USA 40 Netherlands 48
The DAC Panthers agonizingly finished eight points short of claiming second place in Group B with a 48-40 loss to the Netherlands. The defeat combined with Korea and the Dutch team finishing with a 2-2 record dropped the 1-3 Panthers to fifth spot in the standings as they also lost a head to head tiebreaker to fourth-placed Germany.
It was a cruel end to the Queens and Long Island team’s NFL Flag Football World Championship aspirations. The youngsters had gone into the second day of action with a 1-1 record after beating Korea and losing to Germany on Thursday, but went down 20-12 to group winner Spain before being edged out by the Netherlands.
The Panthers matched Leonardo Lightning from Lieden score for score until late in the game when a fortuitous interception gave their opponents a 48-34 lead. Eddie ‘Playmaker’ Roscigno showed the spirit that has driven Team USA throughout the tournament by snaring a 30-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Yanni Gavalas as time expired.
It was Roscigno who answered a Sven Adriaanse touchdown on the Netherlands’ opening drive with a scoring catch, but the Dutch receiver scored again immediately to increase the lead to 14-6. Nicky Athanasopoulos made a key catch at the five-yard line to keep a Team USA drive alive and it was Roscigno again who kept the Panthers in contention with a touchdown to trail by only a point.
When Bas Nelemans put the Netherlands ahead 20-13 with less than a minute remaining in the half USA looked certain to trail at halftime, but replied with a decisive no huddle offense. Athanasopoulos caught a touchdown pass from Gavalas with 19 seconds remaining and Roscigno tied the game at 20-02 going into the half.
After Berend van der Zaag had restored the Dutch advantage Athanasopoulos came up with a 30-yard scoring grab in reply and Roscigno’s point after tied the game.
In keeping with the pattern of the close game Adriaanse put the Netherlands 34-27 ahead, but when Team USA mounted another comeback Angelo van Heusden found himself in the path of a short pass by Gavalas and waltzed four yards into the end zone.