BRUNSWICK — The 31st year of the county’s largest Father’s Day Premier Soccer Tournament kicks off at Bowdoin College this weekend as youth soccer players jump into action.
Seacoast United Maine, in conjunction with Bowdoin College, will host the tournament, which will bring in 250 teams from all over the county, playing on 35 fields at Bowdoin and surrounding towns and cities of Brunswick, Bath, Topsham, Freeport and North Yarmouth.
Bowdoin alone will field a record 15 state of the art grass fields, while other venues include both McMann Turf and three fields at the Hyde School in Bath. North Yarmouth Academy will provide fields, as will Pine Tree Academy in Freeport, and Brunswick will feature a newly designed five-field venue of Brunswick Junior High School, Crimmins Field and Harriet Beecher Stowe.
Both Premier and Town/Classic teams will come from all over the six New England states, with featured clubs coming from Washington D.C. (Washington Cosmos, three teams), Soccer New Brunswick/ Canada, (six teams), Far Post Vermont SC, (22 teams), Acadia Fire from Acadia, (6 teams) and Upstate USA SC, (four teams) from Madawaska, a small club that has a mix of players from both Maine and Quebec represented, the team’s first time ever playing at the Challenge.
Tournament Director Jim Wade commented: “This is one of the most exciting years we have ever had, with so many new clubs, both Premier and Town/Classic that are looking forward to traveling to the Coast of Maine in June. They have heard about the quality and competitiveness of the tournament, the hospitality of the Coastal area — hotels, restaurants and events, and they are bringing a lot of people into the area for perhaps the first time.”
This will be Wade’s 18th year directing the tournament.
The tournament is expected to bring in close to 10,000 parents, players, coaches and referees, and area hotels are sold out from Portland to Augusta.
Games kick off today at 5:30 p.m., and finals play at Bowdoin from noon to 3 p.m. will be held at Bowdoin College on Sunday.
For more information on schedules and venues, visit www.seacoastunitedmaine.org.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less