How about that: Dawsonites leaving the Klondike to get gold.
That was the case for three Dawson City soccer teams at the Northwestel Futsal Championships on March 11 at Whitehorse’s Canada Games Centre.
Dawson teams won three out five divisions — two with shutouts in the final — at the championship.
“We’ve got a really good group of kids playing in Dawson. In some of the age groups we’ve got 25 kids coming out, which is a lot of kids to coach,” said Dawson coach Irwin Gaw. “We’ve got a lot of kids up there and it’s a really strong program.
“We have fewer kids than some of the bigger centres but we have kids who really jell together well.”
For one Dawson team it meant the continuation of a win steak. Dawson’s 1999-2001 team won their division, going undefeated in six 25-minute matches. The team was mostly the same crew who won the 2015 and 2016 Yukon Soccer Outdoor Championships, and the U16 indoor title last year at the Northwestel tournament.
They took the title on Saturday with a 5-0 win over Yukon’s Canada Summer Games girls training squad in the final.
“The Canada Summer Games girls, they were awesome,” said Gaw. “This last game they came out really strong and hard, and they were fast on us. They were determined and it was really fun to watch. They played with a lot of heart.”
Dawson’s Sarah Nyland had a hat trick while teammates Ethan Gaw and Sam Crocker also scored in the final. Austin Franks was in net for Dawson.
Dawson also won in the 2010-2011 division with a 3-0 win over Haines Junction in the final. Spencer Dewell notched two goals and teammate Isaac Suitor had one. Klondike keeper Hudson Van Riesen got the shutout.
Another Dawson team won the 2008-2009 title with a 2-1 win over Riverstone Dental. Cove Cotter got the game-winning goal for the Klondike team.
Medicine Chest beat a Whitehorse Football Club team 8-2 in the 2002-2004 final. Canada Flooring beat Robert Service Campground 3-1 in the 2005-2007 final.
This year’s championship was the first played solely as futsal, a fast-paced form of indoor soccer often played on hard court.
Contact Tom Patrick at tomp@yukon-news.com