Staten Island, New York, May 21, 2011

The Sharks have a bye week before they travel up north to take on the New England NightMare. The Sharks defeated the NightMare earlier this year by the score of 48-12 in New York. The game will be played at Dillon Stadium in Hartford, Connecticut. Kick-off time is 4pm (EDT). If you cannot make it to the game, listen to Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell describe all of the action on IYMSportsRadio.com. Broadcast will start at 3:45pm.

Scoring Summary

First Quarter
BOS – (03:47) Zelee 14 yard run (Snyder kick)

Second Quarter
BOS – (11:09) Donaldson 3 yard (Snyder kick)
BOS – (06:01) Zelee 7 yard run (Snyder kick)
BOS – (01:54) Zelee 4 yard run (Run failed)
BOS – (00:37) Donaldson 5 yard run (Run failed)

Third Quarter
BOS – (12:16) Snyder 40 yard field goal

Fourth Quarter
BOS – (11:48) Bond 9 yard run (Snyder kick)
NY – (05:08) Sumnicht 20 yard pass from Mulligan (Pass failed)

Staten Island, New York, May 15, 2011
The game between the New York Sharks (3-1) and the Philadelphia Liberty Belles (2-3) was a big one. Even though it marked the half-way point of the season for both teams, a loss would practically knock one of them out of playoff contention. Each team was trailing their respective division leader and needed a win to stay in the playoff hunt.

The Sharks usually play their games on a Saturday, but due to a late scheduling change, New York was playing their first football game on a Sunday. In the past the team has played on a Friday and a Monday, but never on a Sunday.

The Sharks brought out some sporting star power to the game as former WNBA star Kym Hampton sang the national anthem, and former New York Jets star Ken Schroy performed the coin toss. He didn’t help the Sharks on the coin toss as Philadelphia won the toss but it worked out well in the end as the Liberty Belles deferred to the second half, so New York was going to receive the opening kick-off.

The Sharks started their opening drive pretty conservatively on the running of Kathy Holloman and short passes to Val Halesworth. It took New York 10 plays to gain only 20 yards. On the eleventh play they opened it up a bit with quarterback Karen Mulligan connecting with wide receiver Lauren Pringle for a nifty 38 yard pickup. Pringle almost made it into the endzone but was tackled at the 3-yard line. On the next play running back Odessa Jenkins picked up 2 yards to put the ball right on the goal line and from there Mulligan sneaked the ball across for the touchdown. It was a very nice opening drive that took 13 plays to get 41 yards in 7 minutes. It was only marred by a low snap on the extra point attempt. Kicker Joy Dollison quickly picked up the errant snap but she was quickly smothered by the Liberty Belles. Nonetheless, the Sharks were ahead 6-0 in the first quarter.

The visitors could do nothing when they had the ball and quickly were forced to punt. It looked like New York was getting ready to march down the field again after a nice 24 yard pass reception to Jen Blum that put the Sharks in Philadelphia territory. But this time the Liberty Belles put out an all-out blitz in which they got to Mulligan and caused her to fumble away the football.

The turnover seemed to wake-up Philadelphia as they grinded out yards on the ground until they got a first down on the New York 2-yard line. The big play was on a fake handoff by quarterback Mikaelyn Austin who then ran to her right, turned the corner and ran down the sideline. When she gained 13 yards to the Sharks’ 27-yard line, Austin pitched the ball back to Jeanette Hibbs who picked up 14 more yards.

With Philadelphia knocking very loudly on the Sharks door front, the visitors quickly shot themselves in the foot with a holding penalty that pushed them back 10 yards and the closest they would ever get on the drive was to the 3-yard line before they turned the ball over to New York on downs.

Still it wasn’t all for nought as the Sharks were stuck deep in their own territory and were quickly forced to punt. Putting on a strong rush of the punter, the Sharks’ kick only went 9 yards. Philadelphia was getting a second chance with the ball sitting on the New York 18-yard line. They did not waste this opportunity and scored on a touchdown pass from Austin to Hibbs. The play was not picture perfect as the quarterback was lined up in shotgun and the snap bounced off her hands. She quickly picked up the ball and ran to her right as the designed play was falling apart. But as she ran to her right, the Sharks secondary came in to defend the run. This left a wide open Hibbs in the endzone which Austin hit for an easy score. Hibbs then kicked the extra point to give the Liberty Belles the lead 7-6 with 7:35 left in the second quarter. This was the first time ever that a team from Philadelphia has had the lead over the Sharks.

