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There is no doubt soccer is booming in Maine. The success the Portland Hearts of Pine, Maine’s first professional men’s soccer team, proves as much.

The Maine Footy, a pro-am summer development team in their third season in the United Women’s Soccer League, hope that popularity leads to bigger things for women’s players. 

“When it comes to the Hearts of Pine, we do not see them as a threat at all,” Footy coach Paul Baber said. “We think what they’re doing is unbelievable. They’re providing a great experience, a great environment to watch men’s soccer, and we’re hoping that they do something for the women’s (game) and would be thoroughly supportive of that.” 

The Maine Footy are the highest level of women’s soccer in the state. For now.

“It’s our responsibility to keep the women’s game going, and at as high a level as we can,” Baber said. “If it means eventually we pass the torch to (a professional team), or we work collaboratively with them. That’s only good for soccer.”

Maine Footy, also known as the Tide by their fans, are 1-2-1 in the USWL East division this summer. They opened their home schedule with a 1-1 tie against the Worcester Fuel on June 7.

The Footy return to action on Saturday when they host the New England Munity, the No. 1 team in the East Division, at 6 p.m. Saturday, at Deering High’s Memorial Field in Portland.

“I think there’s never been a better time to be in women’s soccer, especially as a local,” said Footy captain Emma Badger, a Wells native who is a senior defender at Florida Gulf Coast University. “I think to have this community, especially in my home state where I grew up, is really exciting and rewarding.” 

Goalie Grace Wilson, who plays for the University of Maine, has seen a shift in the women’s soccer fan base in recent years, especially since the Hearts of Pine came into existence.

“People are really, really starting to get interested in women’s soccer here,” Wilson said. “They’re always looking to see who’s playing, where they can watch it. And so it’s definitely getting bigger each and every day. I definitely see, even at the University of Maine, the difference in crowds each season continues to get better.”

Not only does this increased love of soccer in the state bring out more fans, it encourages younger girls to explore the sport – feeding into Baber’s goal of nurturing top-tier Maine talent that will become future generations of Maine Footy players.

“I always felt like, for a while, it took a long time to get women’s soccer established in Maine. I feel like a lot of times we were going out of state to kind of challenge ourselves more and get to the next level,” said Badger, a captain. “But it’s really exciting to see Maine become this powerhouse for women’s soccer, and especially for all of these young girls, coming up and looking up to us.”

A majority of the fans at the June 7 home opener were children from local club teams. Following the game, many of the children stuck around, playing soccer on the field and meeting some of the Footy players.

“Turning around and seeing 10-, 11- and 12-year-old girls coming to watch the game is really important to us,” Baber said as he watched the Footy scrimmage in practice on Monday. “One of the weaknesses of soccer in America is that live games are not watched because it’s not accessible. That’s why the Hearts of Pine is going to be absolutely brilliant for everybody. They can actually watch quality players play there, and we want to be able to do the same for the women’s team here.”