The top two teams in the Burnaby/New Westminster senior boys' soccer league fell in semifinal action at Burnaby Lake West on Monday.
The fourth-place Burnaby North Vikings upset regular season champion Burnaby Central 2-0 on a pair of sweet strikes from Tyron Stojanov.
In the other semi at Burnaby Lake, Burnaby South snuck by league runner-up Cariboo Hill Chargers 1-0 in overtime on Tyler Leonard's fine finish in the second period of extra time.
The playoff final will be played at Cariboo Hill Oval today (Wednesday), beginning at 3 p.m.
Both North and South qualified for the AAA zone playdowns against the North Shore next week.
"This one came out of nowhere," said North coach Laurent Scaligne. "The difference was we played like a team and they (Central) played like individuals."
Although Central enjoyed a wide territorial advantage and had much of the possession, Stojanov scored against the run of play just before half time.
The quick-footed forward, who quit club soccer to play rugby for Burnaby Lake, then salted away the win with a glorious finish on a four-on-one break in the second half that was set up by Barsam Youssef and Mike Brletic.
"I guess we worked harder," said Stojanov. "We kept going and didn't give up in the second half. Determination, I guess."
In the overtime semi, Matthew Shannik was robbed by Cariboo keeper Juggy Dosanjh, who made a diving save on a sure strike.
Later in the second period of OT, Deni Zulic took a ball wide on the right side and centred it to Leonard in the 18-yard box, who spun to his left and fired the game-winner past Dosanjh.
"We just had to fight through," said Leonard.
