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Diamond Jenness boys bring home Senior Super Soccer banner

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James McCarthy/NNSL photo Bryce Smith of the Under-15 boys' team from Diamond Jenness Secondary School plays in the Senior Super Soccer tournament in Yellowknife.

Teams from Diamond Jenness Secondary School made their presence known at the recent Senior Super Soccer tournament in Yellowknife.

DJ's Under-19 boys' team won the A division, while two other teams from the school made it to the finals in the tournament, held from May 2 to May 6.

Kelvin Yee, the coach of the U-19 boys' team, said he expected them to do well.

"They worked hard and we came back with an A banner," he said.

After a round-robin, the teams in the tournament are divided into AA and A divisions.

DJ's Under-19 boys' completed the tournament with a record of five wins and two losses.

In the A division final, they defeated St. Pat's Yellow from the Yellowknife high school.

"We played the same team in the round-robin and we beat them 4-3," said Yee, noting it was a close match. "And then when we met them in the final, it was not close at all. We dominated from the start to the finish of the game, and we beat them 13-2."

That was a surprising score for the coach, who noted he didn't think the game was going to be that one-sided.

"The boys just clicked on every cylinder and they worked their butts off, and for some reason every time we took a shot it would go in," he noted.

The team was ecstatic with their win, Yee added. "I was really proud of the effort that they put in."

Warren Durocher – a member of the Under-15 boys' team from Diamond Jenness Secondary School – controls the ball in action from the Senior Super Soccer tournament in Yellowknife.

Grade 10 student Trey Beck, one of the players on the team, said it was nice to bring a banner back to Hay River.

The 16-year-old said it was special to win the banner against St. Pat's.

"Because over the years we usually have a little drama against them," he explained, noting the games are usually exciting and a little rough.

"It's kind of back and forth either way," he said. "It's always end to end, one player scores and another player scores."

For Beck, the U-19 banner is the first time he has been on a winning team in about five years playing in various divisions at the tournament.

The Diamond Jenness Under-19 girls' team finished second in the A Division, losing in the final to a school from Coral Harbour, Nunavut.

DJ's Under-15 boys' team also finished second in the A division after a 4-2 loss in the final game against Sir John Franklin High School of Yellowknife.

- with files from James McCarthy