Medford, Massachusetts, May 19, 2007
For the first time in 6 years the New York Sharks (2-1) were coming off a regular season loss. They had to wait 2 weeks to try and get back on the winning track, but it was a good 2 weeks as the Sharks desperately needed some time to heal their injured bodies. The Sharks travelled up I-95 to Boston to take on division rival Boston Rampage (1-2). Even with a bye week, the Sharks infirmary was still pretty filled with Shauntay Stewart, Virginia “Cha Chi” Leon, and Alice Wong becoming the newest residents. It wasn’t all bad news as Chrissy Pagan, Lakisha Grant, and Amber Knighten were suiting up after missing the last game.
The game began with a light rain coming down with the temperature in the mid-50’s. But by the end of the game it was starting to pour. It had been raining for the past 2 days but the grass field at Hormel Stadium seemed to be holding up.
New York lost the coin toss and the Rampage tried to pull a page from the Sharks playbook by deferring to to kick off to the Sharks. Since Coach Vance has taken over the helm for New York, whenever the Sharks had won the toss they have always deferred.
The Sharks started their first drive on their own 35-yard line after the kick-off and came out throwing. The first play from scrimmage was a swing pass to Jen Blum from quarterback Karen Mulligan for a quick 5 yard gain. Blum was taken down when the defender grabbed Blum’s belt and dragged her down. The next pass attempt was incomplete and the Sharks tried to mix it up by giving the ball to rookie Gabrielle Nazaire and she picked up 4 yards. It was now fourth down with 1 yard to go on the New York 44-yard line and the Sharks braintrust decided to gamble and go for it. This time they gave the ball to rookie Jamy Rivera who plowed up the middle and pushed the pile for 3-yard gain and most importantly a fresh set of downs. The ball was now in Boston’s territory and the Sharks went back to the air. Mulligan connected with receiver Brooke McKinney for a big 20-yard gain and then with the ball on the Rampage 33-yard line New York struck pay dirt as Mulligan hit a streaking Blum down the right sideline for a 33-yard touchdown reception. Megan Antonucci made the extra point and the Sharks took the early lead, 7-0 with 10:17 left in the first quarter.
Boston fell behind early but their offense had yet to take the field. Starting from their own 36-yard line, the Rampage game plan was different from the Sharks as they utilized their rushing game. It was a pretty effective plan as the Rampage alternated handing the ball off to backs Kimberly Boroyan and Dawn Herring. Boston drove down the field and after 11 plays were at the New York 15-yard line. It was a third down play when quarterback Nisa Packert ran the option play. She ran to her left with Herring slightly behind her. Sharks safety Mandy Oppel drifted between the two waiting for a reaction. Packert pitched the ball and as soon as the ball left her hand, Oppel made a bee line to Herring. Oppel hit Herring as the ball got there and forced a fumble. As the two players were falling down, Oppel still had the presence of mind to grab the ball and recover it for the Sharks. During the drive New York lost saftey Adrienne Smith with a leg injury. It would prove to be a costly injury as it weakened an already depleted Sharks secondary.
New York could not capitalize on the turnover and quickly were forced to punt. It was a very short possession for Boston as they surprised the Sharks by going to the air. After 12 straight running plays, the Rampage called a play action pass and after faking a handoff to Herring, Packert found a wide open Nicolle Renick in the endzone for a 45-yard touchdown. The Sharks secondary had bitten on the fake and were burned. Boston’s extra point attempt was low as the ball hit the crossbar and bounced away. The Rampage were now on the board and only 1 point behind 7-6 with 14:47 left in second quarter.
After the kick off the Sharks started off in decent field position from their own 42-yard line. On this drive the Sharks went with a nice mix of run and pass plays. There were some big pass plays to Blum and McKinney for 35 yards, but also some nice runs by Mulligan herself. The scoring play was by Mulligan on a 2 yard dive. Antonucci split the uprights and extended the Sharks lead to 14-6 with 7:31 left in the half.
After the kick off, Boston again did not have the ball for too long. This time they didn’t score but were quickly forced to punt after 3 plays.
With less than 4 minutes left in the half, the Sharks started on their own 29-yard line. With a long distance and short time, New York wentto the air. First, Mulligan hit McKinney on a swing pass for a short 6-yard gain. Blum caught the next pass for a big 29-yard gain. Sticking to the air, the Sharks got a big help from Boston on a 15-yard pass interference penalty and the ball was resting on the Rampage 30-yard line with 2 minutes left. It looked like New York was going to go to the ground game but it was actually a fake and Mulligan hit Oppel for an 8-yard gain. The next play was actually a running play by Courtney Ray but it was snuffed out nicely by Boston except for the facemask penalty. The ball was now down to the 5-yard line. Oppel got the ball next and bulldozed her way down to the 1-yard line. The half was starting to run out but Mulligan gave the ball back to Oppel and she finished the drive with the Sharks third touchdown of the game. The Sharks missed the extra point as the snap was high and the holder Ray could not find an open receiver to throw to. This made the score 20-6 in favor of New York with only 42 seconds left in the half.
