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Silver and bronze in Nunavut
NWT soccer players compete in Kugluktuk

Roxanna Thompson
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, November 4, 2010

KUGLUKTUK/COPPERMINE - Seventeen soccer players from the territory have proven they can hold their own against the best Nunavut has to offer.

NNSL photo/graphic

Two teams of soccer players from Fort Simpson, Behchoko and Fort Liard competed in the Kugluktuk Invitational. The athletes included from left, back row: Steven Thompson, Rylan Hardisty-Gillis, Lawrence (Junior) Drygeese, Tyler Pilling, Gordon Thompson, Adrien Tremblay and Tyrone Stipdonk; middle row: coaches Shane Thompson and Caitlin Jaffray, Reannda Cli, Maeve Dempsey, Melissa Bouvier, Jacqueline Gon and coach Michael Botermans; front row: Madison Pilling, Tiffany Larter, Janelle Bruneau, Thomas Roche and Nikita Larter; front, centre: Cydney Nahanni-Kwasney. - photo courtesy of Caitlin Jaffray

Two teams composed of athletes from Fort Simpson, Behchoko and Fort Liard competed in the Kugluktuk Invitational, an all U18 tournament, from Oct. 29 to 31. The girl's team, called Velocity, emerged in second place while the boy's team, called High Velocity, finished in third.

"They went above and beyond our expectations for them," said Caitlin Jaffray who coached the girls along with Michael Botermans.

In the round robin, Velocity started strongly with a 5-0 win against Kugluktuk Purple and a 4-1 win against Kugaaruk. The team tied Rankin Inlet 3-3 before beating Iqaluit 3-1. Their only loss came against the hometown team Kugluktuk Gold at 1-0.

Advancing to the semi-finals Velocity took out Rankin Inlet 3-2 in overtime. In the finals the NWT team faced off against Kugluktuk Gold again.

The game was tied 1-1 after overtime leading to a shoot-out. Kugluktuk scored four goals to Velocity's three giving them first place in the division.

The girls did particularly well considering all but two of the team members were 14 or younger, said Jaffray.

"They played at an extremely high level," she said.

Team members Tiffany Larter and Cydney Nahanni-Kwasney said they were proud of their team's performance.

"I think we did really good for being a U14 team in a U18 division," Nahanni-Kwasney said.

Both players agreed that competing in Nunavut was a cool experience.

In the boy's division High Velocity started its round robin play with a 2-1 win against Iqaluit and a scoreless tie with Baker Lake. The boys went on to defeat Kugluktuk 3-3, Kugaaruk 7-3, tie Rankin 1-1 Inlet and beat Cambridge Bay 2-0.

In the semi-finals High Velocity met Iqaluit on the pitch. The NWT team was up 2-1 at half time but lost the lead in the second half as a shot by an Iqaluit player deflected off four people and into their net.

High Velocity had a number of breaks but goal attempts hit the cross bar and posts instead of the net. In the last five minutes of the game Iqaluit scored a third time giving them the win.

"The boys played really well," said coach Shane Thompson.

All of the teams were closely matched and every game was an example of good soccer, he said. Being in Kugluktuk was a positive experience for the team, added Thompson.

"People were really friendly. They were really supportive of us being there."

Teammates Tyrone Stipdonk and Tyler Pilling said they were happy to have the chance to compete in Nunavut for their first time.

Baker Lake, which went on to win the division, provided the toughest competition, said Pilling.

"They had some fast guys and they were all pretty good at handling the ball," he said.

Thompson thanked First Air, the Mackenzie Recreation Association and P.R. Contracting for helping to make the trip possible. The village of Fort Simpson also provided sponsorship by supporting the players' bingos, he said.

Based on this year's experiences the teams are considering competing in Kugluktuk annually.

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