Major League Lacrosse has identified Cary as a possible expansion site and the league is going to bring a regular-season game here this summer to test the market’s viability.

In cooperation with Triangle Professional Sports, the Carolina RailHawks’ ownership group, Major League Lacrosse will pit the Philadelphia Barrage against the Rochester Rattlers on June 21 at WakeMed Soccer Park.

“When we announced the franchise, we said we were going to try and bring some various events down here,” said Chris Economides, TPS’ managing partner. “This is going to be an exciting event. It’s the league champion and the league semifinalist. You’ve got two high-powered offenses. It’s going to be a fun night, a fun event to give the Triangle a taste of pro lacrosse.”

Major League Lacrosse was founded in 2001 and is made up of 10 teams that are split into Eastern and Western conferences. MLL has franchises in Boston, Uniondale, N.Y., Rochester, N.Y., Philadelphia, Piscataway, N.J., Washington, D.C., Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The 12-game regular season runs from May to August.

Philadelphia is the two-time reigning league champion. MLL has taken over the franchise and the team will play all 12 of its games on the road this summer, testing various sites for the league’s expansion.

“That opened the door for us to play their games where they’ve been or try and play games in some of the markets we’ve considered strong for expansion. Cary was at the top of the list,” said MLL Commissioner David Gross.

Gross expects the Barrage will return to Philadelphia next year, and one of the cities the team visits this season could land an expansion franchise in the future. Long term, the league would like to expand to 16 teams in the next 10 years. Gross said the Barrage’s schedule isn’t finalized yet, but the league is looking at other markets such as Portland, Ore., Dallas, St. Louis and Va. Beach, Va.

When TPS signed its lease with the Town of Cary for the facility in east Cary, it included an item in the agreement that gave the group control of the stadium for any professional soccer and lacrosse events at the park.

“This is what we promised,” said Economides, who noted that the RailHawks’ ownership group would have to add partners in order to make a lacrosse team here work. “If you look at the market down here and some of the success of the local teams, I think it’s a very viable opportunity.”