A year-end confidence booster came the way of the Greater Sudbury Soccer Club (GSSC) Strikers U-13 Girls, returning as tournament champions from the Thornhill Challenge Cup last weekend.

A blend of the former Valley East Bears and GSSC Thunder 1999 Girls, the Strikers opened play with a scoreless draw against the Mount Hamilton Avalanche.

Gaining momentum, the locals chalked up an important 1-0 win over the Stoney Creek Wildcats as Emily Taylor recorded the game-winning goal, with keeper Allison McLean picking up a second straight shutout.

Sudbury kept its unblemished record intact with a 2-0 whitewash of the Whitechurch Stouffville Mustangs, with Hunter McCann and Brooklyn Chamberland handling the offense.

Facing a much larger namesake in their semi-final encounter, the northern girls silenced the Darlington Strikers 2-0, with goals from Emma Dionne and Brooklyn Howard paving the way.

Pitted in a rematch with Stoney Creek, with gold medals on the line, the Sudbury crew displayed its traditional calling card of tight team defense and opportunistic offense, besting the Wildcats for a second straight time by a final score of 1-0.

Taylor became the first multiple-goal-scorer on the team, netting her second of the tournament, while McLean made it a flawless five for five on the shutout meter.

Defender Cassie Gingras, who set-up the game-winning goal with a long ball into the 18-foot box, was rewarded in being named the Most Valuable Player of the championship encounter.

The tournament banner marked the latest evolution of this newly formed team as head coach Vince Muscolino and assistant coach Chris Simonato worked closely with GSSC club head coach Giuseppe Politi in bringing some cohesion to the group.

Entering an early season tournament in Bracebridge in a higher age category with the sole intention of building team unison, the group was pleasantly surprised.

A 1-0 loss to North York in the final produced glimpses of the progress that would come. The former city rivals have now developed rivals of their own, defeating the North Bay Selects in inter-club match play in the Gateway City.

A strong showing in the Sudbury Impact Tournament in late July further convinced the coaches and team management that the Strikers were ready for the challenge of southern Ontario.

Perhaps more than anything else, the GSSC Strikers are a testament to the benefit of a one club system. Two years ago, the Sudbury Canadians - '99 Girls entered the Thornhill Challenge, not scoring a single goal.

One year ago, with the GSSC in year one of its infancy, the Thunder advanced to the tournament semifinals, bettering that result even more with the full amalgamation of talent within this age grouping.