Tuesday October 23, 2007
          After seven weeks of tournament play, the winner of the third annual Atlanta Silverbacks Champions League presented by McDonald’s will be determined on Saturday night (10.27.07) when Tierra Caliente faces off against the Atlanta Silverbacks Reserves at RE/MAX Greater Atlanta Stadium. The two teams have risen to the top of the city’s best amateur teams and they will battle hard to secure the sole title of champion of the prestigious tournament. Neither team has ever won the tournament – this year marks Tierra Caliente’s second tournament appearance/first championship appearance and the Atlanta Silverbacks Reserves’ third tournament appearance/first championship appearance. Tierra Caliente (Liga Lawrenceville Champions) and the Atlanta Silverbacks Reserves (ADASL Champions) had to surpass 14 other of the best teams from the Atlanta area in order to reach the title competition. And it was no easy task; both teams had challenging matches last weekend in the semi-final round.
          Tierra Caliente took on the tournament’s defending champions, Future Stars Premier, in the first of the two semi-final matches last Saturday (10.20.07). The two even sides played a scoreless match until the 48th minute of the match when Tierra Caliente’s Junuz Coralic put his team up by one goal. The push to equalize became even more difficult moments later when the referee ejected a Future Stars Premier player from the match. But despite playing a man down, Future Stars scored the tying goal in the 60th minute when Alan Woods headed a ball into the back of the net. The remainder of the match saw two additional ejections and regulation ended with a ten-man side for Tierra Caliente against a nine-man side for Future Stars Premier. The 1-1 game would be decided on penalty kicks with Tierra Caliente coming out on top 3-1 and advancing to the championship match.
          Atlanta Silverbacks Reserves took on Melchester Wings in the second semi-final match, another close match between two even sides. The Atlanta Silverbacks Reserves put away an early goal that would prove to be the deciding factor in the match. Lenard Hyde’s eighth minute goal held for the ensuing 82 minutes of play and the Reserves advanced to the finals for the first time. The intense competition saw only one or two chances from either side with a few goal-mouth skirmishes at each end. The single-goal lead created an exciting game that constantly hung in balance, keeping fans on the edge of their seats.
          The Atlanta Silverbacks Champions League offers the largest prize purse in any regional amateur tournament - $25,000 in cash prizes – First place ($15,000), Second place ($5,000), Third place ($2,500), Regular Season League of the Winning Team ($2,500). 

          This year the players won’t be the only people walking away with great prizes - anyone with a paid admission ticket to the Atlanta Silverbacks Champions League final can enroll in the raffle to win a variety of awesome items including:

- a Cruz Azul jersey signed by Oscar “Conejo” Perez
- a Silverbacks jersey signed by the entire 2007 squad
- a 27” flat panel television
- McDonald’s gift certificates
- Diadora apparel
- Atlanta Silverbacks gear
- and more!

          In addition, the first 500 fans to purchase tickets to the event will receive a 2007 Atlanta Silverbacks Champions League official t-shirt. On October 27, the third place match will begin at 6:00 pm, the raffle will start immediately following the match (approximately 8:00 pm) and the championship match will begin at 9:00 pm.

          Tickets to see the Atlanta Silverbacks Champions League championship match are $8 in advance and $10 at the gate.
          Purchase tickets in advance at the offices of the Atlanta Silverbacks or on game night at Atlanta Silverbacks Park. Call 404-969-4900 for more information.

© Atlanta Silverbacks 2007 – All Rights Reserved.