Langley United booked itself a spot in the Pakenham Cup finals.
The men’s Premier soccer team scored twice in the second half to prevail 3-1 over Aldergrove United in the semifinals on Saturday at Willoughby Community Park.
Langley United controlled the first half and were rewarded when Mitchell Rohla sent a corner kick towards the goal and Andre Costa headed the ball home in the 25th minute.
The score stayed that way — thanks to some key saves from Langley goalkeeper Colton Keam — until the 54th minute when Aldergrove was awarded a penalty kick and evened the game up.
“Aldergrove continued with high pressure to about the 60-minute mark, when we regained our composure and momentum and continued where we left off in the first half,” said coach Rob Keam.
The team went ahead 2-1 at that point when Rohla capped off some excellent combination play of at least eight passes. And in the 78th minute, Rohla sent a free kick to Paul Ballard who made it 3-1.
The other semifinal, which was also played at Willoughby Community Park, saw the PMO Lordco Gunners edge Abbotsford Magnusson Ford United 2-1.
The two teams will play for the Pakenham Cup on March 29 at the Port Moody Town Centre. Game time is 4 p.m.
The Pakenham Cup has been presented to the top Fraser Valley men’s soccer team since 1909 — except for 1915 to 1920, during the war years.
Langley teams have won the Cup six times, most recently in 2012.
The two teams also meet tomorrow (Friday) in the semifinals of the Soccer City Cup.
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Two other Langley United men’s teams have also advanced to their respective Cup finals.
In Division 2, Langley United Dynamo defeated the Aldergrove United Red Devils 4-3.
Dynamo was up 2-0 but fell behind 3-2 in the semifinals before Cameron Whitters forced overtime with a last-minute goal.
After neither team scored in overtime, Langley won 4-3 in penalty kicks thanks to a pair of big saves from goalkeeper Bryan Roman.
They will play Westcoast FC United in the President’s Cup final on March 29 at the Port Moody Town Centre at noon.
And Langley United’s U21 team will play for the Cup against the PMO Lordco Gunners, also on March 29 at 9:45 p.m. at Port Moody Town Centre.
Langley won thanks to a 4-1 semifinal victory over North Coquitlam United.