After the two teams swapped turnovers, the Sharks got the lead back. Again it was a big pass play that set up a hometown score. Earlier in the game Mulligan had thrown a nice pass to Lauren Pringle that could have led to a touchdown but she dropped the ball. The second time around, Pringle caught the ball and ran all the way to the Philadelphia 1-yard line for a 41 yard gain. On the next play Holloman punched the ball in and New York was back on top, 12-7. Because of the missed extra point before, the Sharks went for the 2-point conversion but the pass was knocked away to prevent a pair of points with 4 minutes left to go before the half.

On the ensuing kick-off, Dollison’s kick hit the turf in front of the Liberty Belles returner at the 23 and bounced up high and up field, away from the returner. Sharks Charron Sutton ran down the field and was able to recover the kickoff for the Sharks. It was a great break for New York but they could not capitalize as the closest they got down field was to the Philadelphia 29-yard line. Dollison tried to kick a 45-yard field goal but the kick was short and to the left.

The Sharks defense quickly shut down the Liberty Belles offense and New York got the ball back with 2 minutes left to go in the half. Instead of trying run out the clock with the lead, the Sharks played aggressive trying to get another score but after a couple of first downs, they were forced to punt with 45 seconds left. This strategy backfired as Philadelphia’s Hibbs returned the punt 43 yards to the New York 20-yard line. Then with only 18 seconds left, Austin connected with Maureen Pfender in the endzone to put the Liberty Belles in the lead. Another Hibbs extra point pushed the visitors lead to 14-12.

Even with only 18 seconds left, the Sharks played aggressively for a score but it ended on an interception by linebacker Jennifer Rosario.

At halftime, Sharks head coach Darnell Stapleton spoke to his team with fire and brimstone. The Sharks were making too many mistakes on offense and defense. They were only down by 2 points but they missed on too many scoring opportunities and the defense gave up too many chances.

The speech lit a fire under the Sharks and it showed at the beginning of the second half. Philadelphia received the ball to start the second half but was stuffed by the New York defense. On a third and long play, the Liberty Belles went to the air but the ball found it’s way into the hands of Darleen Hall who returned the errant pass 30 yards to the 13-yard line. This was the second career interception by Hall against the Liberty Belles. The last one she returned 80 yards for a touchdown and was then a team record.

From the 13-yard line, Mulligan handed the ball off to Jenkins who powered her way in to the endzone. Dollison split the uprights and the Sharks were back in front 19-14 with 12:17 left to go in the third quarter.

This year the Sharks defense has played well shutting down the opposing team’s offense, but the secondary suffers from lapses time to time. And they suffered another lapse as Austin connected with Pfender again, but this time for a 70-yard touchdown reception. This was the third touchdown the defense has given up of over 50 yards. Hibbs made it 3 for 3 on extra points and the Liberty Belles took the lead back in the beginning of the fourth quarter.

With the fate of the season now resting on less than 15 minutes of play, the Sharks turned to Jenkins. Sticking to the running game, Jenkins was given the ball and she ran either off-tackle or bounced to the outside to grind out gain after gain. But after 9 plays, the Sharks changed gears and Mulligan went looking for Lauren Baden down field. The throw from the Liberty Belles 21-yard line was on target but the Philadelphia defender got her hand up to tip the ball. Baden had to reach back but she grabbed the bouncing ball and then fell into the endzone for her first career touchdown. New York went for the 2-point conversion and Mulligan threw a short pass to Jenkins. Jenkins was quickly covered by the Philadelphia defense at the 5-yard line but broke her tackles to make it into the endzone to give the Sharks a 27-21 lead with 7:20 left to go in the game.

The Liberty Belles now had their backs to the wall. They desperately needed a victory to stay close enough to the D.C. Divas if they wanted to make the playoffs for a third year straight. They went to the running game of Hibbs and Carr and was able to grind up yards against a wavering Sharks defense. Philadelphia moved the ball to the New York 30-yard line when Mother Nature intervened. A loud clap of thunder was heard throughout the area and the referees quickly moved players and fans indoors for safety with 3:43 left in to go in the game. Within minutes the sky opened up and it was pouring rain.

