If you can score only one goal in a season, getting the one that gives your team the win in a championship game is the one you want.
That was the case for the Taiga Medical Clinic’s Mighty Bananas – dressed in bright yellow jerseys – as they took gold in the U-9 division of the Yukon Outdoor Cross-Field Championships, with all three division finals taking place at the George White Fields on Sunday.
The Mighty Bananas took the title in a 1-0 win over Subway, with the game’s lone goal coming from Maggie Fekete – her first goal all season.
“Maggie was the star of the game – first goal of the season and it’s the winning goal of the season,” said Mighty Bananas head coach Mike Kearney. “Every game she got better and we missed her on Saturday – she wasn’t here. But she came and helped us win the gold medal and we’re pretty proud of her.”
Fekete’s goal, which came just three minutes into the game, came on a breakaway, taking an up-field pass from Andrew Roberts, outpacing the Subway defence and putting the ball through the goalkeeper’s legs.
“I feel really good,” said the soft-spoken Fekete.
The game was kept close in the second half despite four more breakaways by the Bananas, thanks to Subway goalie Jared McCulloch.
“We were pressuring, but they played game like they were ahead, they were kicking the ball out just to kill time,” said McCulloch. “I guess it’s all good for them but it’s not very fun for our kids and they’re all pretty upset with the whole ordeal.
“Everyone stood out; everyone played like a team there. There was a lot of good passing and the goaltending was great. It was a good tournament overall.”
Taking the bronze were the Pterodactyls, with a 2-1 come-from-behind win over Coates Services. Scoring both second-half goals for the Pterodactyls was Jamie Phillips-Freedman
“I asked them if they wanted a medal or if they wanted a participation ribbon and they decided they wanted a medal,” said Pterodactyls coach Edwin Vanderkley. “So they played a little harder in the second half.”
Charlotte Van Randen scored the Coates’ lone goal.
Industrial Electrical sparks in second half
Not only did an early second-half goal give Industrial Electrical Service the lead, it opened the floodgates.
Industrial Electrical took U-10 gold on Sunday with a 4-0 win over Mic Mac Toyota, going undefeated in the tournament.
Opening the scoring was Industrial’s Josh Stevens, putting in a long lob shot that slipped through the Mic Mac keeper’s hands.
“One of our defencemen, Josh Stevens, was in goal in the first half – he came out and was full of fire and lots of energy,” said Industrial coach Nils Clarke. “And I guess we started passing a bit more and the energy picked up.”
Stevens’ goal was followed up by Lucas Jirousek with a natural hat trick in the last seven minutes of the game, each goal a rocket that found the bottom corner of the Mic Mac net.
“He has good ball-handling skills, he has great energy – he could probably play a full game,” said Clarke. “He has a great attitude, he doesn’t complain and he’s a multi-sport athlete.”
The loss was Mic Mac’s only of the tournament, taking a 5-0 shutout win over Peak Fitness and a 2-2 tie against Computec Embroidery in the round-robin.
“They’re a great team, they played their little hearts out and they came second – that’s great,” said Mic Mac coach Ivo Amaral of his team. “We tried our hardest, played six games – it was fun. They’re a solid, solid team.
“I have 10 MVPs.”
Taking bronze was Computec in a 2-0 shutout win over Envirolube, with Felix Maltaias scoring in the first half and Grace-Anne Janssen in the second.
“The team played really well – we wanted to be in the gold (medal game), but bronze is awesome,” said Computec coach Dean Klassen, filling in for Laini Klassen. “The whole team played really well.
“I would have to say Grace-Anne (is MVP) for doing all the work and getting a goal – and Simon Kishchuk for having a good tournament.”
Impact Well Drilling hits gold in U-11 final
Strong starts to both halfs were enough to secure gold for Impact Well Drilling in the U-11 final.
Impact captured gold in a 3-0 win over Murraya Dental, with Skyler Bryant scoring the winning goal just three minutes in on a short shot in front that squeezed between the Murraya goalkeeper and the goal post.
“It was a good game. Our kids really learned how to pass the ball and this is sort of the age-group where they start to learn how to do that,” said Impact coach Doug Harris. “Next year is full-field, so that’s a big step up.”
Midway through the first half Impact’s Cayley Sparks took a cross-field pass from Hanna Dueling to make it 2-0. Bryant scored early in the second.
“They have a very sharp team. We’ve played them during the regular season as well and they’re always very good,” said Murraya coach Derek Hyde. “They have some great offensive lines.”
For their high-energy play, Ryan Troke and Logan Morris were named Murraya’s MVPs in the game.
“They buzzed all through the game,” said Hyde. “They worked real hard – they all did, but they buzzed more.”
Despite having no subs, Locksmith Services took bronze with a 3-2 shootout win over Home Sweet Home Baking.
“All our star players were out; we have three star players and they didn’t show up,” Locksmith coach Adil Khalik. “So we were the underdogs and we got a bronze medal. I’m really proud of the kids.”
Scoring for Locksmith in regulation time were Elisha Leenders and Luke Bakaca.
Putting the ball in for Home Sweet Home were Malorie Hanson and Ryan Hindson.
Contact Tom Patrick at tomp@yukon-news.com