Showtime NBC Sports came over to the Sharks to film a short documentary on the team and on quarterback Karen Mulligan. It would be a 2-part series that they would show on their website. The game they picked to send their filming crew to could not have been better.
The Sharks were hosting the D.C. Divas on June 7, 2008. It was a very hot day in Brooklyn with the temperature in the 90's. The Sharks had never beaten the Divas up until that day, going 0-2 in 2007. Though the games were close New York came up on the short end of the stick twice.
The Sharks offense was spotty in the first half. Sometimes Mulligan was giving NBC highlight reel video with her passing game, but New York turnovers kept killing drives. On the Sharks first drive they started from their own 30-yard line and drove all the way down to the D.C. 1-yard line. But a botched pitchout turned the ball over to the visitors.
Throughout the whole game, the Sharks defense was in fine fashion as they consistently stopped any D.C. drive. After the turnover on the pitchout, the Sharks defense got the ball back as defensive back Toni Salvatore intercepted Divas' quarterback Allyson Hamlim's pass and returned the ball to the D.C. 9-yard line. From there Mulligan connected with Brooke McKinney for the score, giving New York the lead near the end of the first quarter. The extra point attempt was no good, but the score was Sharks 6-Divas 0.
In the second quarter, the Sharks' defense kept D.C. out of the endzone. A highlight was a big stop of the Divas' at the New York 4-yard line on fourth down. While the defense came up big, the offense did not. On the next play from scrimmage, Mulligan dropped back to pass from her own endzone and underthrew her pass. It was picked off by Latisha Perry-Guinn who ran it back for a touchdown. D.C. converted the 2-point conversion and now was in the lead 8-6.
The Divas' defense was playing well too. They were shutting down the Sharks running game and were soon rushing Mulligan every chance they got. As the half was coming to an end, Mulligan was sacked and layed on the ground for a minute. She was able to walk off the field but the rest of the half was completed with Adrienne Smith as quarterback.
In the second half, Mulligan was back at the helm of the Sharks' offense but it did not look good at first. She fumbled the football to the Divas at the New York 42-yard line. The Divas again marched the ball down the field, but the Sharks defense put up a stone wall when it needed to. D.C. got the ball down to the New York 4-yard line before hitting running back Rachelle Pecovsky-Bentley with a 4-yard loss. An incomplete pass on fourth down followed and the defense held.
On the Divas very next possession they again moved the ball all the way down to the Sharks' 1-yard line. It was inconceivable to think that New York could deny D.C. for a third time with the ball less than 10 yards away from paydirt, but the Sharks defense did it again. The defensive line broke through and tackled Claudia Hogan behind the line of scrimmage for a loss but before she went down, she fumbled the football and New York recovered.
There was only 4 minutes left in the game when the Sharks offense took over the ball at their own 46-yard line. The offense had been sputtering for most of the second half as Mulligan was bothered by the Divas rushing the quarterback. But with the pressure on, Mulligan completed 3 passes to Lisa Doran to move the ball down to the Divas' 24-yard line. After 2 incomplete passes, it was now fourth down and 1 yard to go for a first down. With NBC filming, you had to wonder if they were going to have a Cinderella finish or another tough loss for New York.
Mulligan lined up in shotgun, but as soon as she got the ball she ran to her left and just got the 1 yard necessary to move the chains. It was now first down on the Divas' 23-yard line but now there was less than 2 minutes left in the game. Mulligan then hit McKinney in the middle of the field with 2 defenders on her for an 11-yard gain. On the next play, the Sharks hit paydirt as Doran caught a Mulligan pass at the 5-yard line and fought off 2 defenders for the go ahead score.
The Sharks went for the 2-point conversion and were successful as Mulligan rolled out to her right and hit Anabele Rodriguez for 2 points. This gave the Sharks for good by the score of 14-8.
It was a very exciting game and one that seemed too good to be true for the NBC film crew. Not only was it an exciting come from behind victory for the home team with less than 2 minutes left against a division rival, but the highlighted person in the feature was injured, taken off the field but then comes back to throw the winning score. It had unbelievable Hollywood script written all over it, yet it did happen.
