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The territory鈥檚 U14 boys team ended their national tournament on a high yesterday.

The Yukon Strikers squad beat Newfoundland and Labrador鈥檚 second team 2-1 on goals by Joe Hanson and Ben Shier to cap their tournament in St. John鈥檚 with a huge victory.

The win propelled the team into 10th place in the standings with a 1-3-1 record, ahead of both the second N.L. host team and Prince Edward Island.

The team had an impressive run, following losses to Alberta 4-0 and Newfoundland and Labrador鈥檚 first team last Wednesday and Thursday.

On Saturday, Joseph Coyne finally got Yukon on the board in a 2-1 loss to New Brunswick.

Then on Sunday, Ashton Bryant struck to give his team a 1-0 lead over P.E.I., who eventually tied it en route to a 1-1 draw.

That set the stage for yesterday鈥檚 heroics over N.L.鈥檚 second team.

The win reveals a bright future for the young squad, which included underage members of the Yukon Junior Selects.

Also in St. John鈥檚, the Yukon Strikers U14 girls played hard, but were ultimately unable to find the back of the net en route to a last-place finish.

Trudy Pike鈥檚 squad lost all five of their games: 11-0 to Quebec Wednesday, 7-0 to Manitoba Thursday, 4-0 to Saskatchewan Saturday, 6-0 to P.E.I. Sunday and 16-0 to British Columbia yesterday.

Both U14 coaches and their teams were in transit home from Newfoundland this morning and were unavailable to speak with the Star.

A total of three Yukon teams took part in the Sport Chek National Club Championships last week, including a U16 girls team competing in Surrey, B.C.

The Yukon Soccer Association鈥檚 head coach John MacPhail was there, assisting head coach Ashley Hill on the sidelines.

The U16 girls finished with a 0-4-1 record 鈥� also last.

The highlight of the tournament was a 1-1 draw against P.E.I. Saturday, said MacPhail.

Defender Bryn Peterson ensured Yukon wouldn鈥檛 be shut out, sending a last-minute shot over the P.E.I. keeper鈥檚 head to tie the game.

鈥淎bout two minutes before that, she had shot from exactly the same place at the top of the 18, and she hit the crossbar,鈥濃�圡acPhail said. 鈥淭hat was a game that, quite honestly, was winnable.鈥�

The team held P.E.I. off the board in the first half, hoping for some magic with a hard wind at their backs in the second.

But P.E.I. 鈥渟nuck one in鈥� on keeper Ava Cairns-Locke early in the second half, forcing the Yukoners to up the pressure.

鈥淲e decided: 鈥楲et鈥檚 go try and get one,鈥欌�� said MacPhail. 鈥淲e pushed Bryn up to the front, and she knocked one in from centre-mid. We gambled and it worked for us.鈥�

The club lost all four of its other contests, however, 8-0 to Alberta Wednesday, 4-0 to N.L. Thursday, 4-0 to N.B. Sunday and 10-0 to B.C. yesterday.

The U16 Strikers headed south with just 13 players, 12 of whom were underage with an opportunity to return to nationals next year.

Shortly into nationals, Alizee Salesse was rendered unable to play due to concussion symptoms, meaning Yukon had only one sub for the remaining five games.

鈥淲e knew we were going to be in tough with a short bench, but none of the kids quit,鈥� said MacPhail.

鈥淭hey learned how to compete. There was a lot of sore legs, injuries and everything else, and they never even looked at the bench to come off.

鈥淔or me, that was my highlight.鈥�

The backline of Peterson, Lara Herry-Saint Onge, Jewel Davies and Sam Ng played every minute of the tournament, displaying tremendous heart under immense pressure.

MacPhail said the girls were probably on the defence for 70 per cent of the tournament.

The final game versus B.C. was a microcosm of the tournament for Yukon, he added, as the Strikers 鈥� a club of 200 players 鈥� squared off against Mountain United FC, which draws from a talent pool of 14,000.

鈥淭hat tells you the tale there,鈥濃�圡acPhail said. 鈥淒avid and Goliath.鈥�

In other Yukon Strikers action last weekend, the U12 girls struck gold at the North Shore Girls Soccer Club鈥檚 annual Thanksgiving tournament.