After a hard-fought weekend, three young soccer squads were left standing in the winner’s circle Sunday.

The U11 Wild Bunch, U10 Tim Hortons squad and U9 Yukoninfo.com team were all winners at the cross-field championships hosted by Whitehorse Minor Soccer (WMS).

The Wild Bunch edged Locksmith Services 2-1 in the U11 final Sunday at the Vanier Catholic Secondary School fields.

Emerson Wild and Lucas Henderson put the red team up 2-0 before a late tally from Kade Bringsli gave the lime-jerseyed Locksmith Services a fighting chance.

The Wild Bunch almost iced it late, but a long shot from their half bounced over the gaping cage.

The gold-medal victory came as a bit of a surprise, said Wild Bunch coach Deb Wild, who lauded the other five teams for a well-played tournament.

“We were a very weak team all season,” she said post-game. “But by season’s end, we were doing much better. Our passing was better, our running was better. So that makes the win pretty satisfying.”

Other members of the U11 championship team were: Sawyer Adams, Sam Bugg, Samantha Greene, Alan Johnson, Oscar Karais, Kate Mason, Trina Pauls, Gavin Spence and Amelia Wallace.

The Deli (blue) earned bronze with an extra-time 2-1 win over the Panthers (powder), while the Cheetahs (orange) finished out of the playoffs.

In U10 action, the purple Tim Hortons team dispatched the maroon Gators 3-1 in an exciting final Sunday morning.

Ryder Brulotte scored a pair of goals and Cassie Cebuliak added a single to lead Tim Hortons to gold.

Ashton Payne responded for the Gators in the loss.

“We had a good team all year,” said Tim Hortons coach Doug Terry. “But it came down to a three-team challenge. The maroon team beat out the yellow team in the semifinal, and that was a bit of a surprise.

“The playoffs were really tight. It was a good win for sure.”

Other members of the Tim Hortons squad included: Tristan Cruickshank, Cameron Geier, Erin King, Daniel Phillips-Freedman, Myles Terry and Will Taylor.

The Yellow Bombers earned bronze with a 4-0 win over the red Sliders team.

The U9 final pitted the royal blue Yukoninfo.com team against yellow-clad Castle Rock Enterprises.

Yukoninfo.com earned gold with a 3-1 victory, while Murraya Dental (lime) defeated Yukon Yamaha (red) 5-1 to take bronze.

Other participating U9 teams included Titan Gaming (maroon) and Traveling Light B&B (orange).

A Yukoninfo.com roster was not available by press time.

The cross-field championships see the soccer field split in half with teams playing the width of the field.

The full-field championships for U13 and U16 divisions will take place this coming weekend.

The two championship weekends give young soccer players a taste of high-level competition, said WMS president Grant Zazula.

“The thing about the Yukon is there’s not a lot of competition, so this gets them fuelled up,” he said. “It helps build character.”

The current outdoor minor soccer season lasts eight weeks. However, discussion on a potential turf complex in Whistle Bend continues, which could extend future seasons to 12 weeks.

Zazula said the sport is “taking off” locally, with both minor soccer and the Yukon Strikers program seeing a boost in membership this season.

The Junior Strikers program has jumped from 25 registrants last year to 55 this season, while the Senior Striker program numbers are up to 150 from 100 last year, Zazula said.

“The global game is getting huge,” he said, noting he sees more local youngsters wearing Lionel Messi jerseys than Sidney Crosby sweaters.

The Women’s World Cup, currently underway in Canada, is also helping women stay in the game.