SCOTTDALE, AZ (November 23, 2003).
The Predators lost a few things this year. They lost five players to injuries and disciplinary actions. They lost a coach. They lost more matches than they have won. On Sunday, they lost one more thing: the hope of a fourth consecutive appearance in the title match.
In a very close contest that was seemingly heading into overtime, Kenny Plache poked in the match winner with about ten minutes remaining after a scramble in front of the net to propel Dubliner into a semi-final match against the Sereno Golden Eagles.
For the Predators, the lost brought much needed closure to a disappointing season that witnessed the team finish with the worst regular season record (3-5-1) in their history.
But from the way the Predators took it the Dubliner the whole match, one would be hard pressed to accept the fact they had loss to the Dubliner 3-0 earlier this season.
Chris Kennedy posted the first goal of the match in the 17th minute to give the Predators a 1-0 lead and their only goal of the match. A high-arching service into the Dubliner�s box baited several players from both sides to make a play on the ball. But as Predators� forward Justin Copp attempted to head the ball, he was pushed from behind by a Dubliner defender. A penalty was swiftly awarded and Chris Kennedy calmly placed it the upper right corner of the net.
The match was very physical as both teams were going pretty hard at it. Though no bad blood between the teams exist, the Predators had extra motivation since they have been beaten handily three consecutive times by the Dubliner�with each defeat leaving a taste far bitter in the mouth of the Predators than the last.
The Dubliner would even the match with fifteen minutes left in the half when Eric Flemming found a whole on the right side of the Predators� defense and punched the ball into the corner of the net.
The final minutes of the first half as well as the first fifteen minutes of the second were relatively quite as no shots were registered on goal by both sides. Predators� forward Chris Kane played with a target on his back and the Dubliner kept a watchful eye on him at all times.
With less than 20 minutes remaining to play, the Dubliner midfielder Julian Langford slipped a ball by the Predators' defenders to Yori Maekawa. A missed shot and a defender losing his footing resulted in a pileup in front of the net, daylight in the right corner of the goal, and a golden opportunity for a well-positioned Eric Fleming who poked in the match winner.
The Predators were unable to respond with an equalizer of their own. With under a minute to go, all the Predators could do was anticipate the final whistle that would end the match and their season.
On the losing end of contests most of the season, the Predators' fiery effort the entirety of ninety minutes was unreflective of the usual malaise that invariable led to their underachievement.
What are the Predators to do to rebound strongly in the spring? A good start would be to institute well-aimed correctives or preventives to keep the club and players on task�simply better management and leadership.
AD