麻豆社区

Despite going winless at the national U-14 club soccer championships in Vaughan, Ont., both the Yukon Strikers girls and boys teams returned home happy yesterday.

The girls played well, and despite only scoring once 鈥� technically an own-goal by their New Brunswick opponent 鈥� they tied twice and were close in the majority of their matchups.

Coach Doug Harris said it was another great building year for the Yukon, after the club won its first-ever national matchup last year in Mount Pearl, Newfoundland.

"We did very, very well,鈥� Harris said today. "We're pretty pleased with all the results.

We had a couple of games where we felt we could've done better, but results-wise and on the board, we were really happy with it. It was just really positive for us.鈥�

The Strikers opened their schedule with a 6-0 loss to the eventual champion Burlington Bayhawks. They went on to tie Saskatchewan 0-0, drop a close 1-0 decision to P.E.I.'s West Prince Storm, and tie New Brunswick 1-1. They dropped their final decision 3-0 to Newfoundland and Labrador's Mount Pearl Stingers.

"It's really high-calibre soccer,鈥� Harris said. "The Ontario team was just a really skilled team. They crossed the ball from the outside 鈥� just bullet crosses 鈥� and they were heading them in. We're just not even close to that level.鈥�

Offensively, the effort was there, but the results were not.

"We've got a lot of speed on our team,鈥� Harris said. "We were starting to feel like we were being pretty creative when we left town, in our last five or six games 鈥� So we expected to have a little more success.鈥�

Score lines aside, Harris said the Strikers dominated both the P.E.I. and New Brunswick matchups.

"We just didn't have the finish, so we didn't get the result.鈥�

The girls roster consisted of: Miasha Albisser, Avery Bramadat, Thea Carey, Sandy Dubois, Malorie Hanson, Ashley Harris, Sophie Janke, Line Jensen, Jamie Joe-Hudson, Sierra Link, Jamie McLeish, Christine Moser, Aimee Parker, Mikaela Ponsioen, Emily Ross, Abbie Smart, Alex Smith and Teaghan Wilson.

The Yukon boys endured a 14-0 thumping in their first game versus Alberta's Inter 98 club, but rose to the occasion in the next four games.

The Strikers also faced P.E.I.'s Sherwood Parkdale Rangers (7-1 L), Nova Scotia's Halifax City (3-1 L), Newfoundland and Labrador's Mount Pearl (2-1 L) and New Brunswick (7-1 L).

"The score lines don't reflect how competitive those games were,鈥� head coach Ed van Randen said of the final four matches. "We were really right in those games and all of those games could have easily been a win for us, or a tie.鈥�

Callum Wood-Ryan scored twice in the tournament, and Logan Harris scored the loan marker in the loss to Mount Pearl.

"It is a bit of a measuring stick,鈥� said van Randen of the national championship. "We go and we have to face the top club from each province. It's kind of a defence-first mentality that you have to adopt at these championships, because the other teams are so strong. We have a really hard time generating any attack as a result.鈥�

As for the goal differential, van Randen said the boys were able to keep their spirits up.

"You put it in perspective for them,鈥� he said. "That's your key job as a coach. But they really enjoy the tournament, the boys. I'll give them a lot of credit.鈥�

In their time away from the pitch, the Strikers players were able to enjoy Canada's Wonderland and Niagara Falls, both highlights of the trip.

Ontario's North Mississauga Panthers beat Alberta's club entry to win the championship.

The U-14 boys roster consisted of: Luka van Randen, Malcolm Muir, Marek Boulerice, Simon Cash, Michael Kishchuck, Elisha Leenders, Jacob Wyers, Callum Wood-Ryan, Mack Shaw, Gabriel Nadon, Skylar Bryant, Logan Harris, Justin Wishart-MacDougell, Elias Sagar, Ryan Hindson, and Antoine Dion-laFortune.