This past weekend was an incredible experience in Regina for the Yorkton United Under 8 Futurestars soccer program. Ninety teams from Manitoba and Saskatchewan took part in the largest Indoor Soccer tournament in Saskatchewan and the Yorkton United Football Club was well represented.
The Yorkton United Blazers and Yorkton United Futurestars were the two teams in the U-8 division of the tournament. The first game for both teams was at 1 p.m. on Friday afternoon. The early travel and early game time didn't faze the Yorkton teams as they came out strong with two wins to open out the tournament. The Blazers won 3 - 1 and the Futurestars won 6 - 3 to head into Saturday. The following day the Futurestars met a very strong Regina team, the REU Lynx and despite the increased level of competition ended with a 3 - 3 draw. The Blazers had things a little easier and won their contest 6 - 1. On Sunday there were hopes that both Yorkton teams would meet in the final. The Blazers held up their end and tied their game 3 - 3 to advance to the final. The Futurestars won their game 8 - 1 on Sunday. Even though both teams ended up with 2 wins and a tie, but due to the tournament point system the Futurestars missed out on making it an all Yorkton final by a heartbreaking single point. Coach Alfredo Bermudez said the kids were disappointed but he was proud with the kids effort and with how well they played
In the final, the Blazers met up with the REU Lynx. Led by Carter Dumelie's two goal performance the Blazers held a 2 - 0 lead in the game but a strong Regina team came back and tied the game up with a few minutes left. The roller coaster game went back in forth into overtime with neither team able to secure a moment of brilliance to break the tie in extra time. To encourage fair play and focus on having fun, every player on each team got to take a shot in the penalty shootout. When no one was able to score it went to sudden death shoot-out and Simon Hartman scored for the Blazers. The Lynx had a chance to tie it up but J.J. Quinde-Seeley parried the subsequent shot to seal the victory and the gold medal for the Blazers.
The win was impressive for the Blazers as it was their first time playing in a tournament the size that they were playing in this weekend and they came out strong and won the tournament with their other U-8 team narrowly missing out, showing the program's strength.
Coach Andy Wyatt says, "It was an incredible game. Tournament organizers, coaches, parents and the players were on the edge of their seats the entire game. You usually don't expect this type of game with 6 and 7 year olds but they surprised everyone with how hard they were playing". Coach Bermudez was impressed with how well both Yorkton teams did, "This was the first tournament experience for most of the kids and they didn't let the environment bother them. There is probably a thousand people going around the facility at any one time and it was the first time for most of them playing in such a big field with artificial turf but it never affected them at all. They just played their game." Both coaches remarked the best part of the tournament wasn't winning the games, it was the smiles on all the kids faces who played their hearts out and had a blast.