This was no time to have a let down. The Connecticut Crushers (0-3) had yet to get a win and the New York Sharks (3-0) were coming off an exciting and emotional win over the D.C. Divas. With division rivals Boston Militia and Pittsburgh Passion battling each other, this was a time that the Sharks could get a firmer hold in the playoff race.
Like the game against D.C., the Sharks came out throwing. On the Sharks first drive, quarterback Karen Mulligan tried to throw the ball one every play. Twice the Sharks were helped by Crusher penalties and one other time, she was sacked. But for the other times she connected with Lauren Pringle for 23 yards and then to Adrienne Smith in the endzone for 16 more yards. Mulligan then hit Chante Bonds for the 2-point conversion and New York was ahead 8-0 with 11 minutes left in the quarter.
Connecticut started the game trying to get their running attack going. Running back Amanda Zabel carried the bulk of the load and she was able to make some very nice runs. On the Crushers second drive of the game, Zabel had a nifty 21 yard gain that brough the ball deep into New York territory at the 33-yard line. They kept giving her the ball but she was finally stopped just short a first down of the 23-yard line on the fourth down play.
With the Sharks' defense getting the ball back to the offense, they were re-paid with a short rest. Mulligan threw a short pass to Bonds who caught the ball at the 32-yard line. She then broke a tackle and streaked down the field for a touchdown. Mulligan then handed the ball off to Bonds on the 2-point conversion and she easily ran it into the endzone. This made the score New York 16- Connecticut 0.
The Sharks were having more success in stopping Zabel and that forced the Crushers to open things up by going to the air. For the most part quarterback Kristin Fillian was under pressure in the first half and completed only a few passes. Meanwhile for the Sharks, Mulligan was throwing on almost every down but was not connecting. The game soon turned into a trading of punts back and forth to each other.
Late in the second quarter Fillian hit receiver Denise Denis twice for gains of 14 and 10 yards. Connecticut made it to the Sharks' 35-yard line before the New York defense came up big again. This time Hannah Williams intercepted an errant pass and ran the ball back 73 for a touchdown. She had to break 2 tackles before she hit paydirt but she made it all the way to make the score 22-0. With the regular placekicker Megan Antonucci out for today's game, linesman Celeste Robinson put on her kicking shoes. Unfortunately the snap bounced away from Smith and she had to loft the ball into the endzone. The pass was tipped away from Melodie Abrook and fell to the ground making the score 28-0.
Things continued to get worse for Connecticut despite there being only 5 minutes left in the half. After another stop by the Sharks defense, Kathy Holloman entered the New York backfield for the first time in the game. Mulligan from the shot gun position on New York's own 29-yard line tossed the ball to Holloman 1 yard behind the line of scrimmage, from there she used her speed and motored down the left side line for a 71-yard touchdown. And it didn't stop there.
Right after the kick-off, Fillian got a strong rush by Lakisha Grant. The Crusher quarterback tried to throw the ball away but Cheri Eleazer was at the Sharks' 45-yard line and intercepted the pass. She then ran it back all the way into the endzone. Robinson's extra point attempt was no good, but at the end of the first half, the Sharks had a very comfortable 34-0 lead.
The second half of the game was more or less the same on offense by New York. The Sharks scored 4 more times with 2 of the scores on plays of over 50 yards each. Bonds caught a pass down the middle of the field and used her speed to stay away from any tacklers. Holloman had the other long touchdown with a handoff that went up the middle. She hit a second gear and ran the ball in for a 53 yard touchdown run. Later in the game she had another run of 63 yards into the endzone. This was almost identical but a penalty by the Sharks brought the play back. The penalty was for a block in the back that wouldn't have made a difference on the play but it called back the score. The other 2 scores were on passes of only 35 and 8 yards.
With all of this quick scoring, time did not run off the clock at a quick pace. This gave Connecticut 7 times the opportunity to put together a drive and twice they did. Both were helped by New York mistakes. One was a breakdown on Sharks' special teams play on a kick-off. Denis returned the ball to the New York 35-yard line. She then caught a high lob pass from Fillian. Toni Salvatore tried to knock the ball down but Denis outjumped her for the ball and she was able to run down to the Sharks 6- yard line. From there Zabel bulldozed her way to the 1-yard line. Fillian called her own number on the next play for the Crusher's first score of the game.
