Sunday October 28, 2007
           The Atlanta Silverbacks Reserves came from behind twice tonight to win the third-annual Atlanta Silverbacks Champions League presented by McDonald’s in a tough match against Tierra Caliente at RE/MAX Greater Atlanta Stadium. The Silverbacks Reserves’ 3-2 win gave them the prestigious title along with the $15,000 prize. Lenworth Hyde received the MVP trophy for his play in the tournament. The Atlanta District Amateur Soccer League received $2,500 for being the home league of the championship team; Tierra Caliente received $5,000 for their second place finish.
           Tierra Caliente started the scoring in just the second minute off a corner kick that led to a shot from Junez Coralic. Coralic received the ball at the top of the 18-yard-box and sent a shot that slipped through the Silverbacks Reserves’ defense and into the net. The early goal gave the momentum to Tierra Caliente, but the Silverbacks Reserves countered in the 17th minute and Chris Mahaffey ripped a shot past the goalkeeper for the equalizer. Tierra Caliente regained the lead in the 23rd minute with a play that built from the midfield and culminated in a goal when Coralic laid the ball off to Cesar Delgado who drove the ball to the back post. Faced with their second one-goal deficit of the match, the Silverbacks Reserves equalized again in the 26th minute when John Drummond scored off a 25-yard free kick. Despite several close chances for Tierra Caliente, the Silverbacks Reserves stole the momentum and the lead with just four minutes left in the half. Luis Hernandez received a ball played from the endline and ripped it into the back post’s side netting. The half ended with a 3-2 score line in favor of the Silverbacks Reserves.
            The second half began with the Silverbacks Reserves controlling possession and fighting to hold onto to their lead. The Silverbacks Reserves went down a man in the 55th minute when the referee ejected Mahaffey from the match. Tierra Caliente pushed forward and had numerous chances on goal including a shot off the crossbar in the 65th minute. The referee ejected the Silverbacks Reserves’ Drummond in the 69th minute, leaving them two men down for the final 20 minutes of play. The Silverbacks Reserves continued their defensive efforts against an attacking Tierre Caliente side, but saw their numbers reduced again in the 80th minute when the referee ejected Kieran Wilson from the match, leaving them with eight men for the final ten minutes of play. The Silverbacks Reserves held onto their lead and won the tournament for the first time.
            Earlier in the evening in the third-place match, Future Stars Premier did not look much like last year’s returning champion when they fell 6-1 to Melchester FC. Similar to the scoring in the championship match, Future Stars took an early lead in just the second minute when Joe Fitzpatrick’s goal made it seem as though it would be a long night for their opponents. But Melchester wasted no time getting an equalizer just five minutes later with a goal from Chris Destino. The goal opened up scoring for a Melchester side that did not stop for the remainder of the game. In the 24th minute, Destino put away his final goal of the match and what would become the game winner. Melchester continued to dominate and put away two more goals before the halftime whistle – Craig Aitken in the 35th minute and Larry Cainion in the 41st minute.
The second half was not any better for Future Stars’ hopes for third-place and Melchester put away two more goals while dominating all over the field. Cainion scored his second goal of the match in the 63rd minute and Sebastien Solemone scored the final goal of the game in the 79th minute. Melchester finished the match with the third-place title and the $2,500 prize.
    The Silverbacks treated fans to a special raffle between the two matches. The raffle, free to enter with a paid admission ticket, saw fans win a Cruz Azul jersey signed by Oscar “Conejo” Perez, a Silverbacks jersey signed by the 2007 squad, a 27” flat screen television, McDonald’s gift certificates, Silverbacks gear and Diadora apparel. In addition, the first 500 fans to buy tickets to the match received an official 2007 Atlanta Silverbacks Champions League t-shirt.
    The Silverbacks would like to thank McDonald’s, State Farm, La Raza and Diadora for their partnership with the 2007 Atlanta Silverbacks Champions League.

© Atlanta Silverbacks 2007 – All Rights Reserved.