The game was delayed until the lightning and thunder had passed. It took about 30 minutes before the referees resumed the game. There was no more signs of thunder and lightning but it was still pouring rain. The field was turf so there was no problem with mud, but there were large puddles of water around the field. This played in the Sharks favor as the very first snap of the wet ball after the delay was fumbled by Philadelphia for a 2 yard loss. This made it third down and 9 yards to go for a first down. Staying on the ground, Hibbs was able to pick up 4 yards but the Liberty Belles still needed 5 more yards for a first down. So on fourth down, Philadelphia was forced to go to the air and with the Sharks rushing the quarterback, Austin made a desperation throw but the wet ball only went a few yards in the air and was picked off by Sharks Nikki Joseph. The interception sealed the deal for New York and the some of the players celebrated after the final whistle by doing rain angels in the pools of water around the field.

New York played a character building game. They weren’t very consistent, made many mistakes and kept giving up the lead but in the end they were able to focus as a team and pull out a nice come from behind victory.

The Sharks will host the Boston Militia (4-1) next Saturday at Moore Catholic High School in Staten Island. This could be the biggest game of the year for the New York as it is practically a must win situation for them if they wish to make the playoffs. Kick-off will be at 3pm (EDT). If you cannot make it to the game, listen to Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell describe all of the action on IYMSportsRadio.com.

Scoring Summary

First Quarter
NY – (07:11) Mulligan 1 yard run (Run failed)

Second Quarter
PHA – (07:35) Hibbs 18 yard pass from Austin (Hibbs kick)
NY – (04:01) Holloman 1 yard run (Pass failed)
PHA – (00:18) Pfender 20 yard pass from Austin (Hibbs kick)

Third Quarter
NY – (12:17) Jenkins 13 yard run (Dollison kick)

Fourth Quarter
PHA – (14:44) Pfender 70 yard pass from Austin (Hibbs kick)
NY – (07:20) Baden 21 yard pass from Mulligan (Jenkins pass from Mulligan)

Staten Island, New York, April 30, 2011
The New York Sharks (2-1) were happy to finally come home and play their 13th home opener, the most in women’s football. After a tough loss against division rival Boston Militia, the Sharks were looking to getting back to their winning ways against another division foe, the New England NightMare (0-3).

It was a beautiful day on Staten Island with blue skies and game time temperature at 70 degrees. In some ways this could have been seen as a bad omen as the Sharks usual home opener forecast is rain, but not today. The bad omens were reserved for New England.

The game started with the NightMare losing the coin toss and things just got worse for the visitors. Starting with the kick-off, New York returner Odessa Jenkins caught the kick on a short hop and then split up the middle of the field. She got some key blocks and then it was off to the races and she ran it all the way in for a touchdown. Joy Dollison kicked the extra point to give the hometown team the lead of 7-0 with only 15 seconds ticking off of the game clock. The 81-yard return was the longest in Sharks history but that was really a no-brainer as it was the only kick-off returned for a touchdown in the Sharks long history. Unfortunately for New England it wasn’t the last.

The Sharks defense was able to shut down the NightMare for the rest of the first quarter but their offense struggled at first. But as the quarter drew to a close, New York orchestrated a nifty 80 yard, 12 play drive. There was a mix of pass and running plays but the star of the drive was the return of running back Kathy Holloman. Holloman who had missed the first 2 games of the season was playing in her first game of the season and was able to move the ball ending with a 4-yard touchdown run. Dollison continued to be perfect on her extra point attempts and the Sharks now led 14-0 as the first quarter ended.

The next time the Sharks got the ball, they had it for a lot less time but they still were able to score none the less. Again it was Jenkins who was the star as she took the handoff and ran towards the middle but then took a quick cut to her right before breaking it open for a 48 yard touchdown score. Another Dollison kick and New York extended their lead to 21-0 with 11:56 left in the first half.

Jenkins wasn’t yet done for the half. When the Sharks got the ball back it was only the soles of Jenkin’s yellow shoes that the New England defense saw as she busted loose again. This time she ran 63 yards for her third touchdown of the game. Dollison’s streak of successful extra points was stopped as the long snap was high and bounced off of holder Val Halesworth‘s hands. Dollison picked the ball up and tried to run it in but was quickly tackled. In any case the Sharks had a very comfortable 27-0 lead going into halftime.

