The Colorado Blizzard braved the elements on their trip to Edwards, on a snowy day in the Rockies. The first half was a stalemate, with a 1-1 tie after the first quarter and a 3-3 tie at the break. The road and weather weary Blizzard finally got going in the second half, erupting for 8 straight goals. Colorado led 8-3 after the third quarter, and then scored 3 more goals in the 4th before Edwards got their only goal of the second half to end the match. The second half domination gave the Blizzard an 11-4 victory and a 4-0 record, alone at the top.
Blizzard Coach John Wells gave his take on the match: " It is always interesting driving to Edwards in the winter months, but hey, that's why we play indoor. Having several players get caught behind snow plows on the pass and not arriving much before kickoff made our line up a little off the first half. At halftime I made a few adjustments due to personnel and some interesting refereeing, and we found our stride and got back to playing Soccer, and I think the result speaks for itself. It's always good to get a win on the road. "
At the same time in the DFW area, a Dynamite squad that made a trek of their own (a 14 hour drive), took on the PASL-Premier 2009 National Champion Vitesse Dallas. Travis Carey, who led the Dynamite with 4 goals, started the scoring before Vitesse would score 3 straight to take a 3-1 lead after one quarter. Despite controlling much of the possession in the second quarter, the Dynamite could only manage a free kick goal from Dan Millard, and found themselves down 6-2 at the half. Both squads would score 2 each in the third, with Carey scoring the Dynamite goals. Starting the 4th down 8-4, Carey and Fernando Yepes would score for the Dynamite to cut the lead to 9-6 with 5 minutes left.
At this point in the match the Dynamite let it all hang out, according to Captain Dan Millard -“With just over five minutes left in the game, and back down to a three goal deficit, we knew the momentum had started to change and hoped some extra risks would lead to tieing up the game.” In the process Vitesse Dallas would score two more goals to win 11-6, but the Dynamite can walk away knowing they gave it their all. Vitesse, who were led by the 3 goals of Tito Salas, now advance to the US Arena Open Semifinals for the second time.
After Week 6, the standings look like this......
Rocky Mountain Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | ||||||||||
Colorado Blizzard | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | Halfway through the season, and still undefeated | |||||||||
Ft. Collins Fury | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
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Denver Dynamite | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | Still in 3rd, but Denver has the most games remaining | |||||||||
Edwards Freedom | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | One more loss/tie, and Edwards is mathematically eliminated from finishing in the top 2 | |||||||||
The top two teams in the standings will make the Rocky Mountain championship match, provided both accept the invitation. That match is tentatively scheduled for the weekend of February 25th. The winner of that match would receive an invitation to the 2012 PASL-Premier National Championships in San Diego, March 9-10.
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