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8.26.07 : Flames Lose in Championship Match of 2007 SLSL Cup

The 2006-2007 season officially came to an end Sunday on a relative high note as the O'Fallon Flames advanced to the Championship match of the 2007 SLSL Cup. After finishing second in the SLSL regular season, and with the absence of the regular season champion Shaw Rangers, the Flames entered the tournament as the number one seed.

Up first in the quarter-finals was the eighth seeded Crystal City. Manager Brad DeMunbrun has had the Eagles flying high in recent months and they were coming off their 'play-in' match win against River City. Two first half goals seemingly had O'Fallon in control of the match. However, a Crystal Palace goal midway through the second half put the result in serious doubt. It took a late strike with just under 3 minutes in the match to secure the 3-1 victory and put the Flames into the semi-final.

Next up was long-time rival Darren Koffman and his Terre du Lac RetroStars. A similar success story as the Flames were in the previous year, the RetroStars were a new club to the SLSL but extremely successful in their inaugural season. O'Fallon again jumped out to an early lead and were up 2-0 at the break. But Koffman regrouped his side and scored early in second half and then drew level with 5 minutes remaining to send the match to overtime. In the extra time the Flames showed why they came in to the tournament as the top seed and scored just 2 minutes in to overtime and held on for an exciting 3-2 win. O'Fallon had booked their ticket to the first SLSL Cup final in the clubs' brief history.

But all good things come to an end as they say, and awaiting them in the final was the tournament number two seed Central West End and manager John Sarra. The Flames again played a strong first half yet this time found themselves trailing 1-0 at the half. O'Fallon made the match interesting early in the second half with two near misses that went just wide. Minutes later more frustration set in when a blistering shot beat the Wildcat keeper but was denied by the far post. CWE put the match out of reach in the last 10 minutes with two more patented unstoppable 'upper 90' goals that the Flames couldn't have turned away with two keepers. When the final whistle blew it was a 3-0 loss, but more importantly it was an impressive run to the championship for the O'Fallon Flames.

"We played 3 solid matches today, and I'm very pleased with our results." Flames manager Jeff Drake said at the end of the day. "Losing 3-0 in a championship match is never pleasant, but John as always wins with class and is a well deserving champion today."