Hack Attacks!

What a pain! The servers that host our website have been infected with a virus that puts code on our website to redirect your browser to another site. Unfortunately this site is not one that is giving away free money or offering to solve your problems. We have tried removing the code but it would come back. We tried talking to the web site's host company and they kept saying that they are working on it. Supposedly they were hiring a securities firm to see what was going on but it kept coming back. It happened enough times that now Google has labeled our site as "malicious" and Twitter has suspended our account with them.

The site has been cleared of the code and we haven't seen an attack lately so hopefully our web host has corrected the problem but it has made us look to other service providers. Still the problem of clearing our name from Google and getting back on Twitter is a pain. Unfortunately, I don't think this will all be cleared before the end of the season and this will cut into our exposure and getting information about the team out on the web.

But you can be assured that we will still be broadcasting our final regular season game with the Pittsburgh Passion at www.blogtalkradio.com/WFNradio. Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell will provide the call of the game, starting at 3:45pm (EDT) this Saturday.

Medway, Massachusetts, May 30, 2009
Last year around this time, the New York Sharks (4-2) were on the road playing an undefeated team. And like last year, this game was important for the New Yorkers to come away with a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. Unfortunately last year they last a close game to the Pittsburgh Passion. This time the Sharks were playing the New England Intensity (5-1) who had a perfect record of 5-0.

It was a beautiful day in Medway, Massachusetts with clear skies and the temperature in the low 80's. The Sharks charter bus had arrived at Hanlon Field about 3 hours before game time and the team was in good spirits. Their regular starting quarterback Karen Mulligan was back at the helm after missing one game due to an injury.

The Sharks won the game by winning the coin toss and elected to receive the ball. Mulligan showed no signs of rustiness as she led New York down the field for an early touchdown. The Sharks scored by staying on the ground with big runs by Mandy Oppel for 19 yards and a 33 yard run by Mulligan herself. The scoring play was a 6-yard run around the right end by Lauren Pringle. Pringle missed the extra point attempt but the Sharks were on the board early with a 6-0 lead after 2 1/2 minutes of play.

New York got on the scoreboard again as New England turned the ball over on their first play from scrimmage. They fumbled the snap and the Sharks recovered the football on the Intensity 35-yard line. From there Mulligan hit Jen Blum with a 34-yard pass play to put the ball on the 1-yard line. From there rookie Chante Bonds ran the ball up the middle for another New York score. Pringle's extra point attempt hit the right goal post and bounced away. The Sharks extended their lead to 12-0 with 10 minutes left in the first quarter.

On New England's next drive they again had trouble snapping the ball from the center to the quarterback. This time they did not lose the football but it kept the Intensity from gaining any progress and the Sharks defense pushed New England backwards 9 yards during this drive before the Intensity was forced to punt.

New England punted the ball away from their own 19-yard line but it only went 10 yard forward. With New York in excellent field position on the Intensity 29-yard line, Mulligan connected with Pringle for a short pass to the left sideline. Pringle shedded a tackler and ran all the way into the endzone for another New York touchdown. On the extra point attempt, the kick was blocked by Liz Vogel but the visitors were now ahead 18-0 with a lot of time still left in the first quarter.

The Intensity tried to get their running game going but the Sharks stopped their star running back Steph Samuelson and New England was forced to punt again after only 3 plays. JoJjo Gauthier punted the ball from her own 45-yard line and really got her leg into it. Bonds caught the ball at the Sharks 13-yard line and then proceeded to run up the right side of the field. She ran it all the way to the endzone but a illegal block in the back penalty brought the ball back to the New York 46-yard line. It was a spectacular run but the Sharks quickly got the touchdown back. After runs by Blessing Withers and Lisa Doran of double digit yardage, Mulligan connected with Doran on a pass play. Doran caught the ball close to the sideline at the 10-yard line. She quickly spun back towards the field and raced down the field ahead of 2 defenders for another New York score. Pringle split the uprights this time and the Sharks took a 25-0 lead into the start of the second quarter.

