts of Pine tryout in Falmouth on Dec. 7, coach Bobby Murphy said he’d like to find one local player out of the 100 at the tryout who could make the team. A local player makes fans excited. A local player makes everyone proud.

Khalid Hersi said he reports to the Hearts of Pine for preseason workouts Wednesday. He has high standards for himself, and if that makes him a beacon of hope for his community, he welcomes it. Someone had to be first. Hersi knows what younger players are doing to improve their game. He knows he won’t be the last.