> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.fortyonemag.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Maine Wildness Is the Name of Portland's New USL W League Team - URL: https://www.fortyonemag.com/maine-wildness-usl-w-league-name-crest/ - Published: 2026-10-19T05:51:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T05:56:28.000Z - Description: Thoreau wrote that we need the tonic of wildness. Portland took him at his word. The Soccer Club of Maine's new USL W League team is Maine Wildness, and its hand-drawn crest swaps the usual shield for Katahdin, wild lupine, and lettering lifted from backcountry trail signs. - Author: staff - Tags: News, On the Pitch, USL W League, Maine Wildness, Hearts of Pine, Crest Design, Women's Soccer Maine's new women's team has a name and a crest. The Soccer Club of Maine revealed [Maine Wildness](https://www.fortyonemag.com/tag/maine-wildness/) on October 15 as the identity for its [USL W League](https://www.fortyonemag.com/tag/usl-w-league/) side. Wildness kicks off in May 2027 in the league's Northeast Division. Home matches will be at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland, where Hearts of Pine play in USL League One. About 500 people got the first look at a reveal event at Live at Madrid's in Portland's Old Port. ## How the club picked the name Club staff spent several months holding town halls and listening sessions around the state and worked through more than 300 possible names. Supporters kept telling them they loved Hearts of Pine and wanted the women's team to have an identity of its own. Josh Lane, the club's vice president of marketing, said the breakthrough came from Henry David Thoreau. In *Walden*, written after his time in the North Maine Woods, Thoreau wrote, "We need the tonic of wildness." Lane said the name draws on navigation and trailblazing, with "an edge that captures the grit, tenacity, and resilience" of the state's trailblazers and everyday residents. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/02/77/0277a094-873f-4054-b336-9280daac3814/content/images/2026/10/logo_fitzpatrick-1920x1080.jpg) ## The crest Portland-based artist Pame Chévez designed the crest. Chévez moved to Maine from Mexico in 2016 and has since built visual identities for local groups including Lift All Boats and her own nonprofit, Palmar Collective. "When I left my home country, the Maine outdoors helped me build a community," Chévez said. Hand-drawn wild lupine, thistle, sea rose, and fern form an uneven border where you would expect a shield or circle, and no two details match. The club pitched the design as a break from the simplified crests many teams have moved to in recent rebrands. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/02/77/0277a094-873f-4054-b336-9280daac3814/content/images/2026/10/Wildness-Logo-Explainer-2026.001.jpeg) Katahdin sits at the center. It is the state's highest peak and the northern end of the Appalachian Trail, located on the ancestral homelands of the Penobscot Nation and Wabanaki peoples. Layers of water at its base stand in for Maine's lakes, rivers, and coast. Lettering above and below borrows from hand-carved trail signs in the backcountry. Above the mountain is the Dirigo Heart, carried over from the Hearts of Pine crest. Fans in the town halls asked for it by name, and it now ties the club's two teams together. ## Ticket demand and Michelle Akers When the club opened 5,000 season ticket deposits in June, they sold out in under an hour. U.S. Soccer legend Michelle Akers, a two-time World Cup champion and National Soccer Hall of Famer, joined in September as Founding Advisor with Bank of America coming on as a presenting sponsor for the inaugural season. Hannah Sirois, the club's vice president of fan experience, said the goal is to sell out the 6,000-seat stadium on a regular basis. She said no team at this level has done that. USL W is a pre-professional league. Its summer season lets college players compete at a high level and keep their NCAA eligibility. The league ran 96 teams across 16 divisions in 2026. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/02/77/0277a094-873f-4054-b336-9280daac3814/content/images/2026/10/MW---Merch-Pick-Ups-55.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/02/77/0277a094-873f-4054-b336-9280daac3814/content/images/2026/10/ogMerch15--1-.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/02/77/0277a094-873f-4054-b336-9280daac3814/content/images/2026/10/ogMerch24--1-.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/02/77/0277a094-873f-4054-b336-9280daac3814/content/images/2026/10/ogMerch28.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/02/77/0277a094-873f-4054-b336-9280daac3814/content/images/2026/10/ogMerch29.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/02/77/0277a094-873f-4054-b336-9280daac3814/content/images/2026/10/ogMerch31.jpg) Pieces from the launch merch collection ## Merch and upcoming announcements You can buy the first Wildness merch collection at [shop.mainewildness.com](https://shop.mainewildness.com/?ref=fortyonemag.com) or in person at the Club Shop, 127 Marginal Way in Portland, open 11am to 6pm.