Brooklyn, New York, May 16, 2009
It was a foggy day at the Aviator Sports Complex as the New York Shakrs (3-2) hosted the D. C. Divas (4-0). Both teams represent some of the best in women's football with strong defenses. The teams have played each other 3 times in the past with the Divas holding a 2-1 edge in the rivalry. Each game was always a defensive struggle and this game was not expected to be any different as the Divas have the strongest defense in the league only giving up 7 points this year.
The Sharks were looking to attack the Divas defense with their fine passing attack, but that was dealt a blow just before game time as starting quarterback Karen Mulligan was a late scatch with an injury. This thrust Adrienne Smith into the starting role. Smmith has had some experience at quarterback but had taken very few snaps this year. Yet her speed brings a different element to the Sharks offense and it took awhile for D.C. to adjust.
To help Smith in the backfield was running back Mandy Oppel. Oppel usually plays offense and defense, but to keep her fresh the Sharks coaches did not put Oppel in on defense. This was a big help as Oppel rushed the ball 23 times a personal best for 83 yards.
The Sharks won the coin toss and had elected to receive. Throwing caution to the wind, the Sharks came out throwing but could not connect thus forcing them to punt after 3 plays.
The Divas on the other hand went to their running attack. They grinded out some yardage from running back Tiffany Matthews and moved the ball to the Sharks' 36-yard line. They then tried to go to the air, but quarterback Allyson Hamlin's pass was intercepted by Brooke McKinney at the 20-yard line and she returned it for 23 yards.
On the Sharks next possession, they methodically marched down the field. Oppel and Smith were able to advance the ball on the ground and then Smith hit wide receiver Jen Blum for a 26 yard gain to the Divas' 20-yard line and a first down. The Sharks were threatening but the closest they could get was to the 15 yard line after a 5-yard run by Oppel.
D.C. had just dodged a bullet but it was not long before they had their backs against the wall again. The Sharks defense stopped D.C. cold on their drive and forced them to punt from their own 15-yard line. After the punt New York had great field position on the Divas' 32-yard line.
Oppel was the workhorse on this drive as she got the ball 5 times and picked up 38 yards. But at the D.C. 7-yard line, the Divas defense put up their brick wall and stopped runs by Lauren Pringle and Smith for no gain. Oppel was able to get it down to the 4-yard line but on 4th down, the Sharks went for it but Smith's pass was knocked away in the endzone to stop the threat.
New York's defense proved stellar again forcing D.C. to punt on their next possession. Again the Sharks had great field position, this time on the Divas' 41-yard line. Again the Sharks looked to Oppel to carry the load. She carried the ball 4 times for 17-yards. A nice pass play from Smith to Lisa Doran picked up another 15 yards. The Sharks got all the way to the 10-yard line when they were stopped again by the Divas.
At halftime, the game was still scoreless. The New York defense was playing great holding D.C. pretty much in check for the first half. The Sharks offense was also playing well with 3 drives into the Divas' red zone. But New York could not capitalize on those opportunities and that eventually hurt their chance in the game.
The second half started with the Sharks kicking off to D.C. Starting from their own 28-yard line, the Divas offense started to click. Alternating handoffs between Matthews and Okiima Pickett they marched 71 yards to the New York 1-yard line. From there Claudia Hogan smashed the ball in to break the scoreless tie. The extra point attempt by Kathryn Hemlock was no good, but the Divas had taken the lead 6-0 with 11 minutes left to go in the third quarter.
On the Divas next possession, they seemed to be gaining some confidence in their running attack. It was fourth down and they had the ball on their own 31-yard line with only inches to go. Instead of playing it cautiously, the D.C. braintrust went for it but the Sharks defense stopped Matthews in her tracks for no gain and New York took over the ball in great field position. But again the Divas defense held the New Yorkers at bay.
D.C. mixed up their attack on the next go around and were more successful. Runs by Matthews of 15 and 18 yards were augmented with receptions by Tara Stephenson of 26 and 14-yards moved the ball all the way down to the Sharks' 1-yard line. From there Hamlin called her own number to put D.C. up by 2 touchdowns. Matthews ran in the 2-point conversion and the Divas lead 14-0 with 10 minutes left in the game.
Down by 14 points, New York had to go to the air but D.C. knew it and the Sharks were quickly forced to punt. With the defense not getting much of a breather, the Divas grinded out another touchdown on the ground. Most of it on the legs of Pickett as she gained 41 yards on 5 carries. The scoring play though was an 8-yard pass from Hamlin to Tara Kallal. Hemlock kicked the extra point to give D.C. a 21 point lead.
New York didn't give up as Smith kept to the air. Starting from their own 30-yard line the Sharks got a quick gain on a 15-yard penalty for roughing the passer against D.C. Then Smith methodically connected with her receivers 4 straight times to get the Sharks down to the D.C. 1-yard line. This was the fourth time the Sharks got into the red zone but this time they scored when Oppel ran the ball in for the score. Pringle converted the extra point and New York averted a shutout with less than 2-minutes left in the game.
The loss dropped the Sharks to 3-2 and tied for second place with the New York Nemesis in the North Atlantic Division. It was a hard fought battle against one of the best teams in league. Even without the availability of their starting quarterback the New Yorkers held their own, especially on defense. They kept on coming up big but seemed to tire a bit at the end. On offense, Smith proved quite capable of leading the Sharks in her first start as the field general. She was inconsistent at times, but that should prove to improve as she get more experience under her belt.
The Sharks have a bye week to enjoy the Memorial Day holiday. They will then hit the road up I-95 to take on the New England Intensity. It is an important game as a loss will mathematically eliminate them from any playoff hopes. Game time is 4:00pm (EDT) in Medway, Massachusetts. If you cannot make it to the park, you can follow the game with Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell describe all the hard hitting action on WFNradio.
D. C. Divas 0-0-6-15: 21
New York Sharks 0-0-0-7: 7
Scoring Summary
Third Quarter
DC - (10:58) Hogan 1 yard run (Kick failed)
Fourth Quarter
DC - (10:11) Hamlin 1 yard run (Matthews run)
DC - (05:02) Kallal 8 yard pass from Hamlin (Hemlock kick)
NY - (01:55) Oppel 1 yard run (Pringle kick)
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