Inaugural Dallas Cup Girls Invitational kicks off with 32 elite teams

DALLAS, Texas – The Dallas Cup kicked off Saturday at Toyota Soccer Center with action in the inaugural Dallas Cup Girls Invitational.

Running concurrently with the boys tournament, the newly formed girls component of the tournament features 32 elite girls teams battling it out in the Under 16 through Under 19 age groups.

Play got underway on Saturday morning in fitting fashion with historic Dallas-based soccer club Sting playing in the opening match of the day. Dallas Sting Soccer Club is one of the key pioneers of girls youth soccer in the nation. In fact, before the United States formed a women’s national team, Sting’s Under-19 team was the primary international soccer representative for U.S. Soccer. In 1984, Dallas Sting represented America overseas, winning the first ever FIFA-sanctioned women’s tournament (held in China). Throughout this time of dominance, Sting also won an unrivaled seven girls Dallas Cup “Boot and Ball” championship trophies. Dallas Cup last hosted girls teams between 1987 and 1996.

Sting faced off against Crossfire Premier out of Washington. Crossfire Premier’s Kate Toomey scored the first goal of the Dallas Cup Girls Invitational, helping Crossfire cruise to a 3-0 win over Dallas Sting. Preliminary matches in the Dallas Cup Girls Invitational will continue through the week with champions being crowned on Thursday, April 1 at Toyota Stadium.

The 2021 Dallas Cup boys competition began on Sunday. Preliminary games are being played at MoneyGram Soccer Park and the Classic League Complex at Richland College. Attendance at the complexes will be limited to team family members with venue safety protocols in place throughout the week. The 2021 Dallas Cup will conclude on April 3rd and 4th at Toyota Stadium with the finals of the boys brackets.

Collectively, more than 250 teams around the nation will vie for the prestigious “Boot and Ball” trophy across both boys and girls divisions. For ticket info for championship games played at Toyota Stadium later in the week, click here.