Club teams representing each province spent the past week in Fredericton competing for the right to be called the best in the country at the Under-17 National Soccer Championships.
Twenty teams squared off against each other in two-division play in both boys and girls categories.
50 games were played over the six-day competition — a large tournament, but one organizers say came together easily with the help of both local volunteers and national organizers.
“We’re just very fortunate to have a very active local organizing committee,” explained Dominic Blakely, one of the tournament’s co-chairs.
It isn’t just soccer fans that benefit from the high-level games taking place in their community, Blakely said, noting the tournament brings more than its share of benefits to Fredericton at what is typically a slow time of year.
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“It’s a week of maybe an extra 600 people in the city at a time in October when the hotels aren’t as booked,” he said.
“It is a big impact.”
The tournament is also designed to provide key experience for the players taking to the fields.
“They’re going to build up a lifetime of memories from this,” Blakely said. “They’re going to be able to say they were at a national championship.”
Lakeshore SC of Quebec was the defending champion girls team entering this year’s tournament.
Taking on Burlington YSC in the final on Friday, they were able to edge the Ontario team to win the title once again in a shootout.
Although the win came after a big save from their goalkeeper, the Lakeshore players say playing as a team is the real reason they became back-to-back champs.
“It’s a great feeling, and it’s amazing that we were able to do it as a team,” Lakeshore player Olivia Mazzarello said.
The boys’ final saw Manitoba’s Winnipeg Bonivital defeat Quebec’s Mistral Sherbrooke by a score of 3-1.
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