The most anticipated derby in America. The 10,000 ticket requests to get into a 2,000-seater stadium in the northern reaches of Vermont speak for themselves. All for a matchup between 3rd and 4th division sides. USL League Two’s Vermont Green FC is the darling of lower-league American soccer. A commitment to climate justice combined with a raucous atmosphere, pyro, and clever tifos that the supporters unleash on matchdays is so enthralling that even Bernie Sanders and Noah Kahan like to attend games during the summer months. Last year, another scintillating lower-league club from New England sprouted in Maine, just a few hours away from Vermont. The Portland Hearts of Pine, competing in USL League One, became so immediately beloved that they have an 8,000-person waiting list for season tickets. Yet no one thought these sides would ever meet. Two model grassroots clubs, who many have dubbed as “the future of soccer in America,” with very slim chances of playing against one another ...