An unprecedented seven Yukon athletes are suiting up for university or college soccer programs this fall, while another returns to the college ranks as an assistant coach.

In the West, Harrison Kwok cracked the University of Victoria Vikes roster while brothers Ammon and Boris Hoefs are at the University of Alberta.

Jeff Hills and Alejandro Pulido are also in Edmonton, playing their first season at Grant MacEwan College for the Griffins. Fellow Yukoner Ash Jordan will once again be an assistant coach at MacEwan.

Out East, Paul Fraughton is hitting the pitch for Dalhousie University, where his brother Morgan played last season.

Jenni Matchett, who captained the St. Michaels University School soccer team in Victoria last year, was recruited by York University for this fall.

Coming off an Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) title in 2006 as members of the Griffins, as well as a bronze medal at the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association (CCAA) championships, Ammon and Boris decided to try their luck with the Golden Bears.

It was Ammon's second shot at cracking the roster and this time he made the most of it, earning a spot as a starting forward. The difference between last year and this year?

'I think it's maturity,' stated the 23-year-old athlete, who is majoring in science at the U of A. 'I don't think I was ready until now. I'm glad I went through Grant MacEwan. It was the stepping stone I needed.'

Ammon spent three years with the Griffins before making the jump to university soccer. Boris played at Grant MacEwan for two years and is on the practice roster for the Bears this season.

Ammon said while Boris hasn't had any playing time yet, it might actually be a blessing in disguise since his younger brother is in the engineering program and currently has a six-class academic load.

'I'm barely hanging in there with four classes, so it's probably a good thing he's not actually getting playing time right now. He gets all the benefits of being on a team and training, but he can also concentrate on school.

'But I think it's just a matter of time before he works his way into the starting lineup. He's doing really well down here.'

The Bears are the defending national champions and Ammon said the calibre of soccer they play is 'head and shoulders' above the college level. There's a lot more training and dedication required in order to have an impact in games, and some of his competitors have played professional soccer.

'It's like nothing I've ever experienced before.'

Ammon and his teammates train four days a week, Tuesday through Friday, from two to three hours each day. That doesn't even include games. He said fitness was one of his main concerns when he arrived at the U of A, because he couldn't get the type of exposure and game experience while at home in Whitehorse during the summer as most players get down south.

'I had to make sure my fitness was up at the right level,' he said, adding an injury didn't exactly help matters.

He fractured his foot just a few weeks before tryouts, but thankfully he was able to play through it. He said he's been going through physio as well as icing his foot on a regular basis.

'It's held up nicely.'

Six games into the season, Ammon has two goals under his belt for the Bears, including the team's first goal in their season opener against University College of the Fraser Valley Cascades (Abbotsford, B.C.) earlier this month.

He also scored in a 2-2 tie with the University of Victoria this past weekend, a game where fellow Yukoner Kwok lined up on the opposite side.

Kwok, who has been alternating between right defence and right midfield so far, is in his first year as a member of the Vikes. He tried out for the squad last year but didn't quite make it.

'The calibre here is exponentially better,' he said about his soccer experience. 'The players are infinitely better. They're smarter. They've been playing the game their whole life.'

Kwok said he was expecting to be a red-shirt (on the practice roster), but impressed the coach enough with his attack style and ball handling to earn a spot on the travel roster. While he hasn't been starting every game, he did play a good chunk of minutes against Saskatchewan and Alberta this past weekend.

'It went well. There were no mistakes. I felt good. I think I'm starting to gel with the team.

'Hopefully I'll pay my dues this year as a rookie and earn more playing time as the season goes on.'

Right now, the Vikes are tied with the Golden Bears for second place in the Canada West CIS standings, with a record of 3-2-1. The top four teams in the eight-team conference get a playoff spot.

As defending national champions, the Bears are definitely looking to qualify for the post-season, said Ammon, although he added it won't be easy to repeat with such a young team. Five of the squad's starters are first-years.

'We've got a lot of potential,' said Ammon. 'Hopefully, we end up defending our title, but it will be tough this year. We're up against some really strong teams.

'Trinity Western ... they actually beat us in the Canada West final last year, but because we were hosting nationals, we got a bye to the tournament anyway. Then we beat them in the national final.

'They still have all of their returning players, so they're a really good squad.'

Across the city of Edmonton at Grant MacEwan, the Griffins are also looking to return to glory this year, with eight veterans back to defend their ACAC championship.

The two Yukon players are hoping they can play a large role, particularly Hills, who has started all three games for the team so far as a rookie.

'Our first game against Grande Prairie was nerve-wracking for me, but the second game, I played a lot better,' said Hills. 'I actually drew a penalty.'

Hills, who is a centre-midfielder, said while Pulido hasn't received as many minutes on the field, he's been changing the game when he does get in. Pulido usually plays defence, but the coaching staff at MacEwan moved him to midfield on the wing, explained Hills.

'We have a really packed midfield this year, so he hasn't seen as much playing time.'

After back-to-back victories over Grande Prairie to open the season, the Griffins fell 3-0 to Concordia this past weekend. They'll be looking to rebound this weekend against King's College.

'There's high standards here,' stated Hills. 'We felt that after our loss on the weekend. (Tuesday) we got ran into the ground.

'Basically, NAIT (the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology) is the big challenge for us. They've got a couple of guys from the Canadian national squad. We need to take six points from them to make the playoffs.

'Playoffs isn't just a goal, it's an expectation.'

Meanwhile, at Dalhousie University, Fraughton and his teammates are off to a slow start, with a record of one win, four losses and two ties. Their next contest is Saturday against the University of Prince Edward Island.

Matchett and the York University Lions went on an impressive seven-game winning streak to start the season, before finally dropping a contest last weekend against Brock.

The Lions' 7-1 record is still good enough for first place in the Ontario universities' western division.