On an overcast night in May, despite rain showers that dampened the stadium seats at WakeMed Soccer Park, Edith Serrano and her family sat glued to the twists, turns and kicks of the Carolina RailHawks.

Serrano, 37, cheered between her husband, Santos Ruiz, 38, and son, Noel Ruiz, 9. They had traveled from Wilson to Cary to see the RailHawks play the Seattle Sounders, braving the weather to claim their front row seats.

Soccer lovers of Hispanic descent, they halfheartedly gave the upstart RailHawks a chance last year in a match against well-known Chivas USA of Major League Soccer. Now they were devoted to the team.

The family's passion for the team is a victory for the RailHawks, who, two years into establishing a new professional franchise in the Triangle, have made attracting members of the Hispanic community a priority.

This season they acquired three players of Hispanic heritage to appeal to Hispanic fans and have increased their promotional efforts.

RailHawks majority owner Brian Wellman said attendance has gradually increased among Hispanics during the past two seasons. He said the organization does not track the ethnicity of fans.

He said the team has marketed to the Hispanic community and made a commitment to outreach and community service.

"We knew after a couple of years we would start getting the support from the Hispanic community," he said. "If you just walk around the concourse at any game now, there's a lot of Latino people and it's great. ... They're spending their money with us. They support us, and we want to support them."

The RailHawks captured the hearts of many Hispanic fans when they defeated Chivas USA 2-0 last August.

"We thought they were going to be way outscored," Serrano said. "And to our surprise ... they won."

Now they buy front row tickets to the RailHawks. Their home computer has a screen saver with a picture of the team. Noel collects autographs after every game they attend.

Serrano, who is Mexican American, said she sees "more and more" Hispanics regularly attending games. "From the youngest to the mama, everybody comes," she said.

When the RailHawks host Rayados de Monterrey -- a renowned Mexican Premier Division team -- in an exhibition Sunday afternoon, the stands are expected to fill with Hispanic soccer fans from around the region. Many will don their blue and white in support of the visitors, but others will sport the Raleigh team's orange and white.

Built-in support system

Carlos Siercke, director of the North Carolina Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said the RailHawks reached out early to establish a working relationship with members of the Hispanic community.

Siercke equipped them with a range of information -- there are more than 600,000 Hispanics in North Carolina, with a majority having ties to Mexico. The state has the 15th largest Hispanic market in the country, with a purchasing power estimated at more than $12 billion, including nearly $2 billion in the Triangle, he told them.

"We knew that we wanted to be part of the community from Day One," Wellman said.

Last season, the RailHawks hosted exhibitions against Chivas USA and Cruz Azul. They also hosted a match between Honduras and El Salvador. Those games drew an average of 7,500 fans. The team's average attendance last year was nearly 5,000.

Sunday's match against Monterrey has garnered similar buzz.

"To Mexicans this is big, it's one of the biggest teams in Mexico," RailHawks first-year forward Martin Nunez said. "Americans kind of don't know. The Spanish community, they are going to know and they're going to be here sold out. I guarantee that."

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