North Carolina FC take on Charlotte Independence in USL championship

Why it matters: It's the first championship that the Triangle-based soccer team has been in since 2010, when it was playing as the Carolina RailHawks.

Of note: USL League One is considered the third level of the American soccer pyramid, sitting below the USL Championship and Major League Soccer.

• North Carolina FC will rejoin the USL Championship next season.

The big picture: A championship would be welcome momentum for NCFC, which is currently trying to build an identity as a club that develops youth players and turns them into professionals, either in the U.S. or abroad, American Soccer Now reports.

• The Triangle, the soccer publication notes, has some of the highest rates for youth participation in soccer in the country.
• More than 15 players from the team's youth academy have made professional debuts in the past three seasons.

Tickets for the game start at $25.

• Kick-off is at 5pm in Cary.