Completed Event: Men's Soccer at Columbia on October 11, 2025 , Win , 2, to, 1
Final
Men's Soccer
at Columbia
2
1
Gabe Hoffman-Johnson, Portland Hearts of Pine Give Back to Maine
3/20/2025 1:58:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Gabe Hoffman-Johnson '14 grew up surrounded by change makers.
His mother, an international peace builder in Sierra Leone, and his father, a soccer coach and an athletic director, raised him around the game of soccer and instilled giving back. Even while at Dartmouth, Hoffman-Johnson combined his two passions to collect jersey and other soccer donations from the Upper Valley community to send to Africa.
"Soccer had this remarkable ability to be a catalyst and a conduit for anything, really," Hoffman-Johnson said. "I'm just a massive believer in this game's ability to be a positive change for individual communities."
That belief led Hoffman-Johnson to be the founder of Portland Hearts of Pine, the newest team in the United Soccer League (USL) League One. While the Hearts are preparing for their first game in franchise history, getting the team up and running has been a process four years in the making.
It began with three main tasks; creating a franchise with the USL, finding a place to play, and finally, raising the money and buy in from the community.
"You have to adequately represent your community, your sense of place," Hoffman-Johnson said. Through watch parties and soccer specific events with various organizations in and around Portland, Hoffman-Johnson built a community, and Portland Hearts of Pine was born.
The job was not done there though, as Hoffman-Johnson had to hire and build out an 18-person staff, design jerseys, sell tickets, create a gameday experience, hire a coach, sign players, and secure sponsors. Everything had to be done for the first time.
The Portland Hearts of Pine is described as starting as a movement, "culture-led, community-built, and city-backed" with a mission to "create an elite club that embodies the spirit of Maine while driving economic, cultural, and community impact across the city and state."
Hoffman-Johnson, who spent his summers in Maine before moving to the state from Missouri in middle school, described the Hearts as "a manifestation of who I am… I was just raised in a way where my nature, my overall sensitivity is 'how can I contribute? How can I give back and make an impact in the people's lives and in the state and city that I grew up in?'"
Not only is Portland Hearts of Pine a manifestation of Hoffman-Johnson, it also reflects and embodies the essence of Maine, from its core values, to its motto, and the crest worn on the jerseys.
While it took multiple years to get to this point, it seems to be perfect timing. Professional soccer in America is growing, lower division clubs are becoming viable businesses, and the city of Portland is on the rise, according to Hoffman-Johnson.
"I think [Portland] is the coolest, small city in America," Hoffman-Johnson said. "There's a lot about Portland, Maine right now that is growing and there's a lot about soccer that is growing in a similar trajectory."
Hoffman-Johnson added a lot of people are viewing Portland Hearts of Pine as a team for the future; he says it started as a simple question: "How can I do as much good as I possibly can as an individual in a place that I care about that I call home?"
Hoffman-Johnson also called Dartmouth home for five years. He captained a men's soccer program that won Ivy League Championships and played in the NCAA Tournament. Despite success on the pitch, he found himself forced to challenge himself in different ways, off the soccer field due to injury.
"I found myself in this incredible fertile ground for broadening my own horizons and found myself really enjoying the schoolwork and using other muscles, intellectual muscles," he said. "I really enjoyed being a part of the team and the overall community in Hanover."
While Hoffman-Johnson didn't necessarily think he would pursue a career in soccer, he said the things he learned and took away from Dartmouth, prepared him for life beyond Hanover.
"I can't imagine a better place to have had a little over four years in terms of personal development and setting yourself up for tangible, real world skills," Hoffman-Johnson said. "I learned a lot of those things either in the locker room with the team or in the classroom or just navigating campus life."
In addition to urging those currently at Dartmouth to take advantage of everything it has to offer, he also posed a call to action to make a trip to Portland.
"It's certainly an open invitation to anyone and everyone to come to a game, come to Portland," Hoffman-Johnson said. "There's something special going on here and we certainly want to share that."
For more information on Portland Hearts of Pine, please click here.
His mother, an international peace builder in Sierra Leone, and his father, a soccer coach and an athletic director, raised him around the game of soccer and instilled giving back. Even while at Dartmouth, Hoffman-Johnson combined his two passions to collect jersey and other soccer donations from the Upper Valley community to send to Africa.
"Soccer had this remarkable ability to be a catalyst and a conduit for anything, really," Hoffman-Johnson said. "I'm just a massive believer in this game's ability to be a positive change for individual communities."That belief led Hoffman-Johnson to be the founder of Portland Hearts of Pine, the newest team in the United Soccer League (USL) League One. While the Hearts are preparing for their first game in franchise history, getting the team up and running has been a process four years in the making.
It began with three main tasks; creating a franchise with the USL, finding a place to play, and finally, raising the money and buy in from the community.
"You have to adequately represent your community, your sense of place," Hoffman-Johnson said. Through watch parties and soccer specific events with various organizations in and around Portland, Hoffman-Johnson built a community, and Portland Hearts of Pine was born.
The job was not done there though, as Hoffman-Johnson had to hire and build out an 18-person staff, design jerseys, sell tickets, create a gameday experience, hire a coach, sign players, and secure sponsors. Everything had to be done for the first time.
The Portland Hearts of Pine is described as starting as a movement, "culture-led, community-built, and city-backed" with a mission to "create an elite club that embodies the spirit of Maine while driving economic, cultural, and community impact across the city and state."
Hoffman-Johnson, who spent his summers in Maine before moving to the state from Missouri in middle school, described the Hearts as "a manifestation of who I am… I was just raised in a way where my nature, my overall sensitivity is 'how can I contribute? How can I give back and make an impact in the people's lives and in the state and city that I grew up in?'"
Not only is Portland Hearts of Pine a manifestation of Hoffman-Johnson, it also reflects and embodies the essence of Maine, from its core values, to its motto, and the crest worn on the jerseys.
While it took multiple years to get to this point, it seems to be perfect timing. Professional soccer in America is growing, lower division clubs are becoming viable businesses, and the city of Portland is on the rise, according to Hoffman-Johnson.
"I think [Portland] is the coolest, small city in America," Hoffman-Johnson said. "There's a lot about Portland, Maine right now that is growing and there's a lot about soccer that is growing in a similar trajectory."
Hoffman-Johnson added a lot of people are viewing Portland Hearts of Pine as a team for the future; he says it started as a simple question: "How can I do as much good as I possibly can as an individual in a place that I care about that I call home?"
Hoffman-Johnson also called Dartmouth home for five years. He captained a men's soccer program that won Ivy League Championships and played in the NCAA Tournament. Despite success on the pitch, he found himself forced to challenge himself in different ways, off the soccer field due to injury.
"I found myself in this incredible fertile ground for broadening my own horizons and found myself really enjoying the schoolwork and using other muscles, intellectual muscles," he said. "I really enjoyed being a part of the team and the overall community in Hanover."
While Hoffman-Johnson didn't necessarily think he would pursue a career in soccer, he said the things he learned and took away from Dartmouth, prepared him for life beyond Hanover.
"I can't imagine a better place to have had a little over four years in terms of personal development and setting yourself up for tangible, real world skills," Hoffman-Johnson said. "I learned a lot of those things either in the locker room with the team or in the classroom or just navigating campus life."
In addition to urging those currently at Dartmouth to take advantage of everything it has to offer, he also posed a call to action to make a trip to Portland.
"It's certainly an open invitation to anyone and everyone to come to a game, come to Portland," Hoffman-Johnson said. "There's something special going on here and we certainly want to share that."
For more information on Portland Hearts of Pine, please click here.
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