New York continued to keep scoring in the second half. This time using a mix of nice running plays by Bella Bluhm and short passes to Laura Baden and the Sharks were on the board again. The drive went 59 yards in 9 plays, the scoring coming on a Karen Mulligan keeper for the final 4 yards. Rookie receiver Anaïs Sumnicht got her first catch of her career in the drive, a 7 yard pickup. Dollison got back on track and split the uprights to give the home team a comfortbale 34-0 lead.

This was the NightMare’s third game of the season but they still had yet to get on the scoreboard. That changed on their next possession. While the New York defense has played well this season they have had a tendency to give up some big plays and that is what happened here. Running back Lorie Lindo broke a big run up the middle for 39 yards. She might have scored except for a touchdown saving tackle by Jenkins. Then with the ball on the New York 13-yard line, quarterback Yvonne Howard threw a short pass to her left for a wide open Lindo who caught the pass at the line of scrimmage. She then ran towards the corner of the endzone and was hit by Halesworth. Lindo had enough momentum for the ball to break into the endzone for New England’s first score of the season. On the extra point attempt, Jenkins got into the middle of the action again. This time she broke in and blocked the kick to keep the score 34-6.

You would think that Jenkins would be pretty tired at this point, having scored 3 long touchdowns this afternoon. Well, she wasn’t done just yet. On the ensuing kick-off, Jenkins’ yellowshoes were back in action, this time returning the kick-off 74 yards for a touchdown. In the past 13 years, the Sharks have never returned a kick-off for a touchdown but now in the span of 45 minutes, Jenkins had done it twice. Dollison’s extra point attempt was good and the Sharks got their lead back to 40-6 as the third quarter ended.

In the fourth quarter Holloman scored the last New York touchdown of the afternoon. It was a 25 yard run and her second touchdown of the day. Dollison kicked her sixth extra point of the day to make the score 48-6.

With the game clock winding down, the NightMare put together one last drive for the endzone. Relying mainly on the legs of Lindo, New England had a 11 play, 54 yard drive for the score. Howard was able to run it in for the final 4 yards for the score as time ran out on the field. The Sharks might have prevented the score as a quarterback sack by Ruth Martinez and Olga Alcantara pushed the NightMare back for a big loss but on the next play a pass interference got back the yards and then some to set up the score.

It was nice to come back home in front of the home town fans with a victory The win put the Sharks in a 3-way tie for first place with Boston and North Eastern. Rookies Ruth Martinez and Olga Alcantara recorded their first sacks and it was also the 100th game for Sharks’ Darleen “Blue” Hall who got a sack of her own as well as the defensive game ball.

The Sharks have a bye next week before they then take on the Philadelphia Liberty Belles in a re-match of the season opener. New York is looking for a repeat over the Liberty Belles and this time the game will be at home in Staten Island, kick-off will be at 3pm (EDT). If you cannot make it to the game, we will be broadcasting live on IYMSportsRadio.com.

Scoring Summary

First Quarter
NY – (14:45) Jenkins 81 yard kick-off return (Dollison kick)
NY – (00:00) Holloman 4 yard run (Dollison kick)

Second Quarter
NY – (11:56) Jenkins 48 yard run (Dollison kick)
NY – (02:00) Jenkins 63 yard run (Run failed)

Third Quarter
NY – (06:52) Mulligan 4 yard run (Dollison kick)
NE – (04:15) Lindo 13 yard pass from Howard (Kick failed)
NY – (02:02) Jenkins 74 yard kick-off return (Dollison kick)

Fourth Quarter
NY – (05:41) Holloman 25 yard run (Dollison kick)
NE – (0:00) Howard 4 yard run (Pass failed)

Somerville, Massachusetts, April 16, 2011
It was a dark and stormy night, and while the rain clouds didn’t burst until after the game, the Boston Militia (1-1) rained on the visiting New York Sharks (1-1). The game started with overcast skies, temperature in the low 40’s and wind gusts over 10 mph. Boston won the coin toss and elected to receive.

The Sharks were looking forward to this game. A win against a division rival would greatly increase the Sharks chances of getting to the playoffs but they were also looking to get some revenge against a team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year. And to top it all off, the Sharks were riding a 4 game losing streak to the Militia.

