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A day of celebration suddenly turned solemn for the Portland Hearts of Pine.

Twelve minutes into their home opener on Saturday, Masashi Wada suffered a serious lower leg injury and had to be taken off the field via ambulance. It was the all-USL League One midfielder’s 29th birthday.

Wada was transported by ambulance and was reportedly stable, coach Bobby Murphy said after the match. The exact nature of the injury was not known following the game, which ended in a 0-0 tie.

“Prayers up for Sashi,” said Hearts player Michel Poon-Angeron. “I think if that horrible, horrific accident hadn’t happened, I think we would have had a much better chance of (winning). I believe he’s already going into surgery.”

Wada got his left leg tangled underneath One Knoxville SC goalie Johan Garibay just as Garibay went to the ground with a save off a headed ball by Serigne Mbacke Faye. It appeared Wada was trying to be on the spot for a potential rebound when Garibay rolled onto his leg. Instead of a goal, it was a gruesome injury.

Garibay immediately began waving for help. Hearts captain Mikey Lopez ran to Wada and, seeing the damage, grasped his head briefly and frantically waved for the training staff to move faster.

When a towel was draped over Wada’s leg and the on-site ambulance rolled onto the Fitzpatrick Stadium turf a hush fell over the Hearts’ 19th consecutive sellout crowd of 6,153 fans.

The game ended in a 0-0 tie. Portland is now 1-1-2 in USL League One. Knoxville is 3-1-2. It was the fourth straight game Portland was shut out, the third in league play.

Since coming to the Hearts from Yokahama, Japan, Wada has been one of the top Portland players. In last season’s home opener, also against One Knoxville, Wada scored the franchise’s first Fitzy goal late in the first half, producing a 1-1 tie.

IMPROVED PLAY

While the scoreless end result was the same, Portland’s offensive threat was much better than in its most recent game when it lost at Sarasota and didn’t generate a shot on target.

Against Knoxville, which entered in a tie for first and is the defending champion, Portland put five shots on goal. Three came off corner kicks, with first-year back Faye twice getting a head and once a foot on the ball. Portland scored one goal off a corner kick in 2025.

“Overall, pleased. Probably didn’t do enough to win it in the final third,” Murphy said. “Like the final ball, turning the corner to create some more chances, but listen, from where we were two weeks ago this looked like a completely different group.”

Portland keeper Hunter Morse stopped three shots for his first shutout of the season.

JADEN JONES-RILEY RETURNS

Early in the 2025, Jaden Jones-Riley had established himself as Portland’s starter at right back when he suffered what turned into a season-ending injury on April 15 in a U.S. Open Cup game at Lewiston High.

Prior to Saturday he had never played a game at Fitzpatrick. While he slogged through his rehabilitation, his teammates were getting the adoration of the Maine fans.

Jones-Riley started and played well, coming off in the 62nd minute for Zion Scarlett.

“It felt amazing to be on the field. The rehab was rewarding. Let’s just say that. A lot of dark nights, a lot of lonely nights,” said Jones-Riley.