Next stop: nationals.

Despite going winless in four games last weekend, the U14 Yukon Strikers girls team made positive gains in Chilliwack, B.C., said head coach Trudy Pike. In fact, the team performed above expectations at Townsend Park, she said.

The Strikers took on four B.C. clubs, dropping their first two games on Saturday by scores of 2-0 against Squamish United and Chilliwack Attack No. 1, respectively.

On Sunday, Maya Cairns-Locke finally got the Yukon on the board with a pretty strike into the top corner in an eventual 3-1 loss to the Chilliwack Strikers. She had rung a ball off the crossbar earlier.

The team would round out their tournament with a 4-0 loss to Chilliwack Attack No. 2.

Still, Pike was impressed with her team’s hard work, confidence and quick ball movement.

She lauded the girls’ defensive play and the fine work by goalies Dana Sellars and Cairns-Locke.

“The girls were very pleased with their performance and were very thankful for the level of competition they faced over the weekend,” said Pike, noting the opposition was a full year older than the majority of the Yukon roster, which includes a number of 12-year-olds.

“I think they really surprised themselves with how well they played.”

Despite the losses, Pike said the girls held their heads high and represented the territory with “great sportsmanship and class” on and off the field.

The team will continue working on its game with exhibition games against local clubs to prepare for the Canadian club soccer championships next month.

Led by Pike, a former Newfoundland resident, the Strikers will represent the Yukon at the U14 tournament in St. John’s, N.L., Oct. 7 to 12.

“Playing at a national tournament can be overwhelming,” she said.

“We know we will be facing fierce competition from the other provinces’ best athletes.

“Our biggest focus will not be on the outcome of games, but how far we challenge ourselves on the field. We hope to compete at our best and give it all we have.”

Strong defence, ball possession and capitalizing on turnovers will help the young squad compete.

Besides Cairns-Locke and Sellars, the complete Yukon Strikers roster includes: Maren Bilsky, Cassidy Cairns, Maggie Fekete, Kacie Hastings, Hannah Jacobs, Hazel Lewis, Jenika Lindley, Mary Londero, Brooklyn Massie, Aliyah Nyland, Meghan Pennington, Bella Roy-Gelinas, Alyssa Rusnak, Bayly Scoffin, Ainslie Spence, Anna Tolgyesi, Peyton Twardochleb, Amy Vanderkley and Charlotte Van Randen.

Hannah Milner is an assistant coach while Marie Cairns manages the team.

Currently, the young squad does not have a captain.