The U16 McCauley Dragons not only played a great indoor season – they moved on to provincials and took first place – GOLD – in the top community category.

The McCauley Dragons are the U14 Edmonton City and Alberta Provincial Champions from the 2015 outdoor soccer season. When they registered for the indoor season this past September, some of the players needed to move up to U16, so to keep them together, all of them moved up, including those underaged. Several players had never played indoors, as this also was the first season that McCauley fielded an indoor team.

So, how did the McCauley Dragon U16 soccer team perform in the 2015-16 indoor season? The McCauley Dragons were undefeated in regular season play and finished first in the highest tier of community soccer. The Dragons also won the gold medal at the FC Memorial Tournament and the gold medal at the Slush Cup Tournament. The McCauley Dragons were undefeated in the city championships, but since they were tied with another team, the Dragons finished with the silver medal because of goal differential (a sports term referring to the difference between goals scored for the team and against the team).

The McCauley Dragons qualified for the Youth Indoor Provincial Soccer Championships 2015-16 in Calgary between March 11-13. The top 12 teams from around Alberta traveled to Calgary to compete in the Youth Indoor Provincial Soccer Championships.

The Dragons won their first three games by scores of 5-1, 4-0, and 3-1, and qualified for the Gold Medal game.

The Gold Medal game was hard fought. The Dragons beat the Calgary Rangers 2-1 to win gold, and the provincial title. This is the second time the McCauley Dragons had a successful tournament finishing at the Alberta Provincial Championships, as U14 in outdoor soccer last spring, and now as U16 for the indoor season.

It has been a great experience and much fun for the players, the coaches, and the families. The Dragons are a close group of kids from diverse backgrounds. The differences they bring to the game, on and off the field, have made them a unique team and fun and interesting group. Congratulations to all the Dragon athletes: Alvin Du, Prueh Eh, Yar Manar, Gage Campbell, Taylor Dumka, Hserhteet Hser, Emmett Maxfield, Jordan Luciow, Johnny Tran, Devin Lokszyn, Tyler Morin, Hunter Dubie, Caleb Green, Liam Donald, K’pru Lar, Joshua Teeter, Law K’Paw Wah, and Hanary Htoo Saw.

A special thanks and congratulations to the coaches: Jason Du, Dean Lieu, and Len Lokszyn. And, thanks to all the parents, who greatly supported this team.

You can still register for 2016 outdoor season by going online at www.emsanorth.com. For any questions email Grace Kuipers at dangrace@telus.net.

With information provided by Calvin Maxfield.