Any inexperience players on the Dawson City Loins may have had competing in an outdoor soccer match didn't show during the annual McDonald's Cross-Field Championships.

The team won the U-9 division on Sunday at the F.H. Collins Secondary School field, finishing with an impressive 5-1 record during tournament play.

What makes the gold medal feat even more special was the fact that Dawson City was the only team from outside of Whitehorse at the championships and had just started its outdoor program a couple of weeks ago.

The Lions had only three practices before the tournament on the weekend.

"It's good for the kids," said Lions coach Irwin Gaw about winning the gold medal.

"In the end though, it's not the most important thing to them. Kids live for the moment, but they were pretty excited and I know the parents were really excited too."

In total, 58 games were played over the course of three days. The tournament featured three different divisions, being the U-9, U-10 and U-11.

Twenty-five teams took part in the competition, with nine coming from the U-9 division and the other two division each had eight teams. Most of the squads had around 10 players each.

There were 250 athletes at the championships this year, which attracted a large number of spectators, who turned out for each game to cheer on the players.

One of the tournament highlights included how well-balanced the teams were, which led to a lot of ties and close games. Out of the 58 games, only 10 contests were won by more the two goals.

Teams in all three of the divisions at the championships were divided into two groups and were guaranteed at least four games.

The top finishers in group A played the second place team in group B and vice-versa in semi final action.

The winner of the semi final matches went on to compete in the gold medal game, while the two losing teams faced each other for the bronze.

The playoffs included two 20 minute halves with a five minute extra time frame and shootout if need be.

In addition to the gold medal, the first place team in each division was given a trophy to commemorate the victory. Trophies were also awarded to the team's sponsor and will be kept until next year's competition.

In what was a closely fought battle in the U-9 division final, Dawson City managed to net the lone goal in the first half of play and then play a rock-solid defensive game after that to get the 1-0 victory over Vector Research.

Both teams had their offensive chances, but some superb goal-keeping by the two netminders kept the score at just 1-0. This was Dawson City's fourth shutout victory at the tournament.

Gaw credits the victory to the Lions tremendous play as a team.

"Their passing was fantastic," he said. "We practiced a lot of passing and that was it there; strong defence and the quality of passing."

He said it was a lot of fun to play in the tournament.

"It's fun for the kids to come down to Whitehorse and hangout for the weekend," Gaw said.

"It's great for their experience of the game because we don't have enough players in Dawson to have a league. So it is really good for them to get the competition and it's fun just to come down as a coach and a player to participate."

In the bronze medal contest for the U-9 division, Yellow Truck Excavation defeated Impact Well Drilling by the close score of 2-1.

Bank of Montreal (BMO) won top honours in the U-10 division, beating Northern Denture Clinic 2-0 in the final. BMO qualified for the gold medal match after a tough game against Team Austring, Fendrick, Fairman and Parkari, which the team managed to win in a shootout.

In the final, BMO scored both goals in the first half and then in the second half of the contest they played a much more defensive style to secure the win.

Brian Banks coached BMO during the tournament and said he was proud of the players on the team.

"I am proud for the fact that they played like a team," he said. "You set a goal and you work to win that goal. It's a good reward to finish off with a gold medal."

Megan Banks, nine, played mostly as a forward for BMO during the outdoor soccer season. Megan, who has been playing soccer since she was six years old, said it was really exciting to win the tournament.

Fabrizio Rayo played mid field for Northern Denture Clinic and scored one goal during the tournament. Rayo said he didn't have any expectations coming into the tournament and despite not winning the gold, it still felt good to take home the silver medal.

The U-10 division witnessed a great battle for third place between Dirkbuilt Construction and Team Austring, Fendrick, Fairman and Parkari. Dirkbuilt Construction ended up winning the game 1-0 to claim the bronze medal.

In another closely fought final, Prime Meridian Physiotherapy defeated Henry Gulch Exploration to secure the gold medal and win top honours in the U-11 division.

The U-11 division's bronze medal game featured a thrilling comback from a determined Your Dream Home squad. Your Dream Home fought back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Surgical Incisions 3-2 in what was a classic matchup.

Brian Gillen is the president of the Yukon Soccer Association, which puts on the championships every year.

Gillen said the tournament went well this year and that he was glad about the team from Dawson participating.

"It shows that there is incredible support for soccer still, players like to play it and people like to watch it," he said. "The standard of play is getting better every year. It's obvious some of the players have been watching stuff on television."

He said the mid-field championships is really a community event and it's rewarding holding it every year.

"It's really great to see the parents, who don't always get out to watch the kids during the week," Gillen said.

"They always come out for these tournaments with grandparents and friends and make lots of noise and cheer the kids. It's a real community event. We spend so much time as organizers planning and plotting and organizing that sometimes you don't get a heck of lot chances to actually see the kids play games. So it's really satisfying to me when I come out and I see the kids play."

The McDonald's Full-Field Championships for U-12, U-13 and U-16 teams will be held June 27, 28 and 29 on various fields throughout Whitehorse.