The largest high school soccer tournament in West Alabama, the West Alabama Invitational, is returning for its second rendition from March 2-4, hosted by Sipsey Valley High School and Hillcrest High School.

After last season’s successful inaugural tournament, the West Alabama Invitational has grown into the largest high school soccer tournament in West Alabama, from hosting six boys’ and six girls’ teams in 2016 to ten boys’ and ten girls’ teams in 2017, spanning the course of three days.

A list of the returning boys’ teams competing this year includes Sipsey Valley High School, Hillcrest High School, Holt High School, American Christian Academy, Holy Spirit Catholic High School and Tuscaloosa County High School. New teams joining the fray on the boys’ side will be Westminster School at Oak Mountain, Guntersville High School, Demopolis High School and Walker High School.

On the girls’ side, returning squads from last year's tournament are Sipsey Valley High School, Hillcrest High School, Holt High School, American Christian Academy and Tuscaloosa County High School. New faces that will be competing this year will be Holy Spirit Catholic High School, Westminster School at Oak Mountain, Demopolis High School, Mars Hill Bible School and Walker High School.

All boys’ matches will be played at Hillcrest High School and all girls’ matches will be played at Sipsey Valley High School. Below are the times of each match on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

2017 WAI Boys Schedule
loading...
2017 WAI Girls Schedule
loading...

Each game will consist of two 30-minute halves, with a five-minute halftime break. Teams will progress through the "Pool Stage" on Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning by playing three games, with opportunities to score points based on their performances. A win grants a team an automatic six (6) points, plus each team earns points for each goal scored (up to three [3]). Draws count as two (2) points. One (1) additional point will be granted to teams that do not concede a goal during a match, allowing each team to potentially score a maximum of ten (10) points each game. At the end of the "Pool Stage," the four teams with the most number of points advance to the "Knockout Stage," where a playoff will determine the champion. However, teams can lose points should a player or coach get disqualified during any match (a loss of one and two points for that particular match, respectively).

Admission each day will be $5 at the gate and each pass will give you access to both Sipsey Valley and Hillcrest for that day.

Be sure to follow Sipsey Valley and Hillcrest soccer on Twitter, @SipseySoccer and @HHSPatsSoccer, to stay updated on local high school soccer and more information concerning the West Alabama Invitational.

Come out and support local high school soccer March 2-4!

More From Tide 100.9