It was an uphill battle from the very beginning for the Yukon Selects men's soccer team at this past weekends' Alaska State Cup.

This year's team had to contend not only with a deeper field in A division, but also a lack of numbers on its own squad, which was due to some last minute cancelations.

Despite only have 12 players on the roster, the Yukon Selects showed they were still a force to deal with at the championship, which was held in Anchorage. The team's great play in the round robin secured them an impressive berth in playoff round, before being eliminated in the semi-finals.

"(The tournament) really went well," said team coach and player Jake Hanson. "We had lots of guys who couldn't make it at the last minute, so it was a little disappointing for me that way, but we did really well."

The core of the Yukon Selects have been together for the past nine years. The 1999 Alaska State Cup was the first tournament the team ever participated in.

That year the group took more than a few people by placing first in the A division at the competition. Since then, the team has competed in several other prestigious competitions including the nationals and competitions in B.C.

The team's original reason for competing in Alaska was because no other elite soccer club outside of the territory was willing to make the trip up to Whitehorse.

After winning in Alaska, the group didn't compete at the event again until 2006 where they placed second after losing 2-1 in the final. As a result of a lack of bodies and some bad luck, the group finished with an 0-3 record in 2007.

The Yukon's involvement in the State Cup has been a tremendous benefit to the tournament in the last few years. The Selects have provided added depth to the very competitive A Division, which included six teams this year.

The past two years, the A division has only had four teams and used a round robin format to determine playoff qualifications. The top four team's in this year's Alaska State Cup's A division qualified for the playoff round.

The Yukon Selects were expecting to have added depth in regard to the number of players taking part, but ended up with the same number of players the team sent in 2007. Hanson said he was hoping to have 18 participants on the Yukon squad for the Alaska competition.

The lack of any subs didn't prevent the Yukon Selects from getting off on the right foot during its first game at the championship.

The Selects kicked off the tournament against a U-18 team from the Wasilla Valley area. Both the skill and additional experience of the players on the Yukon squad were crucial in the team going on to win the game by a decisive score of 6-1.

Highlights for the Yukon Selects included numerous scoring chances throughout the course of the game and storming back after the U-18 team managed to tie the game up at 1-1.

Boris Hoefs led all goal scorers in the game with two, while the four other Select goals came from C.J. Reaume, Harrison Kwok, Marshall Ewing and Jeff Hills.

The Yukon Selects faced a formidable foe in its second game at the championships when they went up against Full Force. Full Force was one of the local Anchorage teams and is no stranger to having success at the State Cup.

With a lack of bodies on the bench, the Yukon Selects knew they were going to have to use a bit of tactics in the game.

The group's plan heading into the contest was to conserve energy early on in order to give themselves a chance to win the contest in the second half.

The plan almost worked, but a goal just before the conclusion of the first half resulted in Full Force taking a 1-0 lead.

The Yukon Selects had some chances in the second half towards the end of the game, but they weren't able to convert anything. Another goal scored by Full Force resulted in the final score being 2-0, handing the Yukon Selects its first defeat of the tournament.

Facing the pressure of needing at least a tie in the final game of the round robin, the Yukon Selects managed to play its best game of the tournament. The group went up against another difficult challenge, facing a talented and experienced International team.

Ewing didn't waste any time getting his club on the board, scoring in the game's first goal in the opening minute of the contest. Two other goals were added to give the Yukon Selects a comfortable 3-0 lead by the end of the first half.

The team added two more goals to go onto the 5-0 victory.

Ewing finished with two goals in total for the Selects, while the other goal scorers on the team included Ammon Hoefs, Boris Hoefs and Hills.

With the victory, the Yukon Selects qualified for the playoff round, finishing the round robin in second place.

In its semi-final matchup, the Selects faced International for the second time, but the end result wouldn't be as favourable for the Yukoners.

The Selects didn't hold anything back and carried the majority of the play in the game. However, despite the team's success at putting plenty of pressure on International's defense and goaltender, the game would end with a 4-2 score that was in International's favour.

The game eliminated the Yukon Selects from this year's Alaska State Cup championships.

Despite not winning the tournament, Hanson said he was impressed with how his team played over the weekend.