Hope Solo returns to Cary's TST with women’s, mixed teams

Cary is set to again become the center of one of summer’s biggest soccer spectacles, with Hope Solo returning to The Soccer Tournament and helping give Wake County another shot at national attention. The former U.S. women’s national team goalkeeper will bring Solo FC back with two squads, a women’s team and a mixed team, as TST expands its footprint at WakeMed Soccer Park from May 27 through June 1.

Solo’s return matters in Cary because TST has grown well beyond a celebrity cameo. The 2026 event will stretch across six days, feature 160 matches and carry a $3 million prize pool paid to winners across competitions. TST mixed is newly added this year, joining the men’s and women’s brackets after TST and U.S. Soccer announced a third $1 million competition in February. The field will include 48 men’s teams, 16 women’s teams and 12 mixed teams, a scale that keeps the tournament firmly in the made-for-TV, festival-style category that has helped define it in Cary.

The schedule release gave the local marquee matchup extra intrigue: Landon Donovan will face Hope Solo on May 30 at 2 p.m. ET on NBC. For Cary, that kind of national broadcast window is part of the draw. TST has leaned hard into event-day energy, promising music, international food and drink, pop-up shops, giveaways, club activations, exclusive meet-and-greets and family activities around the matches.

Solo’s path back gives the tournament a personal storyline as well. She said TST was one of the best soccer experiences she has ever been part of, and the event helped reignite her love for the game after she had not competed at any level since 2016 before playing in the 2025 edition. This year, she will not only play but also serve as her club’s general manager, adding another layer to a return that is clearly about more than nostalgia.

For Wake County, the bigger story is what TST keeps producing on the ground. The Town of Cary said North Carolina awarded a $6.8 million grant to keep the tournament in Cary through 2029, with officials projecting tens of millions of dollars in continued economic impact for Wake County. Cary said TST has generated $23.9 million in total economic impact since 2024, including more than $14.7 million in direct impact in 2025, more than $547,000 in local tax revenue and nearly 20,000 room nights from out-of-county visitors. Last year, 31,657 fans came from outside Wake County, including visitors from all 50 states, Canada and the United Kingdom, a sign that Cary’s summer soccer event is becoming a regional destination as much as a tournament.