The Vernon United U15 boys went into the Little Bear Soccer Tournament in Revelstoke against teams two years older and brought home gold.
United battled Columbia Valley from Invermere in Sunday’s final after going 1-0-1 in the round-robin and advanced on goal differential.
Playing against a bigger and more physical U17 Columbia Valley, Vernon earned a scoreless draw after full time and won 4-2 in penalty kicks.
Claye Harsanye was a wall in net making 11 saves and Kevin Thibault was solid on defence.
United battled host Revelstoke to a 1-1 draw Saturday afternoon.
Vernon grabbed the lead midway through the first half on a 20-yard bomb from Gavin Mason on a silky pass from Malcolm Wiens.
A defensive lapse early in the second half led to Revelstoke’s equalizer.
Peter Hirschkorn and Sam Eggert were reliable on defence and James Hungtinton was decisive at midfield.
Later that afternoon, Vernon squashed Golden 6-0 and fine passing and dominating possession allowed United to unload 30 shots.
Mees Geelkerken and Joshua Gray each sniped a pair, while Wiens and Shey Townley collected singles.
Owen Burnet was creative on the left wing, while Wyatt Carter and Elias Jensen played solid in their defensive positions for coaches Rolf Hirschkorn and Erick Burnet.
Meanwhile, United FC player evaluations go this weekend starting with U11 girls and U13 boys training Saturday from 10-11 a.m. at Marshall Field.
The U11 boys and U14 boys sessions go Saturday from noon-1:30 p.m.
The U12 and U13 girls train Sunday from 11 a.m.-noon, followed by the U12 boys and U14 girls at noon, the U15 girls and boys at 2 p.m. and the U16-17 girls and U16 boys at 4 p.m.
