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Steamboat Springs — Connor Birch and Andrew White have had the same goal with high school soccer for three years.

The two rising seniors, expected leaders of the Steamboat Springs High School soccer team, hope to host a home playoff game. Although the actual season is more than a month away - official practices start Aug. 17 - the work the two have put in along with the rest of their team Friday, Saturday and today at the Steamboat Mountain Soccer Tournament should go a long way come the opening of the season.

"A lot of us haven't been at practices because we've been doing other things," said Birch, one of the top goalkeepers in the state. "This is almost our first time getting back together. But we've played so long together, it doesn't take us that long to get back into it."

That's certainly a good sign for a Steamboat team with big hopes for the upcoming year. After getting bounced from the playoffs in the first round last season, Steamboat looks to have a team built to compete in the Western Slope League and, potentially, on a state level.

The weekend tournament allows Steamboat to not only play several games with a majority of its team but also to see some of the top competition from across the state - something that doesn't always happen when the fall season begins.

"No. 1, it's about playing and getting out there," Steamboat coach Rob Bohlmann said. "It's getting some minutes of match time and getting our experience. On a macro level, we'll look at a couple of areas where we need to emphasize in the preseason. It's important, too, that they're getting some of their soccer match conditioning that you can only get when you're playing the game."

Although the tournament squad wasn't necessarily the team Steamboat will run out Sept. 5 when it opens at Centaurus - several recent graduates dotted the playing field Saturday - it's certainly a helpful thing for the Sailors.

"We're not playing much soccer," White said. "This tournament helps us get back into the flow. In three days, we can work with each other, and it makes the upcoming season a little easier."

The 25th annual tournament brought more 100 teams to Steamboat to play 200 games. Play began Friday and concludes today. Games were played at Whistler, Heritage, Ski Town, Emerald and Memorial fields. Several games also were played at Steamboat Springs High School.