The DAC Panthers from Queens and Long Island agonizingly finished a touchdown short of claiming victory over the Netherlands and second place in Group B of the NFL Flag Football World Championship (FFWC) in Cologne, Germany.

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. They lost a head-to-head tiebreaker to fourth-placed Germany to instead meet winless Mexico in the ninth-place playoff.

It was a cruel end to the Queens and Long Island team's 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 eventual group winner Spain before being edged out 48-40 by the Netherlands.

Among the team's stars is Roslyn resident Nicky Athanasopoulos. Another star was Yianni Gavalas, who attends Shelter Rock Elementary School.

"Luck just wasn't with us and we fought hard, but trying to overcome the size of some of our opponents proved too much," said coach Jimmy Gavalas. "I'm extremely proud of the boys and away from the field of play this has been a great life experience for every one of us."

The Panthers qualified for the FFWC by winning the NFL Flag national title in November at the 10- to 12-year-old age group and have since moved up to the 12- to 14-year-old bracket, which included many players at the upper end of the age scale at the world championships.

Receivers Anthony Libroia and Eddie Roscigno caught touchdowns in the loss to European champions Spain (4-1 overall), who later advanced to a place in Saturday's semifinal against Thailand (4-1), the winners of the 2005 tournament. The other finalist will come from the matchup between unbeaten Canada (5-0) and Japan (3-2).

Defeat left the Panthers needing a victory against Leiden Lightning from the Netherlands and the teams matched each other score-for-score until late in the game when a fortuitous interception gave the Dutch a 48-34 lead. Roscigno showed the spirit that has driven Team USA throughout the tournament by defiantly snaring a 30-yard consolation touchdown pass from quarterback Yanni Gavalas as time expired.

That set up a best-of-three series against the winless Las Aguilas from Mexico for ninth place overall. The Mexicans' physical and height advantage showed through against the tired Queens youngsters, who lost 44-14 as Roscigno again came up with two USA touchdowns. The teams met again on Saturday in Cologne to conclude the three-game series.

The Panthers started the tournament by posting credible 1-1 record in the opening games.

The diminutive USA team scored within a minute against Suri Middle School from Korea and held on to win 25-24. The appropriately nicknamed 'Playmaker' Eddie Roscigno made a game-saving tackle as time expired having caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Yanni Gavalas moments earlier.

The New York team went ahead on the game's first drive as Anthony Libroia rushed for a touchdown and the Gavalas to Roscigno combination tagged on the extra point. Korea answered with a score of its own, but a Gavalas tackle on the extra point attempt kept the team from Queens and Long Island in the lead.

Roslyn's own Nicky Athanasopoulos reeled in a touchdown catch for a 13-6 USA lead and after a defiant defensive stand the Panthers might have added to the advantage, but Athanasopoulos was tackled at the goal line as the first half ended. Nam-Hoon Kim twice pulled Korea back to within one point with two touchdown catches either side of another Athanasopoulos score, then earned Korea its first lead of the game at 24-19.

With only 34 seconds remaining, the game looked out of reach of the Americans, but a pass interference call gave Gavalas the ball at the 3-yard line and he found Playmaker for the victory.

Against the Schuldorf Bergstrasse Hillsiders from Germany, the Queens and Long Island youngsters struggled to cope with the partnership of brothers Max and Lukas Kleinscorge, who both stand more than 6 feet tall. The hosts exploited their aerial threat and the fervor of the home crowd in a 45-24 win.

The Panthers scored first when Roscigno collected a Gavalas pass, but the German brothers struck immediately, then capitalized on two interceptions and a stalled US drive to move ahead convincingly by 25-6 at halftime.

The youngsters refused to be overwhelmed and fought back in the second half as Athanasopoulos answered another German touchdown with a fine catch to take a Gavalas bomb into the end zone. The Panthers fell behind 39-12 before Gavalas spread the passing game around, hooking up with Brian Kruger for a short gain, Roscigno down the right flank and then Libroia for a touchdown and a 39-18 score.

A weaving run by the impressive Lukas Kleinscorge opened an unassailable home team lead, but USA had the final say when Roscigno turned quarterback and hit Gavalas for a first down and his teammate repaid the favor by passing for another end zone score.

In the final contest, the DAC Panthers once again found Mexico's offense too potent and slipped to a 52-33 defeat in their last game of the championship series.

Playing for ninth place in the tournament, the New York youngsters went into the second game of a best-of-three series trailing by a loss suffered on Friday and were unable to force a third game.

"We knew coming into this tournament that it was going to be difficult, but I think we can go home proud that we played well and were close in most games," said Jimmy Gavalas. "We started off well by beating Korea on Thursday, but the size and speed of some teams has been too much for us. I hope we can win the national finals in November and come back again next year and be more competitive."

The Panthers might not have been crowned champions on the field, but the six 11- and 12 year-olds competing in the seventh annual event aimed at 12- to 14-year olds left a lasting impression on their opponents. They won the FFWC Fair Play Award for their conduct and for amassing the fewest number of penalties during the tournament.

"They kinda see us as their little brothers," said Eddie Roscigno, who scored his 10h touchdown of the tournament in the loss to Mexico. "They are all very friendly and even though we're smaller than they are they know we can play well and put points on the board."

The world title went for the second year in a row to a team from Thailand as the Chaopraya Wittayakom School from Bangkok defeated Canada's Ecole River Heights from Manitoba 45-32 in the championship game. Japan's Fujitsu Junior Frontiers claimed third place ahead of Pere Vives Vich from Spain.

Against Mexico, Eddie Roscigno tied the game at 14-4 after teammate Nicky Athanasopoulos had cancelled out an opening score. But Las Aguilas from Monterrey opened up a 32-14 advantage as halftime approached. Before the interval Anthony Libroia danced down the right sideline and was stopped within 2 yards of the end zone with five seconds remaining. Quarterback Yanni Gavalas hit Libroia as the half closed and the same combination tagged on a two-point conversion to remain in contention at 32-20.

The second half began cruelly for the Panthers when Daniel Moreno made a full stretch grab for a touchdown and a 39-26 Mexico advantage, but Brian Kruger's score and an extra point pass to Roscigno kept the USA in touch at 39-27.

Mexico raced to a 55-27 lead, but in keeping with their never-say-die attitude, the Panthers hit back to have the final say when Gavalas found Athanasopoulos for a consolation score.

The US team and 29-strong party of family and friends landed back in New York at JFK airport on Sunday evening.