The game did not start off well for the visitors. On the first play from scrimmage, former Shark and now running back Chante Bonds for the Boston Militia dropped a sideline pass for no gain, but New York was called for off-sides and that put the ball at the Boston 42-yard line. From here Boston kept running the ball against New York as they marched down the field. Another off-sides penalty on the Sharks and the Militia were deep in New York territory. Boston quarterback Alison Cahill then went to the air and found another former Shark Adrienne Smith open for a 19 yard gain to the Sharks 16-yard line. Cahill tried to go to the air on the very next play but New York linebacker Darleen Hall chased the quartrerback out of the pocket and to the right sideline. From there Cahill was able to scamper down the sideline and just made it into the endzone for the first score of the game.

The Militia drew first blood and made it look easy. It only took them 8 plays to cover 63 yards and they never got into a third down situation. Ashely Snyder kicked the extra point and the score was 7-0 in favor of the home team with 9:36 left in the first quarter.

New York tried to answer right back by coming out throwing. Quarterback Karen Mulligan hit wide receiver Lauren Pringle for a nice 13 yard gain, but then had 3 incomplete passes that forced the Sharks to punt.

Boston put on a good rush during the punt and Sharks punter Joy Dollison had to rush her kick. That plus she was kicking into a strong wind, the ball only went 10 yards, giving Boston the ball on their own 39-yard line.

Again Boston stayed on the ground and methodically moved down the field. Once they got into Sharks territory, Cahill again went to the air for a 30 yard pick-up. Cahill then handed the ball off to Bonds who ran up the middle for a 16 yard touchdown. It was another 8 play drive by the Militia and after another Snyder extra point, the Sharks were down by two touchdowns at the end of the first quarter.

As Yogi Berra would say, it was deja vue all over again as Boston scored on 8 plays on their very next drive. This time all 8 plays were on the ground as the Militia front line just pushed the New York defensive line around as backs Donaldson and Stacey Tiamfook picked up multiple double digit gains on their carries. The scoring play was a quarterback sneak by Cahill from the 2-yard line. After the extra point, Boston had a pretty commanding 3 touchdown lead with 7:01 left in the first half.

The game was quickly sliding away and it didn’t make matters any better when the Sharks fumbled the ball back to Boston, giving the Militia a first down at the New York 34-yard line. But this time the defense was able to keep Boston out of the endzone. The Militia did try for a 40-yard field goal attempt but the windy conditions blew the ball short and to the left of the goalposts.

With the first half coming to a close and New York down by 3 scores, the Sharks were desperate to put up a score. Relying on the arm of Mulligan and running back Odessa Jenkins, the Sharks were able to march down the field into the Boston red zone. But time was running out, the Sharks were on the Boston 6-yard line but there was only 24 seconds left in the half. Mulligan threw a pass to a wide open Val Halesworth but she was only at the 5 yard line. She thought she had some running room and ran back to the middle of the field towards the endzone instead of heading for the sideline. She was tackeld at the 2-yard as time quickly ticked away. New York quickly rushed to the line of scrimmage and Mulligan was able to spike the ball with 0.5 seconds left on the clock. With the clock stopped, the Sharks were able to get their field goal unit onto the field, but the wind affected this kick as well and it went wide right as time expired.

The Sharks made some adjustments in the second half and played much better, but being down by 3 touchdowns was too much. On offense, New York was able to move the ball mostly through the air but when they got into the red zone, they just could not punch it in for the touchdown. And being down by 3 touchdowns, they had to forego the field goal attempts.

The defense played much better but they did have one lapse. Similar to a play in Philadelphia, the secondary let a wide receiver get behind them and like in Philadlephia, the opposing team’s quarterback burned the Sharks. This time it was Smith who went deep and scored on a 73 yard pass play. Snyder kicked the extra point and the Militia pushed their lead to 28-0.

It looked like New York might get shutout when they got the ball on their own 25-yard line with less than 2 minutes left to play in the game. With nothing to lose, Mulligan came out firing. She threw for 9 straight plays and connected on 5 of them. The big play was a 33 yard gain to Jen Blum on a 4th down and 14 yards to go. Mulligan threw a perfect pass down the right side line that Blum made a nice grab before being forced out of bounds at the Boston 15-yard line.

Mulligan then hit Pringle with a pass down the middle to the 2-yard line, but Pringle fought her way the last 2 yards to get the New Yorkers on the scoreboard. Joy Dollison spllit the uprights for the extra point and the Sharks avoided getting a zero for the game. The final score was 28-7 in favor of the ladies from Beantown.

