SCOTTDALE, AZ (November 16, 2003).
Sunday�s season finale witnessed the Predators steal all three points from a resilient Scorpion squad with a dramatic 3-2 win. The victory secured a sixth place finish for the Predators and a first round playoff match against third place Dubliner.
Tied 2-2 with about three minutes remaining, Justin Copp�s remarkable solo effort registered a late winner for the Predators.
Goals from Chris Kennedy and Chris Kane in the first half had given the Predators a seemingly unassailable interval. But an overall collapse by the Predators sparked a second-half turnaround for the Scorpions.
The Scorpions first threatened in the 10th minute of the second half when a through ball set free one of their strikers. With the defense outstripped, sweeper Chad Wede denied the striker by taking him down 20-yards from goal. Though questionable, Wede was shown the red card for the infraction and ejected from the match.
The Predators were further unsettled when the Scorpions struck their first goal on a hard shot from the 25-yard just two minutes later. The Scorpions' equalizer was not far behind, this time arriving on a late 8-yard thumper from inside the box that found the back past.
With time running out and the contest seemingly concluding to a draw, Predators' forward Justin Copp, on an act of sheer will and individual determination, having fought for and dispossess two Scorpion defenders of the ball, thumped an 18-yard drive low past the keeper�just two minutes shy of the final whistle.
With the playoffs just around the corner, the conclusion to this unseemly bagatelle may just be the impetus needed to restore the Predators' thirst to win.
AD