The “eyes” of Major League Soccer’s NEXT Pro league were on Huntsville Friday night with Huntsville City Football Club making its home debut at newly renovated Joe Davis Stadium.

The game with Charlotte-based Crown Legacy was televised on Apple locally, nationally and globally. The announced crowd of 5,605 was the largest crowd in MLS NEXT Pro all season.

“Everyone was wondering what it was going to look like,” MLS NEXT Pro President Charles Altchek said. “Now we have our answer. It was everything we wanted and more.”

It was also everything Huntsville City FC wanted. It defeated Crown Legacy 2-1. It was the first victory for the team in regulation. It also halted Crown Legacy’s winning streak at seven, one shy of the MLS NEXT Pro record.

“I’m hoping the crowd understood their importance,” Huntsville City FC Coach Jack Collison said. “I was speaking to a close friend of mine after the game and told him there have been moments this year when we’ve been on the road, at the end of the game, when the boys were getting tired … we just haven’t found the ability to get over the line. But towards the end today, they were playing with more energy. … I think a big part of that was the crowd. They were phenomenal.”