It’s a soccer-heavy summer in America, and The Soccer Tournament is capitalizing on the buzz. The fourth edition of the 7-on-7 event opened Wednesday at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.

The draw is a mix of big-name players, high stakes and an intimate setting, with men’s, women’s and coed competition packed into a festival-like atmosphere.

Other WRAL Top Stories

The numbers show the scale: 76 teams, more than 2,000 athletes, 159 matches and teams representing 15 countries.

Bumpy Pitch FC enters as the reigning men’s champion after its dramatic 2025 title run. Charlie Gonzalez scored the “million-dollar goal” last year.

“We all love this tournament,” Gonzalez said. “It’s a professional environment, and it feels like you’re playing for a professional team. It’s something that’s hard to describe. It’s something that pumps you up every time.”

The U.S. Women are trying to win the tournament for the third year in a row. Heather O’Reilly, who played at UNC and for the North Carolina Courage, leads the effort.

“More than anything, it’s become a little bit of a family,” O’Reilly said. “I’m happy to invite new players like Jessica McDonald along to our TST family this year. The core is the same, but we have some new pieces every year, which makes it new and exciting. It’s one of the best weeks of the year, so we’re happy to get started.”

Organizers expect more than 50,000 fans to come to the Triangle for unique matchups and dramatic finishes powered by TST’s signature “target score time” format.

“Everybody out here loves the game, and you can just feel that walking around,” said Doug Porter, who came out to watch the opening games. “It’s just a different atmosphere than a regular soccer game.”

Men’s group play opened the six-day event before the women’s and mixed brackets join in. One of the strongest Day 1 matchups featured Kings League All-Stars against KRÜ FC.

Soccer stars like Landon Donovan and Hope Solo are scheduled to play, along with Fayetteville native J. Cole and former NFL wide receiver Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson.

Donovan and Solo will face each other Saturday when Sneaky FC plays Solo FC.

Dark Horse NC United is a locally based team in Group C with Kings League All-Stars, KRÜ FC and City Soccer FC.

TST matches can be watched through NBC Sports, with select games airing on NBC — WRAL in the Triangle — and streaming on Peacock. Other tournament games are available on ESPN+ and ESPNU.