The Sharks were looking good at halftime, but then again they had a 14-point lead against the Divas and could not hold on. Coach Vance told her team at halftime that in the past 2 games, the team has given her 2 good quarters in each game but she needed a full game effort.
The Rampage started the second half receiving the kick off. They needed a good drive to stay in the game. It started off well as Boroyan returned the kick off 20 yards to the 50-yard line. Going to a mix of runs and short passes, Boston methodically marched down the field. Packert seemed to get into a rhythm as she was finding her favorite receiver Renick for 7-yard and 16-yard gains. A big play was on a play action pass in whcih Packert was almost sacked but she jumped into the air and hit Boroyan for an 8-yard gain. The Rampage had the ball on the Sharks’ 6-yard line and a first down. Boston was working their way back into the game when disaster struck. Herring took the hand off for no gain, but lineman Jessica Cabrera went down, injured on the play. It was a scary 10 minutes as she lay down on the ground not moving. An ambulance was called and she was taken off the field on a stretcher. She was sent to the hospital but was later released and was able to join the teams at the after party. She was unconscious when she was on the ground.
That was probably the turning point of the game as the Sharks defense turned it up a notch thereafter. On the next play, Grant came barreling in and caused a Rampage fumble. Boston recovered the ball but had lost 10 yards. Then on third down, Toni Salvatore made a nice leap to knock away a pass by Packert. Boston went for it on fourth down, but in an obvious passing situation, Grant came through and sacked Packert to give the ball back to New York at the Boston 21-yard line.
If Boston was able to score, they could have come within one touchdown of the Sharks. Instead, New York was able to turn it around and surge to a three touchdown lead.
After a New York penalty, the Sharks were back to their own 16-yard line, but Mulligan went to work. She started off with 2 pitch plays to McKinney and Oppel. They netted a total of 22 yards gained. But a big play on the drive was a sideline screen pass. Blum caught the ball and ran down the left side of the field for a huge 43-yard gain to the Boston 19-yard line. The Sharks then began to shoot themselves in the foot as a pair of penalties backed them to the Rampage 28-yard line. Facing a fourth down and very long situation, the Sharks went for it and Mulligan again found Blum. This time she went deep and hit Blum in stride as she crossed the goal line. It was Blum’s second touchdown of the game. The snap for the extra point was bad but the Sharks lead now ws 26-6 with 2:13 left in the third quarter.
That last touchdown was basically the game. Down by 20 points with less than a quarter left the Rampage had to open their offense up and the Sharks defensive line started feasting. Boston could not sustain any more drives and the Sharks offense stayed with the ground game to eat up the clock.
The Sharks’ victory was a big one. It got New York back to their winning ways but by defeating a division rival in their only meeting this season, puts the Sharks in good position to win most of the tie-breakers in case of a tie with Boston. For the Rampage it was a huge loss as they have also lost to division rival New England Intensity and so they would lost most tie breakers with them too. But it was not all peaches and cream as the Sharks injury list added another New York starter, Smith. At this point it is not known how bad the injury is but she was in street clothes by halftime and could not put any weight on her injured leg.
The Sharks have another bye week to try and rest the troops before they take on division rival New England Intensity on Saturday, June 2nd. The Intensity and Sharks are currently tied for first place in the North Atlantic division so this is a big game from a playoff standpoint. But from a storyline point, this is a very exciting game as former Sharks Val Halesworth, Missy Marmorale, and Valerie Monaco return to take the field in New York but this time in the opponent’s uniform. This will be the first time the former Sharks will play against their former team. Some come watch the action as the New England Intensity battle the New York Sharks for the top of the North Atlantic division at Sharks Field at the Aviator Sports Complex. Kick off is at 4pm.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Sharks | 7 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 26 |
| Boston Rampage | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
NY – (10:17) Blum 33 yard pass from Mulligan (Antonucci kick)
Second Quarter
BO – (14:47) Renick 45 yard pass from Packert (kick failed)
NY – (07:31) Mulligan 2 run run (Antonucci kick)
NY – (00:42) Oppel 1 run run (pass failed)
Third Quarter
NY – (02:13) Blum 28 yard pass from Mulligan (run failed)