MAPLEWOOD, Minn. (FOX 9) – This weekend is the type of weekend when you’ll want to stay pretty close to water, to avoid the heat. 

Whether it’s a splash pad, lake or a water park, water is where we can get a reprieve from the summer heat. Temperatures seemed to drop five degrees as you approached the splash pad at Maple Grove’s Central Park.

Lisa Korus stayed comfortably in the shade, but she and her grandkids appreciated the heat.

“You’ve got to soak it in,” she said. “Warm up where you can. Right? Because it’s short.”

The USA Cup heated up in Blaine Friday and the team from Tea, South Dakota felt it.

“It was very hot,” said Tea player McKenzie Thompson.

Especially on the turf fields, which seemed at least five degrees warmer than the grass.

“The heat was definitely regulating through our cleats,” Thompson said. “And it was very much of a struggle on our bodies to keep going. I was very tired.”

Smoothies kept everyone cool off the field. And inside the air-conditioned hub of the tournament, people lined up to fill water bottles and grab some free electrolytes.

When it was time to warm up and start the next match, parents from Winnipeg lined up their umbrellas to get a cooler view.

“We were lucky the first game, we were in the shade,” said Winnipeg coach Matt Stathers.

Coaches delivered motivation, but kept an eye on players for signs of struggling with the heat. The Canadians had water, fruit, and substitutes ready to go, so they were as prepared as anyone with the possible exception of any opponents from southern states.

“They’re probably used to if they’re from Texas or something,” Stathers said.

“But we don’t ever get in our heads,” said fellow coach Sarah Prospero. “We just go out there and play game and we don’t. We don’t worry about it.”

The Lupient Water Park was very popular Friday. It has a capacity of 400 people, and it typically fills up on hot weekends like this.