A rowdy crowd cheering them on wasn't enough for the Coors Light/Nancy O's men's soccer team.
Queensway Auto World scored a 2-1 win over their underdog opponents, earning a pair of goals by Hugh Delwo two minutes apart early in the first half when Coors keeper Jeremy Schmitz mishandled the ball.
"Two greasy goals," said striker Delwo, beads of sweat glistening his forehead, an outward sign of the effort both teams had in the North Cariboo Senior Soccer League semifinal.
A disappointed Schmitz blamed the soggy field - a brief downpour prior to the start of the game made for a slippery field - for the second goal, which slipped from his hands as he went to pick it up.
Coors Light cut the lead to 2-1 halfway through the first half on a penalty shot by Robby Dhemi who put the ball over the Queensway keeper's left shoulder.
"It was a strong effort," said Schmitz. " Both teams were 50/50 in the second half, unfortunately, we couldn't capitalize on our chances."
Coors Light was undefeated in nine games heading into Sunday's showdown.
In the second half, Coors Light's keeper made a pair of difficult saves to keep his team within striking distance. But
In the first division 2 semifinal, Eden Spas had a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Global Securities.
Tien Mueller tied the match for Eden, taking a breakaway pass from Chad Holowchak and putting the ball past the keeper on a second attempt.
"It feels really good to get back to the final and to take down Global makes it even sweeter," said Mueller.
It's been three years since Eden qualified for the final and they came second to Global that year. Global won the division 2 title in 2010.
Kevin Hamilton scored the winner for Eden with about 20 minutes remaining in the game.
As happy as Mueller was, he gave credit to Global for giving them tough match, despite being shorthanded.
"They played really well for having just 10 players," said Mueller.
The RBC DS Gunners earned a place in the masters final, defeating Victoria Physio 2-0. In the other semifinal, Old Caledonians scored in the final minute of the first half to take a 1-0 lead over RBC Kickers. But the Kickers tied the game in the second half to force overtime.
With the teams tied 1-1 after double overtime the game went to penalty kicks. It took seven rounds, but the Caledonians pulled off the 2-1 upset win.
Wednesday is the division 1 semifinal between Cariboo Brewmasters and Mr. Jakes for a berth in the final against Capilano. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
The finals are Sunday with the masters division at noon followed by division 2 at 2:30 p.m. and the division 1 final at 5 p.m.
