FORT McMURRAY, Alta. Yukon juvenile female soccer player Kaeli Ritchie received the perfect birthday present from the N.W.T. Thursday a goal and a 4-0 victory.

'It was awesome,' a grinning Ritchie, who turned 15 years old Thursday, said after the game.

The win gave the girls' team a round robin record of two wins, one loss and one tie at the 2004 Arctic Winter Games, as well as a shot at the gold ulu game on Saturday in Fort McMurray.

'We got off to a slow start but the momentum is building and it's in our favor,' said coach Bruce Thompson, who made his first trip to the AWG as coach, although he has been to three others as part of the mission staff.

'We have full intentions of getting to the gold ulu game.'

First, the second-place Yukon squad will have to get past third-place Alaska, which is something Thompson is confident can be done.

'We lost 2-1 to them in the first game but it was really close,' he said. 'It really could have gone either way. I think we were a little nervous.'

Ritchie said if the team can play like they did the first game but not get so nervous, they have a good shot at winning.

'We have to keep our heads in the game and keep the good passes up,' she said.

Both Ritchie and Thompson said the team wanted to be in the gold medal game from the start even before they left Whitehorse.

'We'll be really disappointed if we don't get there,' the coach admitted. 'But I think we have the players that can get us there.'

The game against Alaska will take place today, not leaving the squad much time to prepare.

'The biggest thing is to relax and get their minds off the game for a while,' said Thompson.

He is counting on his squad's excellent teamwork to get the job done.

'Our defence has been really solid.'

Ritchie agreed that the whole team has come together in Fort McMurray and really supported each other.

Thompson, meanwhile, has a bit of extra support in the form of his family. All six of them are in Fort McMurray for the Games this year.

Daughter Wheaton Symington plays for her dad on the juvenile girls team while daughter Erin Symington is playing in intermediate soccer. Son Ben is an alpine skier and son William is a well-known pin trader.

'He's been doing well with his pin trading,' Thompson smiled in reference to his nine-year-old son. 'He's the number one pin trader.'

Thompson said there is a small draw back in having every member of his family here.

'You've got to get out and watch everybody, so your schedule is pretty much set,' he said.

Still, he said, 'it's been fun.'

The other Yukon soccer teams have also been enjoying the Arctic Winter Games. After a 2-0 win over Alberta North Thursday evening, the junior boys soccer team finished the round robin in first place at 6-0. They'll take on fourth-place Alaska in the semifinal today.

The junior girls soccer team also did quite well in the round robin, recording a 4-1 record.

In its game against Alaska this morning, the junior girls team pulled out a 4-2 victory to win a spot in tomorrow's gold ulu match.

The juvenile boys team beat Nunavut 3-1 Thursday and claimed top spot in the round robin with a record of 4-0.

The squad then dominated Alberta North this morning for a 5-0 victory. The win puts the team in tomorrow morning's final against Alaska.

The intermediate girls soccer team is set to face second-place Alberta North in the semifinal after finishing the round robin in third at 2-2.