Goalkeeper Patrick Jackson stood tall.

As a result, over-35 club Yukon Brewing FC won the 2010 Penticton Soccer Club (PSC) Oldtimer's Thanksgiving Tournament on Monday.

The finals matched the Yukon against the host club in a shootout following a 1-1 stalemate.

Captain and centre back Brad Martin said Jackson made key stops throughout the final and saved a penalty shot for the win.

Yukon Brewing FC's mentality shifted from that of restless anticipation heading into the tournament to that of winners' confidence near the end.

The Penticton tournament – made up of two Penticton clubs and teams from Calgary and Washington State – was the first for Yukon Brewing FC, which was put together last March and trained throughout the summer.

The Yukon boys opened the tourney with a 4-0 win over Calgary, quite a shock, Martin said.

Chris Ross opened the scoring after a nervous start, and was followed by two goals from Phil Jackson and snipe from Justin Carre.

But the score line could have been wider.

Victor Lavanderos and Chris Stacey each missed close chances near the end of the match.

"Once we beat Calgary 4-0 we were pretty confident we could compete with anyone in the tournament,” Martin said, adding that his club expected its first match to be tough since Calgary is a hotbed for soccer.

"We were expecting really high quality. They were a good team; they had us on the run for the first half. But it was a close game until we broke it open a little bit in the second half.”

Yukon Brewing FC's second match was tougher, against a physical PSC team.

Both sides spent the opening moments searching for weaknesses.

Eventually PSC netted the game's only goal, but not before the host side incurred several yellow cards and a red.

"They were very strong; they were really physical – that's a nice way of putting it,”

Martin added. "They were talented, but the play was really aggressive in both of the games we played against them.”

He said that after the first day of matches, Yukon Brewing FC's mindset changed.

"Once we realized we could compete with the teams that we met on that first day, then we started to understand that we could win, and from that point forward we focused on that,” Martin added.

"So from our side, yeah, it was nervy.”

Yukon Brewing FC started the second day of matches on a better note with a 5-3 win over the second Penticton club.

Lavanderos was fouled in the box, setting the stage for Martin, who stepped up to the penalty spot and converted.

Within minutes the Yukon conceded its own goal off the penalty spot. Jackson and Lavanderos put the visitors up 3-1 heading into the half.

The second half was more of the same, with Justin Carre scoring two in the second half.

Based on the tournament's scoring system – six points for a win, one point for each goal scored up to three and another point for a shutout – Yukon Brewing FC finished in the top two, setting the stage for an intense rematch against the host PSC.

"We went down there to win,” Martin said. "We weren't sure what we were going to encounter, but we knew we wanted to do as best as we could.”

Yukon Brewing FC had worked hard in preparation throughout the summer, emphasizing fitness and teamwork, Martin explained, figuring the club would be outmatched skill-wise.

"So right from early in the summer we figured we had to work well as a team and play an organized, disciplined game, and we did,” Martin said.

"I think we were probably the fittest of the teams that we encountered. We were in the over-35 category, and most of our guys are around 35 or just over, certainly between 35 and 40, whereas a few of the other teams were maybe slightly older.

"We knew we had a good, solid team, a lot of us had played at a pretty high level down south – earlier, when we were younger – but we weren't sure how we were going to compete these days.”

The Yukon Brewing Company has been Yukon Brewing FC's major sponsor, while Micmac Toyota and Northland Beverages have also provided generous support to the team.