Six Nelson soccer teams will be vying for three division trophies next weekend at Lakeside soccer fields.
Twelve teams competed in the semi-finals this past weekend in the Men’s Open, Ladies Rec, and Men’s Masters divisions to determine who would move ahead to the finals.
Men’s Open
The Hume Innkeepers are ranked top in the league so when they hit the field against the LVR Bombers, they won 13-1.
Bombers coach Simon Liddell said their team was just at the start of their season. The young team was made up mostly of Grade 10 boys as several Grade 12s were unable to attend.
Innkeeper captain Kerry Dyck complimented the Bombers.
“They played really hard; good players and good team. Unfortunately, they had a bunch of players missing.”
On the neighbouring field, Kootenay Co-op kicked the Old Dogs out of the finals with a 7-2 win. Co-op captain Orang Momtazian said his team is looking forward to the finals next weekend against the Innkeepers.
“It should be good,” he said.
Dyck added they played against the Co-op in last season’s finals and won, but thinks it may be an even more challenging match next week.
“The Co-op has added a few more good players and the Innkeepers may be down a few players,” he said.
Ladies Rec
The Dirty Dozen beat Selkirk Eyecare in the semi-finals.
“We stayed in our positions and finally capitalized on our [scoring] chances,” said Dirty Dozen captain Lisa Ranta. “We wore them down eventually and they were a good team too.”
Looking ahead to next Sunday’s final against the Wildcats, Ranta thinks it will be a tough game.
The Wildcats are the top ranking team in their division.They shut out the Goal Diggers 5-0 in the other semi-final to advance.
Wildcats captain Jessica Westerlund said her team had “great ball movement and great communication,” adding it made a difference that they had all their players show up.
The team is excited about their win as it’s their first time in the finals. Now in their third year, they are one of the two newest teams in the league.
Men’s Masters
Ted Allen’s and Club Inter will battle each other Sunday in the league final.
Ted Allen’s barely beat Jackson’s Hole 3-2, while Club Inter shut out Bia Boro 4-0 in the semi-finals.
The Men’s Open finals are Saturday, 4 p.m. On Sunday the Ladies Rec finals are at 2 p.m. followed by the Men’s Masters final at 4 p.m., all at Lakeside Park.
