The Junior Selects are “goldstrikers.”
The Yukon rep soccer team went undefeated to win the U14B division of 2017 Goldstriker’s Futsal Cup, hosted by the Alaska Rush in Anchorage, Feb. 11 and 12.
“I think our team was phenomenal. They were pretty impressive,” said Selects coach Ryan O’Donovan. “They dominated most games. There was one round robin game that was close — a 7-5 game. They impressed me there because it was a close game and they were able to adjust.”
The Selects, who are all members of Yukon’s Total Soccer Excellence Academy, played four matches against two squads — Tootie Footy and Footy Tootie — from Anchorage’s CISC Velocity.
The Selects defeated Footy Tootie 11-1 in the semifinal before topping Tootie Footy 6-0 in the final.
Ben Kishchuk led the way with a hat trick in final and goalkeeper Callum Weir picked up his second shutout of the tournament.
The Selects dominated both those teams in the round robin as well, winning 7-0 and 16-1.
Their toughest challenge of the tournament was a 7-5 win over Anchorage’s Full Arsenal in the round robin.
“We were down at certain points in the game, so it was impressive to see them have the mental strength to stick with it and stay focused,” said O’Donovan.
“We thought we’d see that team in the final.”
Yukon was also represented by a Selects team in the men’s division at the futsal tourney.
The Selects lost their first two matches before posting a 6-6 tie and a 12-2 win.
They then lost 5-4 in the semifinal to Anchorage’s Arctic North, who went on to win gold.
Contact Tom Patrick at tomp@yukon-news.com