Connecticut scored one more time late in the fourth quarter. This time it was helped by a horse collar penalty that moved the ball down to the Sharks' 41-yard line. With the Sharks in a prevent defense, the Crushers took advantage with passes to Jennifer Davis and Denis for 15 and 14 yards apiece. Connecticut then went to some razzle dazzle and picked up another 12 yards on a reverse to Davis. Zabel then punched the ball in from the 1-yard line for the touchdown.
The game finally ended with the Crushers threatening again with the ball on the Sharks 27-yard line, but Williams got her second interception of the day. The final score, Sharks 65-Crushers 14.
The New York Sharks kept their record umblemished but so did the Boston Militia as they both battle it out for supremacy of the North Atlantic Division. The Sharks will cross the Hudson River next week to take on the undefeated New Jersey Justice. Kick-off time is 7:00pm (EDT). If you cannot make it to the game, listen to Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell describe all of the action on WFNradio.
Connecticut Crushers 0-0-6-8: 14 New York Sharks 16-18-18-7: 65
Scoring Summary
First Quarter NY - (11:01) Smith 16 yard pass from Mulligan (Bonds pass from Mulligan) NY - (06:45) Bonds 76 yard pass from Mulligan (Bonds run)
Second Quarter NY - (05:29) Williams 77 yard interception return (Pass failed) NY - (02:22) Holloman 71 yard pass from Mulligan (Kick failed) NY - (02:04) Eleazer 45 yard interception return (Kick failed)
Third Quarter NY - (13:38) Bonds 58 yard pass from Mulligan (Kick failed) NY - (09:14) Holloman 53 yard run (Kick failed) CT - (05:52) Fillian 1 yard run (Run failed) NY - (02:21) Smith 27 yard pass from Mulligan (Kick failed)
Fourth Quarter NY - (13:52) Blum 30 yard pass from Mulligan (Robinson Kick) CT - (08:37) Zabel 1 yard run (Zabel run) NY - (03:04) Pringle 8 yard pass from Smith (Kick failed)
Cheri Eleazer was named the CABOT CREAMERY Playerof the Week by New York Sharks broadcasters Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell for week 3. Eleazer intercepted 2 Connecticut passes and returned one 45 yards for a score.
Defensive Impasse The New York Sharks are making history this year. On May 22nd against the Baltimore Nighthawks they will be the first women's football team to play their 100th game. To commemorate that feat, we will reveal each week one of the 5 greatest games in team history. The selection was done after extensive research and statistical analysis (actually we used a brand new Ouija board).
For this week the fifth greatest Sharks game we have to go back to 2004. That year the IWFL put the powerhouse Chicago Force in the same division as the Sharks. The Force had easily won their division the year before but now they were pitted against the New Yorkers. And with two games scheduled against each other, it was like having 2 playoff games during the regular season.
On May 8th in Chicago, it was the first time that these two teams met and despite both teams having very high octane offenses, the game turned into a defensive classic. Chicago was averaging over 50 points a game but New York was able to stifle them. And except for one scoring drive the Force kept the Sharks in check.
New York's lone score came on a drive that began with a hard running attack in the first quarter, led by Missy Marmorale and Monica Marsh. But once they got to the Chicago red zone, quarterback Val Haleworth connected with Jen Blum for the score.
Chicago on offense was a little more successful in moving the ball but the Sharks defense would only bend and not break. The Force might have won the game except for some questionable decisions by their coaching staff. Twice Chicago had the ball on the Sharks' 10-yard line or less on fourth down. Each time they elected to go for the touchdown instead of the short field goal try.
The game was a nail biter to the end as the Sharks were at their own 11-yard line with 2 minutes left. Instead of chancing a big punt return, Halesworth ran out of the endzone for a safety. Still, on the free kick the Force brought the ball back to the New York 38-yard line. But from there the Sharks defense shut down Chicago to end the game.
The final score was more like from a baseball game, 6-2. It was close throughout the game with both defenses shutting down some of the best offenses in the league. When it was over the Sharks prevailed and had a very happy flight back to the Big Apple. Of course they had a great time in Chicago after the game too, but that is another story.
