Howard County is one of Maryland's soccer meccas, with roughly 8,000 players competing in every nook and cranny of open space.

Now, long-awaited extra space appears to be on the way, thanks to an agreement reached Monday night to end a long legal struggle that threatened to indefinitely postpone construction of the largest privately owned soccer complex in the state.

The Soccer Association of Columbia/Howard County, which had approval from the county Planning Board for 10 fields, agreed instead to build eight fields now and wait three years before applying for the rest.

The three residents fighting the complex because they worried about traffic snarls have agreed, in turn, to drop their appeal.

It is an agreement in principle, but both groups expect to have it in writing shortly and construction on the complex in Ellicott City is expected to start early next year.

"It's getting us out of court and in the ground," said David Procida, president of the 6,000-player association, the largest of a half-dozen soccer organizations in Howard County.

"We never doubted that it would happen, but now that it's within grasp, it feels good."

"This is truly a win-win situation," said attorney David Kinsley, one of the Ellicott City residents who appealed.

"We get some assurances that the potential number of games played will be reduced somewhat, and if it works out, they get the ability to go back after three years and increase the number of fields."

Procida expects the complex will be ready to use by spring 2004.

That is a year later than soccer leaders had originally hoped but probably at least a year sooner than they would have been able to start had the appeal gone forward.

Completion of the complex will have a trickle-down effect on other county sports programs. Dozens of leagues for football, baseball, lacrosse and soccer are vying for the same playing space.

"Hopefully it will free up some other fields for rival soccer clubs like ours," said Tony Corbett, coaching adviser for the Thunder Soccer Club in Glenwood.

"The fields are so terribly overused that anything that's halfway decent gets pounded."

Howard County has more players affiliated with the Maryland State Youth Soccer Association than any place besides populous Montgomery, and the Soccer Association of Columbia/ Howard County is the second-largest league in the state.

The group's "Covenant Park" complex will rise on 52 acres west of Centennial Lane, near Route 108. Members bought the land for $1,150,000 and expect construction costs of roughly $3 million, Procida said.

He said he was confident the association would win in court, but he preferred to compromise rather than delay the project.

Both sides were scheduled to appear in Circuit Court next month, a year after the county Board of Appeals gave soccer leaders permission for the project.

Under the agreement, soccer leaders must wait three years after they have constructed the complex to ask the county Board of Appeals for permission to build the final two fields.

Kinsley, the lawyer who lives in the area, said he is still concerned about the traffic but feels better knowing that the soccer association will be able to work out any kinks with a slightly smaller operation.

"It's going to take three years of a little trial and error and hard experience to see if it has a negative impact or not," he said.

Jim Carlan, chief operating officer of the soccer association, promised that his membership will be the first to complain if Centennial Lane jams up on game days.

"We're going to make very, very sure that there aren't traffic problems," he said.