Maine’s two premier league soccer teams will play their first games of the season this weekend.

The Portland Phoenix, who play in the United Soccer League’s Premier Development League, will open Saturday night against the Vermont Voltage at Deering High’s Memorial Field.

The Seacoast United Mariners, the newest member of the National Premier Soccer League, will make their debut Sunday against FC New York at Hannaford Field in Cape Elizabeth.

Both leagues are part of the fourth tier of soccer in the United States.

This will be the Phoenix’s fourth season in Maine following the move of the PDL franchise from Massachusetts, where it operated as the Cape Cod Crusaders for 14 seasons.

Saturday’s game against the Volt will serve as a tuneup for next Tuesday night’s game at Memorial Field against the Brooklyn Italians of the NPSL in the opening round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament.

“Historically we’ve been one of the strongest amateur teams in our division in the Northeast,” said Paul Baber, the general manager and head coach of the Phoenix.

“Because we’ve moved a lot of players into the pro leagues here and in Europe, we tend to have a lot of quality players. They want to play here.”

Forward Aaron Schoenfeld signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy and defender Bryan Gaul with the Columbus Crew — both of Major League Soccer — after playing in Portland.

This season’s Phoenix roster includes players from England, Australia, Canada and Nigeria, as well as from throughout the United States. An effort also was made to add Maine-bred players.

Last month, Trevor Hoxsie, a forward from Scarborough who is finishing up his sophomore year at Roger Williams College in Rhode Island, and Cameron Omsberg, a defender from Belgrade who is completing his junior year at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, were added.

“We expect (Trevor) to be a big impact player for us,” Baber said.

It will be Omsberg’s second season with the Phoenix.

“Last season he came off the bench for us,” Baber said. “We expect him to get a lot of good minutes (this season) and potentially be a starter.”

The Mariners, meanwhile, are made up entirely of players who grew up playing soccer in Maine.

“For the most part, (the team is) made up of kids who played for what was known as Coastal Soccer, which is now known as Seacoast United,” General Manager Seth Johnson said. “It’s not unusual for a club like ours to have a U-10 team all the way up to teams for college-age players.”

The Portland Phoenix and Seacoast United Mariners are in different leagues and won’t play each other this season.

Seacoast United also will have a team competing in the Women’s Premier Soccer League for the first time. It will play its opening game May 23 against the Seacoast United Phantoms in Portsmouth, N.H.

Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at:

pbetit@pressherald.com

Twitter: PaulBetitPPH