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RUNNERS-UP – Top row, from left: Dawson Weir, Cruz Goodman, Simon Kischuk, Jake Charlton, Ethan Vanderkley, Carl Knickle. Middle: Joseph Coyne, Ewan Halliday, Felix Maltais, Dominic Cheeseman, Jamie Phillips-Freedman, Cody Amaral, Max Zaparinuk. Front: Seth Carey.
In a tune-up tournament for next month’s national club championships,
In a tune-up tournament for next month’s national club championships, the Yukon Strikers U14 soccer team emerged from Pitt Meadows, B.C., with a silver medal last weekend.
The young squad competed in the West Coast Cup tournament held Aug. 29 to 31.
More than 140 teams took part in the event with the Strikers squad working out of a division with both U14 Div. 1 and U15 Div. 2 content.
Pitted against a Surrey-based U15 gold division team in the final, the Strikers ultimately lost 4-0 en route to silver.
“I actually think we should have won the gold, but the cards just weren’t going our way this time,” co-coach Dale Cheeseman told the Star.
“The size difference was a contributing factor ... We kept up to them fine, but in the second half they got a couple of quick goals and we never got them back.”
The eventual gold medallists CCB Inter were up 1-0 at half, before striking for three more goals in the second half.
Despite the loss, goalkeeper Seth Carey was named the Strikers’ MVP for the game for making some outstanding saves.
Now back in Whitehorse, the club will continue to train for the national tournament, scheduled to occur in Charlottetown, P.E.I., next month.
Prior to the tournament, the Strikers got things going with an exhibition game against a Langley-based U14 team Friday night.
In the first game the boys played together since early July, they were very well-composed, winning 5-2.
Tournament play began early Saturday afternoon, with the Strikers coming back from an early deficit to beat WCFC United U15 3-2.
Yukon’s MVP, as decided by the opposing team, was midfielder Simon Kischuk, who strung together a solid contest.
The second game of the day finished in a 1-1 draw versus the WCFC Southsiders Selects.
The Strikers’ lone goal came via a free kick by Cody Amaral, who eventually earned game MVP honours.
Amaral was instrumental in keeping the opposition at bay, playing a strong defence.
Placing first in their pool, the Strikers beat the WCFC U14 Hammers 6-2 in Sunday’s semifinal, thanks in large part to a hat trick from the speedy Jamie Phillips-Freeman.
Jake Charlton, Joseph Coyne and Felix Maltais rounded out the scoring, setting the stage for the final match.
Fresh off their silver-medal win, the club flew home to Whitehorse on Labour Day.
Cheeseman co-coached the team with Edwin Vanderkley, while Gary Knickle served as manager.
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