LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
The open men's final was a battle of two teams who were more than familiar with one another.

Adrien Tremblay, centre, prepares to block a shot from Behchoko's Tyrone Fish, left, during Mar. 21 action at the Fort Simpson annual soccer tournament. - Andrew Livingstone/NNSL photo

However, Behchoko played a disciplined and patient game, capitalizing on a number of Fort Simpson mistakes on the floor to win the Connie Louttit Soccer Tournament with a convincing 4-1 win March 22.

The two teams played an aggressive and at times chippy round-robin match that led to a 4-4 draw after Behchoko turned the ball over in the final seconds, allowing the Thomas Simpson School-sponsored team to put the ball in the back of the net. Winning its semi-final match-up over Fort Resolution 7-0, Behchoko awaited the winner of the other semi-final match-up between second-seed Fort Simpson and third-seed Fort Liard. In a tightly-played matchup, Simpson toughed out a 5-4 win to set-up a re-match with Behchoko.

Despite the evenly-matched round-robin game, Behchoko was no match for Fort Simpson this time around.

Playing smart and controlling the ball for most of the game, Behchoko scored two early goals in the first half. Playing rushed and unable to set up on offense, Fort Simpson was quick out of the gate in the second half, playing an aggressive, but controlled game. The adjustment on the floor allowed for Chris Stipdonk to re-direct a mid-floor shot from Adrien Tremblay to cut the lead to 2-1.

However, Behchoko scored two quick goals with aggressive physicality, capitalizing on what looked like a tired Fort Simpson team who just couldn't quite recover.

While Behchoko took home the medals in the men's open division, Fort Resolution dominated the remaining divisions, winning three of four with decisive wins. Teams from Fort Resolution beat teams from Fort Liard in under-14 men's (11-2), under-16 men's (8-1) and under-19 men's (9-2). Fort Liard won the under-16 women's division with a 15-3 win over Fort Simpson.

Despite the loss of half the teams the tournament usually has due to a last-minute date change do to conflicting schedules, more than 140 players and 26 teams from eight communities, including a team from Whitehorse, participated in the three-day tournament.

Organizer Shane Thompson said it was challenging to change the dates, knowing they would lose a number of teams. However, he said the calibre of play he'd seen all weekend showed soccer is alive and well.

"Looking at the scores over the first two days, they were almost all close," he said, adding it isn't just about soccer. "The big thing is the majority of the players have been here before and it's more of a social gathering than just about soccer."

Thompson said the talent he saw over the weekend, from the more skilled players to beginners leaves him optimistic about where the sport is heading.

"Soccer in the territory is good," he said. "We're getting younger generations coming up. It's still one of those sports where kids are playing in all the divisions because they just want to play. They really love the sport."

He said a big goal of the tournament is to offer a competitive atmosphere for players to become enthralled with the game.

"Some players have never played before and we want them to get into it and carry on with it as they grow up," he said.