Fatima Carvey was named the CABOT CREAMERY Playerof the Week by New York Sharks broadcasters Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell for week 2. She handed out hard hits like candy.
Brooklyn, New York, April 17, 2010 This week's game would tell if the Sharks are back as one of the top flight teams in women's football. They were hosting the IWFL Eastern Conference Champion D.C. Divas in the Sharks' historic 12th season opener. A competitive battle would prove the point and a win would put an exclamation on it. The New York Sharks (2-0) had easily dispatched the inexperienced Philadelphia Firebirds that week before but the D.C. Divas (1-1) just as easily handled the Baltimore Nighthawks too. And prior to last week, the Nighthawks demolished the Firebirds, so not much could be gleamed on how well New York will do against the visitors.
The day started off as most typical Shark openers go, with rain. But this home opener would be a first for under the lights and by the time kick-off came around the rain had stopped. Still it was quite chilly with the temperatures in the low 50's, but by the end of the game it got much colder.
The game started with the D.C. Divas kicking off the football, but they quickly got it back. The kick was short and bounced just in front of Lauren Pringle as she ran up to try and field the football. The ball took a sharp bounce away from Pringle and in front of her. Before she could catch up with the ball, D.C. recovered the kick. This gave the Divas excellent field position to start the game at the Sharks' 33-yard line.
Last week the Sharks defense completely shut down Philadelphia and they proved to be in fine form this week too as they held the Divas to only 2 yards on 3 plays. With the ball on the New York 31-yard line, D.C. went for it on fourth down but newcomer Ebony Jones broke through the line and sacked the D.C. quarterback Kathryn Hemlock.
New York's offensive game plan was revealed quite early and that was pass. Quarterback Karen Mulligan wasted no time in going to the air and was able to move the team down to the Divas 35-yard line before the drive stalled. The Sharks might have proceeded farther but twice Mulligan's passes were dropped by New York receivers. It was a theme that repeated itself with alarming frequency throughout the evening.
D.C.'s game plan was exactly the opposite. They eschewed the pass and went to their smash-mouth running game. Nothing too fancy, just give the ball to their running back and it is up to you to try and stop her. Hemlock kept handing the ball to Tiffany Matthews, Okiima Pickett, and Kenyetta Grigsby. Each time they would blast their way through for 3 to 9 yards at a time. But once they got into the red zone, D.C. went play- action pass and Hemlock threw a 13 yard pass to Tara Stephenson in the endzone. It was a very nice 11 play drive by D.C. New York was going to have to come up with an answer to stop this punishing running attack or it was going to be a long evening.
Again on the kick-off, New York had trouble fielding the ball but they kept possession of it. They started their first drive from their own 17-yard line. The first play was a nifty run by Kathy Holloman. Wearing her trademark red shoes, she gained 35 yards to move the ball into D.C. territory. But from there the Sharks offense sputtered and they were forced to punt.
Coming into punt for the Sharks was Megan Antonucci. Antonucci returned to the Sharks this year after taking off last season. This was her first punt in over a year as last week the Sharks did not have to punt against Philadelphia. All of that time off did not seem to hurt Antonucci as her kick netted 40 yards and pinned the Divas back to their own 6-yard line.
The Divas went back to their running game and was able to pick up 9 yards on 3 carries. But even though they only needed one more yard, it was too much of a gamble from their own 15-yard line and they decided to punt the ball. New York continued to have trouble with kick returns and they let this ball bounce back to the Sharks' 37-yard line.
New York kept with their air bourne strategy and the first pass by Mulligan on this drive was dropped by Chante Bonds. But after that, Mulligan's next 4 pass attempts not only found their targets, but the targets held onto the football. Pringle caught 12 and 8 yard passes and Bonds made up for her drop with a 31 and 12 yard receptions. The latter catch resulting in a New York touchdown. Antonucci showed she hadn't lost on thing on her kicking skills and split the uprights for the extra point to tie the game at 7 a piece with 12:15 left in the second quarter.
