There was an abundance of tired legs by the end of the 2015 Whitehorse Minor Soccer Toonie Tournament at the Canada Games Centre over the weekend.
Thirty-six soccer teams hit the indoor pitch in three divisions at the tournament, many playing four or five matches on Saturday alone.
Nine of those teams came away with hardware, three with gold.
Mic Mac Toyota drives to U7 gold
It took a while for their engines to warm up, but in the end Mic Mac Toyota parked in the winner’s circle.
The team came back from down two goals to beat Riverstone Dental Clinic 4-3 in overtime in the U7 gold medal match.
“Once again my players played super well and played hard,” said Mic Mac coach Tyler Bradford. “That was their fifth game today, so they were pretty worn out. But they worked their hardest, kept having fun and grinded it out.”
Down 2-0 to start the second half, the Toyota crew got on the board with a goal from Fiona Farr, who knocked in a loose ball in front of the Riverstone net.
Two minutes later teammate Eli Wolsky evened it up on a rebound, finding the far corner on a tight-angel shot.
Down again late in the half, Toyota’s Nathan Wilcox evened it up at 3-3, sending a shot through the hands of the Riverstone goalkeeper.
In sudden death overtime, Farr was again in the right place at the right time, sending another loose ball into the back of the Riverstone net.
“We played awesome. I’m real proud of my players,” added Bradford.
Riverstone goal scorers include Jesse Johnson with two and Lachlan Wood with one.
Locksmith Services locked up the bronze with a 2-1 win over Dawson City in a shootout.
Avalanche sweeps away the competition
Of all the medal matches, only one ended in a shutout.
The Castle Rock Avalanche kept their net clean, defeating The Deli 1-0 in the U9 gold medal match on Saturday.
“I’m very excited,” said Avalanche player Leo Whittaker. “The tournaments are always really fun. I love playing them. It’s really exciting to get a metal - especially to get gold.”
The match’s one goal wasn’t the prettiest of goals. Early in the second half, amidst a mad scramble in front of The Deli’s net, Avalanche’s Carlos Magsucang delivered a shot that went off the post, off the goalkeeper and in.
“They were very evenly matched teams that made it to the final,” said Avalanche coach Drew Whittaker. “I think for both teams this was their fourth game of the day, so they were tired kids that started early. You could see there was not as much gas in the tank as earlier games.
“One-nil is befitting a tight contest between evenly matched teams.”
Midway through the second The Deli did put a shot off the crossbar of the Avalanche’s net, but that wasn’t enough to prevent goalkeeper Isaiah Fraser from securing the shutout.
The Collective Good collected enough goals for bronze, beating YukonInfo.com 4-3 in the third place game.
Creative Works ‘pitch’ perfect
Creative Works Psychological Services accomplished one thing none of the other 35 teams in the tournament could. They didn’t drop a match.
The Creative Works squad went undefeated to claim gold in the U11 division.
They capped the run with a 4-1 win over General Enterprises in the final.
“They play very well as a team, they are great at passing the ball and communicating,” said Creative Works coach Mark London. “As coaches we try to yell out instructions, but I think if we didn’t even speak they’d still win the game on their own anyway.
“They’re a great team unit. They all like each other, respect each other, so it’s great. It’s a real pleasure to coach this team.”
Having a sharpshooter like Kade Bringsli on the team always helps. Bringsli scored his team’s first three goals in the final - two on tight angle shots. Teammate Max Wanner popped in the fourth.
General Enterprises’ Jordan Stevens scored to make it 3-1 in the second half.
Tim Hortons grabbed the bronze with a 5-4 shootout win over Robert Service Campground.
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com