GRANDE PRAIRIE - Silver and bronze were the colours of victory for soccer teams from the Deh Cho that competed in Grande Prairie, Alta. over the weekend.

A total of six teams from the region attended the Rock Around the Clock Indoor Tournament. The U12 girls and the U19 Fort Simpson boys teams both finished in second place in their divisions while the U16 girls team took third. The remaining three teams from the Deh Cho finished in fourth place in their respective divisions.

"It was awesome soccer," said Shane Thompson about the overall tournament.

Thompson coached the U19 Fort Simpson boys team. The team, comprised of eight athletes from the village, two from Fort Smith and one each from Deline, Lutsel K'e and Fort Resolution, played together for the first time at the event.

The boys played phenomenal soccer and improved with each game, he said. The team went undefeated in its first three games winning 6-3 against Hay River, 5-4 against Fort Smith and 7-0 against the Fort Liard team.

The boys' only loss was against Grande Prairie. Fort Simpson was able to hold the score at 2-0 for Grande Prairie until half time but the Albertan team ran away with the game in the second half, scoring one goal after an unlucky bounce and another on a penalty shot; the final score was 7-0.

"The boys played well," said Thompson. "They didn't give up until the very end."

For the U12 girls, the Skittles Thunder, earned silver medals after a one win, two loss record in the round robin. The combined Fort Simpson, Fort Liard team beat Fort Smith 6-2 but lost to Fort St. John 12-0 and Ecole Boreal of Hay River 3-1.

In the finals, Skittles Thunder faced Fort St. John again. Fort Simpson played better defensively which led to a slightly closer 8-1 final score for the British Columbia team, said Val Gendron, the team's coach.

Constant improvement

The girls improved with every game and along with all of the other athletes from the village they showed good sportsmanship and were excellent representatives of Fort Simpson, Gendron said.

Gendron also coached Velocity, the U16 girls team that finished in third place in its division. Velocity won against Fort Resolution, lost to Fort Smith and tied with both Hay River and Behchoko.

The team played its best soccer in the first half of the game against Behchoko, said Gendron. Velocity played hard and went for the ball putting the score at 4-1 in their favour at half time. In the second half, however, the team lost its drive for the win, she said.

The Deh Cho was also represented by three other teams at the tournament.

The U12 boys team made up of players from Fort Simpson and Fort Liard went through their round robin with one win and two losses. In their final game against Fort Resolution the team was poised to win again until a last second goal tied the game 3-3.

"They worked really, really hard," said coach Wilson Dimsdale.

The tournament was a learning experience for the U16 boys team. Comprised of players from Fort Liard, Fort Simpson, Jean Marie River and Hay River, the team lost all of its games. However, coach Todd Roche said the less-experienced players learned about their positions and game play as the tournament progressed.

A U19 boys team made up of players from Fort Liard, Fort Resolution and Fort Providence also competed, finishing fourth in their division.

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