FALMOUTH — It was 25 degrees at 9 a.m. Saturday on the artificial turf field at Falmouth High School. But dreams of playing professional soccer kept everybody warm.

“Ever since they announced the Hearts of Pine, I was hoping they’d do some sort of tryout,” said Alex Fernald, a goalie from Bath who played collegiately at Castleton University in Vermont. “Soccer is just something I really enjoy. I just want to have fun with it.”

The Hearts of Pine, the professional soccer team that will begin its inaugural season in the USL League One this spring, is looking for players. Saturday, wearing wool hats and gloves along with their cleats, dozens of Mainers took the pitch to make their case to make the team.

The 100 or so players hit the field in waves, first playing 7-on-7 in the morning before a full-field scrimmage and drills in the afternoon. Each paid $50 for the chance to showcase their skills for Hearts of Pine Coach Bobby Murphy at this Mainers-only tryout.

Joshua Joseph battles for the ball against Mardoche Kikobo during a 7 vs 7 where Mainers tryout for a spot on the Hearts of Pine at Falmouth High School on Saturday. Sofia Aldinio/Portland Press Herald

One of them was Portland’s Francisco Andre. A 2021 graduate of Casco Bay High School who played high school soccer for Portland High (Casco Bay students are allowed to play sports for either Portland or Deering), Andre has been playing semipro soccer in the United Premier Soccer League.

“I just wanted to come out here and show what I’ve got,” said Andre, a student at Southern Maine Community College. “There’s some really good talent over here. It’s not easy, but that’s really good.”

Talking after playing in the morning’s first 7-on-7 game, Andre was happy with his effort. He’s been practicing for this. What’s this opportunity without the effort?

“Mostly I do one-on-one drills. Sometimes I work with my brother, one vs one, stuff like that,” Andre said. “The best-case scenario is the coach saw how I did, and he liked it, and I get to make the team.”

Making the team is a long shot for all the participants, Murphy acknowledged, but that hardly makes Saturday’s tryout one that’s just for show.

“It’s a new landscape for me. You hear that there are players, so you’re just hoping to find maybe one or two. If you can find one or two, I think that’s a pretty good number. In reality, everyone wants to be a pro. But it’s hard to be a pro. A lot of pieces of the jigsaw puzzle have to fit together for it all to work. We’re hopeful we can see one or two that we can bring back and see where we go,” Murphy said. “I think it would be great for the community to have one of their own. There’s nothing better than that. I think that makes everyone proud, everyone excited.”

During a break in play, Murphy told a group of players he’s looking for each of them to do something to catch his eye, without him telling them what he was looking for that would catch his eye. He kept his coaching tips simple. Protect the middle of the field, and press as a group. Basically, show us your individual skills but work as a team, too.

Ivan Domingues goes up for the ball over Mardoche Kikobo during a 7 vs 7 where Mainers try out for a spot on the Hearts of Pine in Falmouth High School on Saturday. Sofia Aldinio/Portland Press Herald

“There’s a certain athletic component that has to be met. You’ve got to be a good athlete, first and foremost. People would be shocked at the level of athleticism in the league,” Murphy said. “I just call it good feet and good brains. Guys who get the game a little bit and guys who have the feet to pull it off.”

Soccer is a global game, with talented players everywhere, Murphy said. You never know what one of these tryout days will uncover. Murphy remembered a tryout like this one in California in 2009. There, Yordany Alvarez, a player who defected from Cuba a year earlier, earned a spot on the Austin Aztex, also a USL League One team. Alvarez played professionally until a heart ailment forced his retirement in 2014.

So yeah, you put the local guys through their paces, and maybe you find a gem.

“It’s like every kid soccer player’s dream, ‘I want to go play pro.’ Then I went to college and realized that really wasn’t for me,” said Fernald, now a social worker at Mt. Ararat High and a soccer coach at Morse, his alma mater. “But I’ve had some time away and time to enjoy the sport again, and I think, yeah, I might as well relive some of that child nostalgia.”

During the full-field scrimmage Saturday afternoon, Fernald left his net. A collision with another player left the bridge of his nose cut and bleeding.

“I think it was contact with that guy’s head,” Fernald said. “The ball didn’t go in, did it?”

No, he was told.

“Perfect,” Fernald said, giving a thumbs-up.