The Sharks scored again with 2:38 left to go in the first half. This drive started on the Divas 38-yard line and after a 13 yard catch by Pringle, Jennifer Blum picked up the rest of the yardage. It was a short pass to Blum who was quickly surrounded by 2 D.C. defenders. Blum spun around to shake off her would be tacklers and then sprinted down the left side line into the endzone, shedding one final tackler at the 1-yard line. It was a pretty spectacular run by Blum to put New York up by 6. Antonucci's kick for the extra point went wide but the Sharks had the lead.
With not much time left before the end of the half, the Divas did not have much time to grind out a score. The visitors had to open up their offensive play a little bit but it didn't help as Hemlock was sacked by Mandy Oppel and the last play of the half was an interception by Pringle.
The Divas started the second half with the ball and they went back to the basics. Using their relentless pounding running game, they grinded out a touchdown on ten straight running plays. The capper was Matthews for the final 2 yards into the endzone. The extra point went wide and this kept the score tied with 6:21 left in the third quarter.
On the ensuing kick off, Pringle fumbled the ball away and the Divas recovered. After flawless play last week on special teams, the Sharks went completely in the opposite direction. With the ball resting on the New York 34-yard line it looked like it was only a matter of time before D.C. got on the board again. If it ain't broke, don't fix it and the Divas used that as their mantra running the ball again and again. They got the ball down to the Sharks' 8-yard line before they got hit with two illegal shift penalties in a row. This pushed the Divas back and they went to their passing game. This didn't help as Toni Salvatore was able to snuff out the D.C. drive with an interception at the goal line.
While the Sharks dodged one bullet they were clearing standing in front of another one as they had first down on their own 3-yard line. To make matters worse, they were hit with too many men on the field penalty and that backed them up to the 1-yard line. Mulligan tried to pass her way out of danger but another dropped pass on third down forced the Sharks to punt.
With her feet at the back of the endzone, Antonucci shanked the kick. It went up about 10 yards in the air but only 4 yards forward. It was so short that the ball bounced off a Diva's helmut who was blocking a Shark at the line of scrimmage. New York recovered the ball and they now had a new set of downs from their own 5-yard line. New York was able to move the ball a bit farther out when Mulligan connected with Pringle for an 18-yard gain but quickly were forced to punt again from their own 27-yard line.
Maybe it was the wind currents or maybe there was something in the water. Antonucci's punt this time went very high but not too far. But like New York, D.C. was having trouble with their special teams play and they again fumbled the ball away to the home team. When you get 2 big opportunities like this you have to take advantage of them. This time New York tried to shuffle things around and went to the ground attack. At first it worked out well with a 17 yard run by Mulligan and then an electrifying 26 yard run by Holloman. The sharks got the ball as far as the 9-yard line before the drive stalled and New York was turned away with no points. The Sharks might have scored but there was another dropped pass in the endzone.
The New York defense came up big on D.C.'s next drive with the Sharks forcing the Diva's to punt. With time starting to run down into single digits, Mulligan used her arm and this time her receivers all came through in the clutch. New York moved the ball downfield in chunks with receptions to Smith and Blum. But after a quarterback sack on third down with less than 3 minutes left to go in regulation, it looked like New York might come up short. It was fourth down, the ball was on the 28-yard line and the Sharks needed to get to the 17-yard line for a fresh set of downs. Mulligan dropped back with heavy pressure around her, but she calmly lofted a pass that Smith caught at the 1-yard line. From there, Mulligan called her own number and punched it through for the go ahead touchdown. Antonucci's kick was short but the Sharks had the lead with less than 2 minutes left to go in the game.
Last year in the Eastern Conference Championship Game, the Divas had just given up a touchdown with less than one minute left to Boston. But before the cheering from the Boston fans could stop, the Divas ran the kick off back for a touchdown to win the game. With D.C. if there is time on the clock, they are still a very dangerous team. Even though time was scarce, Stephenson got the Divas in good field position by returning the kick off to the New York 44-yard line. Playing against the prevent defense, Hemlock took advantage and made two quick strikes of 16 yard each to Stephenson and Esther George. With the ball resting on the 12-yard line, the Divas called a running play and gave it to LaShawn Foust for a big 6 yard gain to the 6-yard line. With less than a minute left, Hemlock threw a sideline pass to Stephenson who was quickly tackled by Bonds for no gain. It was now fourth down and Hemlock threw the ball on a timing route to Stephenson in the endzone. The ball bounced off her fingertips and fell harmlessly to the ground. The Sharks won.
