Toronto FC II is on the verge of a sellout crowd for its home opener against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on Sunday at the Ontario Soccer Centre (4 p.m. ET | Match Center). Fans on hand should be treated to a side that has appeared to have made significant progress over the course of the past year.

The Reds have opened up the 2016 USL season with four points on the road, starting with a 2-2 draw against the New York Red Bulls II and then most recently posting a 2-1 victory against rival FC Montreal last Saturday.

Raheem Edwards, who scored Toronto’s game-winning goal against Montreal and earned USL Team of the Week honors, says the maturity level of this group has stepped up.

“Just our mentality as a whole – we feel like a team,” Edwards said. “We feel better as a team – individually and as a collective. We matured a lot. One season is still experience in my opinion. Experience is experience. Guys like Skylar [Thomas], Wes [Charpie], me, and a couple others, we gained experience. We just try to use that experience to our advantage this season.”

A prime example of that experience is finding the ability to finish strong against Montreal. Head Coach Jason Bent’s side closed out that game with Edwards tallying an 84th-minute game and then holding down the fort defensively down the stretch.

“We’ve got to keep sharp for 90 minutes-plus,” Edwards said. “JB [Jason Bent] has been preaching about that ever since last season, so we go into games knowing that we have to be sharp for all 90 minutes and then some.”

Along with a more mature group, the league was wowed by the skillset of 18-year-old Malik Johnson who put on an amazing dribbling display from midfield through half of FC Montreal’s roster to score his team’s first goal last week.

“We were just completely astonished at the ability to run with the ball at that pace and then have the composure at the end of it,” Bent said of Johnson’s 63rd-minute goal. “That’s a world-class goal. … It was a good time because I think he scored a minute after being substituted into the game, so you can’t really ask for much more from a player entering the game. It was a huge boost for the time and gave us a platform to go on and win the three points.”

“Malik is blessed with very fast feet, so you guys got a little taste of that,” Edwards said. “We see that in practice here and there. It was a good goal by him, obviously. It came at a time and a point where we needed it. It was a great goal overall.”

Johnson has moved on from the goal, though, with all eyes on the Riverhounds.

“[We want] to put out a good game for our fans because it’s our first home game,” Johnson said. “A good win for us would be great for the fans, and us as well. I’m past the goal. It was good, yeah, but we have to focus on this weekend against Pittsburgh.”

Pittsburgh was a menace to TFC II last season, posting a 3-0-0 record and outscoring the side by a 10-2 margin. The first meeting was a 5-1 Hounds victory, though all five Pittsburgh goals came after TFC II’s Tarik Robertson was sent off late in the first half.

“They got our number last season,” Bent said. “The first game, I felt was quite tight. We were winning just before half, we lost a man and then had to play the entire second half down a man. The game then changed from that perspective. In terms of the other two games that we played at home, they were arguably the better side than us but we still competed. We just haven’t been able to get over that finish line against them, so hopefully we can right the ship this weekend.”

The Hounds will be without their captain, Scottish midfielder Kevin Kerr. Kerr will remain in the U.S. as he goes through the permanent residence process with the USCIS.

Bent did not shy away from his feelings about Kerr’s unavailability as Toronto attempts to stay unbeaten through three games.

“I’m glad he’s not there,” Bent said with a grin. “He was a thorn in our side, along with Rob Vincent, last year. I’m delighted I won’t see him this weekend.”