Appearances by two professional soccer players and giveaways by a slew of local businesses helped Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s eighth annual Soccer for Peace tournament score points with kids citywide yesterday.

“This was our biggest and best event ever,” Conley said of the games on Dorchester’s Pope John Paul II Field. “We had a great turnout from the office, from our youth service partners, and from our sponsors. The community really comes together for an event like this.”

Conley has hosted the annual soccer tournament each summer since 2003 as a way to bring Boston kids and teens together with members of his office for a day of safe, healthy team-oriented activity. This year’s marquee sponsors were Citizens Bank, which provided every young player with a free backpack full of school supplies, and the New England Revolution soccer team, which provided the kids and family members with tickets to an upcoming home game.

Revolution player Shalrie Joseph, a longtime fixture at the annual summer games, told the assembled youth that soccer was the bright thread that ran through his tough childhood, and he impressed the values of teamwork, fair play, and cooperation on a rapt audience of kids, teens, and adults.

“We’re very grateful to Shalrie and the New England Revolution for their support,” Conley said. “That’s the kind of community involvement we need more of in professional sports. Citizens Bank also went above and beyond by showing that sports and education go hand in hand.”

Also joining in was Kristine Lilly, the two-time World Cup and Olympic soccer champ currently playing for the Boston Breakers. Lilly named the recipients of the Good Sportsmanship Trophy, which went to the most sportsmanlike player from each of the four teams: 9-year-old Ideal Lobo, 12-year-old Danalice Vicente, 14-year-old Keyla Mendez, and 14-year-old Sulisa Fernandes.

Social service organizations from across the city also pitched in, with volunteers coming from St. Peter’s Teen Center, the Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation, the Bird Street Community Center, the Uphams Corner Health Center, and the Dorchester Youth Collaborative. America Scores New England hosted an hour-long soccer clinic before the games.

Raffle prizes were supplied by Wal-Mart and Best Buy. Food and drink were provided by Stop & Shop Supermarkets. Members of the DA’s staff cooked hot dogs and hamburgers for the attendees.

“We’re going to do it again next year,” Conley said. “This year will be hard to top, but we’re going to try.”