For the second year in a row, the Vanier Crusaders made it to the gold medal final of the high school senior soccer championship, and this time around, they got it right.

Last year, the F.H. Collins Warriors proved to be too much for the Crusaders, doubling Vanier 4-2 for the gold. But on Sunday, the Crusaders picked up a 2-0 victory over the favoured Porter Creek Rams in the final, the players hoisting a trophy the coaches felt was long overdue.

'We really wanted to win this year, because we have such strong players,' said Sylvie Hamel, who coaches the Crusaders along with Jane Londero. 'We could have won last year, too.'

Will Quarton and Kevin Pike netted the goals for Vanier while goaltender Aaron Holway recorded the shutout. Quarton described his marker as a 'tap in,' adding Vanier was really able to keep the Rams on their heels.

'We did really good defensively. Ali (Alejandro Pulido) played really well on defence. He wasn't really letting anyone by. And Aaron played really well in net, too.

'Everyone just clicked this game, I think.'

Londero credited the fact most of her team has played together on numerous occasions for the success. They're also a fast team with good ball control, she said.

Playing for Vanier were: Quarton, Pike, Holway, Sean Macdonald, Jeff Hills, Alejandro Pulido, Jason Lin, Michael Kelly, Janna Tait, Emily McKinnon, Krystal Reaume, Cody Morrison, Kim Carter, Alyssa Beckett and Josh Hanrath.

'We have some strong shooters and some players from Canada Games. We also have several girls who are just awesome. They're strong at any position.'

Hamel added that they all had good endurance during the weekend tournament, as well as great attitudes.

'The kids really, really like the high school rivary, I think.'

Indeed, winning the school championship makes for some fantastic bragging rights, for at least a month, confirmed F.H.'s Tony Nguyen. Nguyen was part of the Warriors squad which claimed gold in the Grade 8/9 final Sunday, after a tougher than expected 3-2 battle with Porter Creek a rematch of last year's final.

'It was intense game,' said Nguyen, who booted a pair of goals in the contest. 'They played really well, surprised us completely. We were scared at one point, I'll admit. We panicked.'

One of Nguyen's markers came on a penalty shot, which he promptly buried in the bottom left corner. But while many in the crowd were impressed with his play, Nguyen was quick to credit the rest of his teammates for the victory.

'Rachel, Nathan (no last names available) because he played through an injury as well as Rhiannon and Logan. And our keeper, actually, he saved us a million times.'

The difference for F.H. this year, said Nguyen, was the closeness and familiarity between the players, as well as a lot of good, strong female players.

'It's so fun,' he said of the championship. 'It's definately good competition.'

Most of the F.H. junior team will be jumping to the senior squad for the next championships, but Nguyen believes there will still be a strong base for next year, calling the Grade 8's 'solid.'

The names of those collecting gold for F.H. in the 8/9 final were not provided.

In the 8/9 bronze medal game, it was Vanier white edging Vanier red 3-2 in an exciting match which was decided by a shootout.

The annual high school soccer championship is run by the Yukon Soccer Association and this year, most of the organizing was done by Dave Stockdale, who also helped out as an official in the matchups.