At the start of the second quarter, the Intensity offense started to put it together. Starting at mid-field, quarterback Erica Statkus led her team down the field. With passes to Gauthier and Trish Donovan of 18 and 20 yards respectively and runs by Samuelson, New England was threatening. The Intensity was on the New York 6-yard line with a first down. Twice they tried pounding the ball in using Samuelson as the battering ram. She got close but not into the endzone. On third down with 2 yards to go for a score, Statkus rolled out of the pocket to her right. The Sharks put on a strong pursuit and the quarterback tried to loft a pass into the endzone for tightend Brianna Giarusso. But defensive back Jay Dantzler was in front of the receiver and leaped high into the air to pick off the pass.

It was a great play by Dantzler and snuffed out what proved to be the only threat that New England would muster all day. To further compound the second Intensity turnover of the day, Mulligan hit Adrienne Smith on the very next play for an 80-yard bomb for a touchdown. Pringle having all sorts of trouble kicking today missed the extra point.

The rout was on and it only got worse. On the next New England drive, Statkus fumbled the ball on her own 27-yard line and it was recovered by Vivian Alberty. Today the Sharks were not letting any turnover go to waste and they quickly cashed in. This time it was on 3 pass plays to Blum. Pringle converted the extra point and the lead was now 38-0 with 6:47 left in the half.

New York finished their scoring for the day when they got the ball back just before the end of the half. Starting from their own 47-yard line, Mulligan connected with Bonds for a nice 40-yard gain. Then Mulligan faked a handoff to Bonds who ran to her left. Mulligan kept the ball and went right all the way into the endzone. Isabella Bluhm came into the kick the extra point attempt but it was blocked. The Sharks took a 44-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.

In the second half, the Sharks put in most of their second team players. It was a good opportunity for many people to get some decent playing time. One of those players was Lisa Kureczka. The diminutive running back missed most of last season due to a leg injury but has since recovered nicely. At only 4' 11" and 115 pounds she was giving up a lot of size to the New England defenders. But Kureczka had her most productive game of her career carrying the ball eleven times, ten of them in a row.

With the Sharks staying solely on the ground, they did not score in the second half. The closest they came was to the Intensity 10-yard line at the end of the game in which head coach Bobby Breschard had the team take a knee to end the game.

It was a dominating performance by the Sharks on offense and defense. Mulligan was back in form as she threw for 4 touchdowns to 4 different receivers. She threw the ball less than a dozen times for 240 yards and no interceptions. The defense shined with their first shutout of the season. For New England it was a tough loss for a team that is likely to go to the Tier 2 Playoffs. But by playing a Tier 1 team, it should prepare them to get to the next level.

Next week the Sharks go back on I-95 but head south this time. They will be going to Washington, D.C. to take on the undefeated D.C. Divas. These two teams always play tough, tight ballgames and this should not be any different. It is a must win situation for the Sharks if they are to even have the slightest chance at the post-season. For D.C. they need a win to remain the top seed for the playoffs. If you can't join the team at the nation's capital you can still follow the game with Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell as they will be describing all of the hard-hitting action on WFNradio.

New York Sharks 25-19-0-0 : 44
New England Intensity 0-0-0-0 : 0

Scoring Summary
First Quarter
NY - (12:29) Pringle 6 yard run (Kick failed)
NY - (10:31) Bonds 1 yard run (Kick failed)
NY - (06:47) Pringle 29 yard pass from Mulligan (Kick failed)
NY - (02:38) Doran 23 yard pass from Mulligan (Pringle kick)
Second Quarter
NY - (11:39) Smith 80 yard pass from Mulligan (Kick failed)
NY - (08:32) Blum 9 yard pass from Mulligan (Pringle kick)
NY - (01:41) Mulligan 17 yard run (Kick failed)