With just over a month to go until the Yukon's Canada Summer Games male soccer team hits the field in Regina, they continue to prove they just may be the best U-18 squad to ever come out of the territory.

The core of this Summer Games team already has a gold medal from the 2004 Arctic Winter Games under their belt the first time a junior male team from the Yukon had done so and now they can add the title from last weekend's Tier I competition in Alberta.

Head coach Spencer Rich believes it's the first time a U-18 team has come home with the championship from such a high level event.

'I was very impressed,' stated Rich. 'The game against St. Albert, where we won 1-0, we had to win that game. Fundamentally, we were excellent. We held our shape, played our positions and dominated the game. The same could be said about the final. We came to win the final.'

The fact they even made the final is a feat which can't be considered too easy, considering they played five games and took in four training sessions in just five days, never mind the travel factor.

But the Yukoners dominated play throughout the tournament, in a division which Rich said featured three really good teams. Their only loss came in the opener, at the hands of the Edmonton Raiders a team they're quite familiar with.

'I think they beat us quite handily last time, which was in an indoor tournament,' said Rich. 'We hit two posts in (the opening game), which we lost 1-0. And their goalkeeper made a save on the line in the dying seconds.'

But this time around, the local squad would get their revenge, as they faced off against the Raiders again in the final. The Yukon walked away with a 3-0 victory and the trophy, as well as a bit more class the game was called before time ended because the Raiders were a little too mouthy with the officials.

'They had a lot more skill up front than most of the other teams,' said midfielder Nick Locke. 'They've always been a really good team. But we came out ready to play right away. We didn't do any trash talking like we did the first game.

'We supported each other really well and didn't give up anything in the middle.'

Donny Richardson, who captained the U-16 team at nationals last fall, agreed with Locke. Richardson said everyone stepped up and played together as a unit.

Rich said he knew going into the tournament they had a good shot at winning, with lots of offensive skill and defensive ability.

'The finishing of Paul Fraughton, he ended up with six goals. And the leadership of Boris Hoefs was just amazing. The defence was also great Forbes (Campbell), Brenden (Carey), Calef (Staples), Donny (Richardson) and Eli (Clements). Alan (Binger) and Nick (Locke) were superb in midfield.'

Two of the players, Carey and Jeff Hills, are just 16 years old, but didn't play like it according to Rich. When Campbell went down in the game against St. Albert making a 'game-saving tackle' toward the end Carey stepped in and didn't miss a beat.

'It was the best team I've ever played on probably,' said Locke. 'The best defensive team anyway. I think we really focused every game. We probably should have won every game.'

Locke pointed to goaltender Jared Eeles as his MVP for the tournament, after Eeles let in just one goal, in the loss to the Raiders in the first game. But really, there are a number of players on this squad that could be named MVP, and that's what makes it so good, said Rich.

'This team has the potential to be the best ever U-18 team and after winning a tournament like that, it really makes a statement,' he said.

A statement which the team hopes to carry over into Canada Summer Games in August. The last time the Summer Games were held, in 2001, both the girls and boys teams from the Yukon won their final game against the N.W.T., which was the first time teams from the territory had posted any victory at the Games.

It was actually the first time the Yukon had sent soccer teams in more than 20 years. But this year, winning one game won't be enough for this crew. They're aiming much higher.

'If everybody's healthy, I think we can win our group for sure,' said Locke. 'We're playing Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan (in the round-robin) and those are always really close games. The team that we had a couple of years ago wasn't nearly as strong or as deep.

'I hope we can get to the quarter-final and just play a close game. That would be a big accomplishment for Yukon soccer.'

Richardson said you always want to win as an athlete, but admitted at such a big tournament, that may be too tough for the local team. But, he said, coming out of the round-robin and into the playoffs is realistic.

'There's so much talent on this team. Everyone has excellent finish, they're quick and they have good touches.'

Rich said they will be holding team building and goal setting sessions for Canada Games over the next couple of weeks to nail down the definites, but certainly they 'would be ecstatic' if they won their group.

Between now and then though, there are still some things which they need to work on, such as tactics, fitness and finish.

'It's a matter of continuing to work on everything, to get the team to peak at Canada Games,' said Rich. 'We need to get ourselves fit and focused.'

Part of that fitness training will begin this weekend, when the team takes part in a tournament with the Selects and a squad from Fairbanks. Juneau was also supposed to make the trip to Whitehorse but pulled out at the last minute.

The first game will be at 9 p.m. tonight, with the Games team playing the Selects. Fairbanks will see its first action Saturday at noon, versus the Selects.

Following the tournament, Canadian Soccer Association instructor and coach at Grant MacEwan College, Sean Fleming, will be back in town the first week of August to run a final clinic before Regina.

'We did a couple sessions with him when we were in Edmonton and that really helped a lot,' said Richardson.

'We definitely want to be in even better shape than the other teams,' added Locke, who is still getting back to 100 per cent after an injury just a couple of months ago.

In fact, it seems like quite a few members of the team have been hit by the injury bug in the last couple of months. And while the majority seem to have fully recovered, there are a couple key players that Rich is crossing his fingers for.

Campbell has a tough road back from a bad groin pull, suffered in the game against St. Albert, and Macdonald is still dealing with an ankle injury from a few weeks ago he was scheduled for an MRI today. Charles Mann came back from Edmonton with a broken nose, but is expected back next week.

You never want to lose anybody, admitted Rich, but even if he does lose one or two players, he's confident the members on the bench can get the job done.

'We have players we can slot in and move around and do the job if needed. This team will have 17 capable players, and for a guy who's coached in the Yukon a long time, to have a bench this deep is quite something.'