SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Two teams from Deh Gah School got a taste of the level of soccer competition the territory has to offer over the weekend.

Ten male and eight female students from Fort Providence competed in Junior Super Soccer in Yellowknife from April 22 to 25. Both teams played in the U14 division.

Rochella Sanderson moves the ball on of the Deh Gah Eagles U14 girls' team games at Super Soccer in Yellowknife over the weekend. - Adrian Lysenko/NNSL photo

Although neither team won any of their games both the coaches and the players left the tournament feeling optimistic.

The boys played hard in all of their games, said Jeff Clemens, the team's coach.

"I was proud of the effort they put forth all weekend," Clemens said.

"I thought we got better every game."

Both teams practised at least twice a week for two months to prepare for the tournament. They faced the disadvantage of not being able to practise in a full game situation. The teams played their first games of the season at the tournament, Clemens said.

The boys started with a 6-1 loss against Inuvik on Friday morning before losing to Mildred Hall, a Yellowknife team, that afternoon. The Eagles' closest game came on Saturday morning against Yellowknife's Allain St. Cyr.

Allain St. Cyr got the first goal but Rudy Landry scored to tie up the game. The game remained tied at 1-1 until the last three minutes when St. Cyr scored again to end the game 2-1.

The Eagles' final game was its best although the score doesn't show it, Clemens said.

The Eagles played Yellowknife's William McDonald losing 9-2. At that point in the tournament the Eagles were the only team to score two points against William McDonald, who won the division.

Eagles player Nolan Bonnetrouge, 14, said he was happy with his team's performance.

"We did pretty good, a lot of passing, a lot of scoring," Bonnetrouge said.

This was Bonnetrouge's fourth time competing at Super Soccer. Every year the Eagles get better, he said. Not being able to play a full game before the tournament is definitely a challenge, Bonnetrouge said.

Bradley Thom, 14, who alternated between playing defence and goalie, said the tournament was a lot of fun.

"I think we did pretty good. We came close to getting to the finals," Thom said.

The girls team also went through the tournament winless. The team lost to Chief Jimmy Bruneau from Behchoko 12-0, Inuvik 7-1, William Mackenzie White 4-2 and Ecole St. Joseph of Yellowknife, 13-1.

"They did pretty good," said coach Aaron Freitas.

The team only had eight players, many of whom were only 11 or 12 years old. Playing in the U14 division was a challenge, Freitas said.

One other team from Deh Gah School will be testing its mettle this coming weekend. The school is sending a U15 girls team to Senior Super Soccer from April 28 to May 2.