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Dynamite, Fury resume Mile High derby
The second incarnation of the Mile High Trophy kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Denver Bladium.
The PASL-Pro’s two closest teams geographically, the Denver Dynamite and Colorado Lightning, might have been the farthest apart when it comes to matters on the field.
The Lightning aren’t around any more, but the Fort Collins Fury is prepared to take its place in the Centennial State derby.
“Any time we can inject some tradition in our league it’s a great opportunity,” PASL-Pro spokesman Sydney Nusinov said. “The Colorado area is a hotbed for arena soccer, and many of these guys have been playing against each other their whole lives. So there’s always going to be a lot of intensity there.”
The Dynamite and Lightning kept the crowds on the edge of their seats in their five head-to-head matchups. The first three were decided in overtime, and the others in the final minutes. In the first meeting Colorado rallied to win 10-9 in overtime on Denver’s home field, and in the return match it was Denver with a dramatic come-from-behind 8-7 overtime win at Colorado’s home turf, the Budweiser Events Center. Denver won in the same fashion in the round of 16 in the U.S. Arena Open Cup with a 5-4 overtime victory. The final two matches belonged to the Dynamite as well, 9-6 and 9-5 on the final game of regular season, which pushed Denver into the playoffs.
The Dynamite have won two meetings with the Fury by 9-7 scores. Denver and Fort Collins picked up members of the Lightning after the team’s dispersal. Fort Collins fused them with the core of players that have brought them three Rocky Mountain Division titles in the PASL-Premier division to make things interesting.
“I have witnessed many rivalries in many sports … Bulls vs. Knicks, Rangers vs. Celtic … Although it may not be on such a grandstand as those, last season’s battle for the Mile High Trophy had proven to be a very exciting spectacle,” Dynamite coach Chris Handsor said. “When two teams of such close proximity compete against each other, bragging rights becomes worth its weight in gold.”
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