Jefferson Cup: Qualifier Weekend gathers 67 girls teams in pursuit of 2015 slots

RICHMOND, Va. – With two weekends completed, thousands of games played and dozens of trophies already handed out, the 2014 Jefferson Cup might appear to be done and dusted.

But there’s still two more days of action left in central Virginia’s spring soccer smorgasbord.

[ +Find more Jeff Cup coverage here ]

The steady growth of the Jeff Cup has made it a highly selective tournament, with many applying teams unable to secure a slot in the main event, especially on the girls side.

So the hosts, the Richmond Strikers, have added a play-in tourney, the Qualifier Weekend, for the Under-12 through U-16 age groups.

The top finishers in those brackets – two to four teams in each age group – will earn spots in the 2015 Jefferson Cup.

That opportunity has 67 drawn up-and-coming teams from across the eastern United States, with representatives from as far afield as Massachusetts and Ohio hunting for a place in next year’s Girls Weekend.

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Only 18 of them will make the cut for next spring; see further details of the qualification process here.

Qualifier Weekend 2014 kicks off bright and early Saturday morning on the synthetic-turf fields of the River City Sportsplex in Midlothian, Va., the host venue for all matches.

[ +Visit the Qualifier Weekend home page for schedules, scores and other info ]