By beating the Eastern Conference Champions, this proved that the Sharks are back with the elite teams of women's pro football. The victory improves the Sharks record to 2-0 and they are now tied at the top of a very crowded North Atlantic Division with the Boston Militia (2-0) and the Pittsburgh Passion (2-0). Both of these teams are on New York's tough schedule. But until that time, the Sharks play the Connecticut Crushers next week at the Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn. If you cannot make it, listen to Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell describe all of the action on WFNradio. Kick-off time is 3:30pm (EDT).
D.C. Divas 7-0-6-0: 13 New York Sharks 0-13-0-6: 19
Scoring Summary
First Quarter DC - (04:21) Stephenson 13 yard pass from Hemlock (Hemlock kick)
Second Quarter NY - (12:15) Bonds 12 yard pass from Mulligan (Antonucci kick) NY - (02:38) Blum 25 yard pass from Mulligan (Kick failed)
Third Quarter DC - (06:21) Matthews 2 yard run (kick failed)
Fourth Quarter NY - (01:54) Mulligan 1 yard run (Kick failed)
New York Sharks Chante Bonds and Lauren Pringle were named the CABOT CREAMERY Players of the Week for April 10th. They were selected by broadcasters Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell after their electrifying returns of kicks against the Philadelphia Firebirds.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 10, 2010 The New York Sharks (1-0) opened up their 2010 season on the road to take on the Philadelphia Firebirds (0-2). The Sharks had a bye while the Firebirds played Baltimore last week to kick-off the IWFL season. This was an important game for New York, not only because it was against a division rival, but it was also the first game for new head coach Fabian Alessandro. But while it was a new coach, many veteran players returned to the team after missing last season. Lakisha Grant, Virginia Leon, Faith Mitchell, Kathy Holloman, Leeann Brzozowski, and Gabrielle Nazaire all returned for the 2010 campaign.
It was a nice Spring evening when the two teams took to the field. The Firebirds won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball. The Sharks defense looked in fine mid-season form as Philadelphia lost 5 yards during their possession and were quickly forced to punt.
At first on offense, New York was a little bit shaky as they were quickly hit with a holding and then an offsides penalty. But Holloman wearing her famous red shoes was able to rush for 2 first downs. After another holding penalty the Sharks were moved backwards and needed 20 yards to get a first down. On the next play, Quarterback Karen Mulligan dropped back and threw the football intended for receiver Jennifer Blum down the right sideline. The Philadelphia defender panicked and tackled Blum before the ball got there and the Sharks were given a 27 yard gift.
With the ball on the Firebirds' 17-yard line, Mulligan handed the ball off to running back Mandy Oppel. After 4 touches, Oppel got into the endzone to give the Sharks the early lead. New York went for the two-point conversion and Mulligan found Chante Bonds open in the back of the endzone to make the score 8-0 with 8:26 left to go in the first quarter.
On their next possession, Philadelphia could not advance the ball and quickly were forced to punt. This was a theme that continued throughout the game as the New York defense stopped everything that the Firebirds could throw and run at them. New York held the home team to negative total yards but also to no first downs throughout the whole game. On offense, the Sharks could do no wrong as they did not punt the entire game.
On the Firebirds punt, Bonds returned the ball 27 yards to give the Sharks a first down on their own 44-yard line. Mulligan again went to the air and connected with Lauren Pringle in stride for a big 41 yard gain to the Philadelphia 15-yard line. The ball was then put into the hands of Holloman who was able to punch it into the endzone on 2 running plays. The Sharks were successful on the 2-point conversion as Mulligan found Blum all alone in the endzone. This made the score 16-0 with 4:44 left in the first quarter.
The New York defense continued to keep the pressure on the Firebirds as Sharks Jessica Vazquez and Mitchell sacked Firebirds' quarterback Pam Downey on third down and forced the home team to punt again. It took less than a minute for the Sharks to strike again as Bonds returned the punt 50 yards for New York's third touchdown of the quarter. It was a spectacular return as she caught the football off her shoetops running full speed. She then ran down the right sideline and at the 15-yard line jumped up into the air to avoid a tackle before finishing up in the endzone. The Sharks missed the conversion, but the score was now 22-0 and the rout was on.
