Make it three straight for the Prince Rupert Football Club (PRFC) United.
Despite a team that looks a bit dissimilar from itself a year ago due to player losses, gains and transfers, PRFC just keeps winning, thanks to a potent offence and stingy defence that elevated the group to first-place at the Kitsegukla Annual May Soccer Tournament from May 30-31.
It was the third straight championship taken by PRFC in Kitsegukla and it took a team effort to do it.
"We had pretty much our core group with a few add-ons from people who moved out of town or aren't here anymore," said PRFC forward Matt Anderson, who was named the tournament's best forward after notching three goals.
"We scored a few goals for sure."
Facing the United in the final were the hometown Kitsegukla Athletic Club (KAC) Young Guns, a team they had faced a day before, and the team that defeated PRFC in the round robin stages to force the Rupert squad to play in consecutive elimination games just to reach the final.
"The first team we played against was Kispiox and we beat them 1-0 and the second game we won 3-1 against the Skeena Tigers. That was on the Saturday and then on Sunday morning, we played the KAC Young Guns," explained Anderson.
"It was 1-0 and then they got a penalty shot with about two minutes left, tied it up, it went to overtime. That put us in the back door. We had to play Kispiox again [and won]."
In the final against the only team that had beaten PRFC, the North Coast footballers took to the pitch against the Young Guns and this time, suffocated the junior team with an imposing defensive effort and opportunistic offensive strikes for a 2-0 finals win.
"[Our first goal] took a little while. It was about three quarters of the way through the first half. Addy Phu-Ngam got a breakaway and he blasted it in and the second goal was from Mike Yeomans. He headed it overtop of the goalie and they couldn't really muster anything to come back. We had pretty good defence," said Anderson.
Along with the title, the team earned $3,000 for first-place and nearly swept the individual awards category. Yeomans claimed the tourney MVP title, Anderson took best forward for his efforts, Shane Swanson was named best team coach, Marc Monteleone grabbed best half back and Mike De Lima was chosen as an all-star.
Doug Lindley and Rampi Gill occupied the net as United's goalies and Gill grabbed the shutout in the final, while Anderson applauded the great play of some of his newer teammates from the area as well as the old.
"Lawrence Moore from Terrace and Josiah Ramlaib [stepped up]. Chad Stewart got a real important goal to put us through to the final," said the forward.
Next up for the team is hosting a Seafest men's tournament, held June 12–14 at the Charles Hays Secondary Field.