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.
For more details on the game, visit the Sharks' gameday write-up.
Next week at #4, Showtime.
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