The second quarter went pretty much the same as the first. The Sharks defense would not let anything or anyone past the line of scrimmage and on offense, running backs Holloman and Oppel just pounded the ball up the middle for two more scores. The last touchdown of the quarter though was a nifty pass play by Mulligan. She threw a short 12 yard pass down the middle to receiver Adrienne Smith. The pass was just behind the line Phiadelphia linebackers and from there Smith only had to beat one Firebird to the endzone for a 34 yard touchdown play. At this point, the Sharks felt comfortable to test out their kicking game and brand new kicker Kriste McTamaney trotted out onto the field. Her first attempt split the uprights and the score at the end of the first half was now 45-0.
In the second half, the Sharks mostly ran the ball. On one drive, Nazaire was given the ball eight times straight and she went off-tackle eight times straight. Even though it was basically the same play over and over, the Firebirds could not stop the little runner and she scored her first touchdown of the season.
By the fourth quarter, Isabella Bluhm was the running back and she kept pounding the ball up the middle until she scored from the 1-yard line. McTamaney kicked the extra point and that was the end of the Sharks scoring for the game.
Offensively Philadelphia could not get anything going and the day ended for them by fumbling the football away at their own 32-yard line. Shana Segers recovered the ball and the Sharks ended the game by taking a knee.
It was a satisfying win for the Sharks as it gave their head coach a victory under his belt and they dominated in every aspect of the game. But Philadelphia is a young team that is rebuilding with a new coach so this is not really the best test for New York. Their first big test of the season will come this weekend as they take on the Eastern Conference champion D.C. Divas for the Sharks home opener. The Divas were undfeated during the regualar season last year and they are continuing that streak this year. This game will show how good the Sharks really are, so come on out to Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn to watch what should be one of the best games of the season. If you cannot make it, listen to Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell describe all of the action on WFNradio. Also helping them out in the booth will be NFL's Sam Rapoport. Kick-off time is 7:30pm (EDT).
New York Sharks 22-23-12-7: 64 Philadelphia Firebirds 0-0-0-0: 0
Scoring Summary
First Quarter NY - (08:26) Oppel 1 yard run (Bonds pass from Mulligan) NY - (04:44) Holloman 2 yard run (Blum pass from Mulligan) NY - (01:31) Bonds 50 yard punt return (pass failed)
Second Quarter NY - (13:50) Holloman 5 yard run (Pringle pass from Mulligan) NY - (10:51) Mulligan 2 yard run (Blum pass from Mulligan) NY - (02:40) Smith 34 yard pass from Mulligan (McTamaney kick)
Third Quarter NY - (09:23) Nazaire 1 yard run (kick failed) NY - (04:05) Mulligan 3 yard run (kick failed)
Fourth Quarter NY - (09:09) Bluhm 1 yard run (McTamaney kick)
The New York Sharks are on track to be the first women's professional football team to play their 100th game. That historic game will take place on May 22nd when the Sharks host the Baltimore Nighthawks at the Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn, New York.
It all started in 1999 when a women's barn storming football team challenged the flag-football team, the Long Island Sharks to a full contact, tackle football game. The Sharks picked up other flag-football players from around the New York metropolitan area and with only two months to prepare took on the Minnesota Vixens. In front of only 300 patrons at Uniondale, Long Island, the underdog Sharks came from behind to defeat the visitors, 16-12.
From these humble beginnings, the Sharks have become a trailblazer in women's professional football.
Over 260 women have put on the black and blue uniform over the past dozen years and with continued success. The team has forged a 80-20 won-loss record for a .800 winning percentage, 6 division titles, 3 conference titles, and one national title.
As we come upon this historic event, we will be listing the 5 Greatest Games in New York Sharks history. Each week we will reveal one game from the top 5.
The New York Sharks are one of the premier teams in women's tackle football. They are a member of the Independent Women's Football League (IWFL).
Now entering our 2nd decade the Sharks have won more games than any other women's football team in the country including a national championship in 2002.
For more information, visit our official website at: www.nysharksfootball.com.
