The Portland Hearts of Pine will play its first home league game Sunday evening at Fitzpatrick Stadium.
Tickets for the game sold out quickly, according to team founder Gabe Hoffman-Johnson. He said the Portland club is expected to set a league record for attendance.
"More than anything what it speaks to is the appetite for professional soccer in Maine, obviously something we are incredibly grateful for," Hoffman-Johnson said.
Supporting kids' soccer in Portland, he said, is one of the team's goals and the club helped to put in a field at Kennedy Park in East Bayside that attracts hundreds of kids during tournaments.
"There's a lot of excitement from the team. We're going to be ready to go and give the fans something to be proud of, hopefully that product on the field. What we do talk about a decent amount is representing our community and how we play and wanting fans to see themselves sort of represented on the pitch," he said.
Sunday’s match against One Knoxville SC will air live on NESN and ESPN+ at six pm. Tickets for remaining matches will go on sale on Monday, May 12.