SLIPPERY ROCK — More than 100 youth soccer teams will soon converge on Butler County with a goal of winning a championship.

The Presidents Cup Tournament, including boys and girls teams from U.S. Youth Soccer's Region I, will take place Satuirday through Monday at Slippery Rock University and in Cranberry Township at Graham Park and North Boundary Park.

Region I includes states from New England to Virginia. The Presidents Cup fields teams in six age groups, U12-U17, and is hosted by venues in two-year cycles. This will be the second consecutive year the tournament will be hosted by Pennsylvania West Soccer, with SRU and Cranberry as the backdrop.

“Last year's event was well received and we broke the record of participating teams with 112,” said PA West youth President Thilo Boensch. “We are expecting a little over 100 teams this year.”

The Presidents Cup has been held since the middle of the last decade.

“The top youth level of the sport is the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championship Series,” said Tim McCoy, executive director of PA West. “They wanted to put something on the map for the players on the level below that. This tournament gives them something to aspire to. It's a fairly high standard of play. The teams have technical and tactical abilities.”

The winning teams at the Presidents Cup will head to the national tournament July 9-12 in Overland Park, Kansas.

“Teams can use this to move up to the top level of youth soccer,” added McCoy. “If they do well here, they may add an elite player or two to make that jump.”

Twelve fields at SRU, including Mihalik-Thompson Stadium, and seven fields in Cranberry will be in use for the event.

“Our grounds crew numbers between 20 and 25,” said Pete Geis, director of the Cranberry parks and department. “They don't have much extra work to get ready for this tournament because they are taking care of the fields to begin with. They are phenomenal, and we get compliments on our fields all the time.

“I challenge you to find a dandelion on any of our fields.”

But Region I takes into account other factors when choosing host sites.

“It deals with infrastructure,” Boensch said. “Is it close enough to the airport, are there enough hotel rooms for visiting teams, are the venues close to each other, things like that.”

Geis said that Cranberry has needed to make only a few adjustments from last year's event.

“We probably over compensated last year to make sure it ran smoothly,” he said. “This year, we have a better idea of what we need. We've added some extra parking.”

“There aren't that many facilities that can meet the needs for this tournament,” McCoy said. “Butler County has what is required, and we are fortunate to be hosting these two years.”

Championship games for both genders and all age groups will be played at SRU on Memorial Day.

With so many players and family members visiting SRU, the school gets a lot of exposure.

“That's why we like to host events here,” said SRU athletic director Paul Lueken. “A lot of folks will be coming here and the campus sells itself.”