After a group stage played all across Northern California, the U9-U13 NorCal State Cup returns to neutral hosted sites this weekend when the U9 age group plays a series of matches at three different locations.

Each U9 team has been reseeded and placed into a second group stage in which it will play two games on Saturday and one on Sunday in that phase of the competition before heading to the quarterfinal stage Sunday afternoon.

The matches will take place at Davis Legacy Soccer Complex in Davis, Granite Regional Park in Sacramento, and Mistlin Sports Park in Ripon.

Overall, 660 teams are participating in the competition, where a total of 2,554 games will be played before it concludes in November.

“The size of the event and number of teams aren’t the most important part, but rather the competition that’s provided,” said U9-U13 State Cup Coordinator John Stoppelmann. “Because we reseed after each round, we meet each team at their own level in order to provide appropriate competition for teams in the group phases and knockout stages.”

Teams who come out victorious in the quarterfinals will advance to the semifinals of the competition, which will be held November 11 and 12 at Mistlin or River Islands Sports Complex in Lathrop.

In a change that has been made just this year, the semifinals and finals for the U9 and U10 divisions will take place on the same day, ensuring that no team has to travel twice.

The U9 girls and U10 boys will play their semifinals and finals on November 11, while the U9 boys and U10 girls will play those two rounds on November 12.

All finals will be held In Lathrop.

The U10 State Cup also resumes with the second group phase and quarterfinals on November 4 and 5 in Lathrop, Sacramento, and Ripon.

For all U9-U10 State Cup schedules and standings, click here.