This was another tough loss at the hands of the Boston Militia. Boston dominated most of the game and this stretched the Sharks losing streak to 5 games against Boston. Before this losing streak, the Sharks had beaten a Boston team 9 times in a row.

The Sharks have a week off before they finally head home to play their 13th home opener on April 30th. The Sharks are back in Staten Island as they will play the New England NightMares (0-2), kick-off is at 3pm (EDT) at Moore Cathollic High School. If you can’t make it to the game, you can still follow all the action on IYMSportsRadio.com as Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell describe all of the action. Plus you can join us in talking about the game as we will comment live from the broadcast booth during the game on our Facebook page in the discussion section.

Scoring Summary

First Quarter
BOS – (09:36) Cahill 21 yard run (Snyder kick)
BOS – (01:42) Bonds 12 yard pass from Cahill (Snyder kick)

Second Quarter
BOS – (07:01) Cahill 2 yard run (Snyder kick)

Fourth Quarter
BOS – (07:13) Smith 72 yard pass from Cahill (Snyder kick)
NY – (00:21) Pringle 15 yard pass from Mulligan (Dollison kick)

Brooklyn, New York, May 22, 2010
It was a carnival-like atmosphere in Brooklyn as the New York Sharks (6-1) got ready to play their 100th game. Well truth be told, it was a carnival atmosphere as the Kings County Fair was being held right next to the Aviator Sports Complex football field. Right behind the stands were rides like the haunted mansion and a huge ferris wheel overlooking the grounds. But for all of the festivities at the grounds, the Sharks needed an opponent to play their historic 100th game. The Baltimore Nighthawks (3-4) had stayed overnight in nearby Newark, New Jersey and were introduced that day to New York city’s famous traffic. Though they thought they had left at a decent time, they made it to the ballpark about an hour before kick-off time.

It was a fine evening for a football game. The skies were clear and the temperature was in the low 60’s. Wind is always an issue at Aviator but it wasn’t too bad this night. It was a festive evening, enhanced by the fair’s bright colorful neon lights illuminating the area.

To help commemorate the Sharks’ 100th game, New York Sharks’ owner Andra Douglas dusted off her kicking shoes and came out of retirement to play. She, along with current player Jen Blum and defensive coordinator Lynn Lewis had played in the Sharks’ very first game in 1999. So when the Sharks had to kick-off to start the game, Douglas trotted onto the field as a player for the first time since 2005.

The Sharks defense was in fine form and forced the Nighthawks to go three and out and punt the ball away. New York started their first drive of the game in decent field position on the Baltimore 45-yard line. The Sharks started the drive conservatively with 3 running plays. Two of the handoffs were to rookie Janea Wilkerson in her first start at running back. After getting a first down, quarterback Karen Mulligan ran for a big 17 yard gain to move the ball down to the Nighthawks 16-yard line. Kathy Holloman returned to the backfield and took the next 2 handoffs to get the Sharks down to the 11-yard line. Mulligan then went to the air and connected with Chante Bonds for a touchdown. Kicker Megan Antonucci‘s extra point attempt was too low but the Sharks were ahead 6-0 with 8:48 left in the first quarter.

On the Sharks next drive, they started from their own 45-yard line. At first the drive didn’t look like it was going to get anywhere as Holloman was stopped for only a 1-yard gain and then Mulligan was sacked by Ashley Branch for an 8-yard loss. But on 3rd down with 17 yards to go for a first down, Mulligan went deep and hit Blum for 52 yard gain. This put the ball on the Baltimore 10-yard line. On the next play, Mulligan pitched out to her right to Holloman who threadered her way into the endzone for the Sharks second score of the game. This time the extra point kick was blocked.

New York got the ball back quickly as the defense forced another 3 and out on the Nighthawks. But the Sharks gave the ball back even quicker to Baltimore as they scored on the very next play. Mulligan threw a perfect pass to Lauren Pringle at the 50-yard line. Mulligan hit Pringle right in stride and she raced down the right sideline for a 66 yard touchdown reception. This gave New York a commanding 18-0 lead after the first quarter.

Baltimore’s next drive continued to go poorly. Quarterback Lil Drumgold tried to evade a huge rush of Sharks’ linemen and made a very ill advisted pass attempt. The pass was intercepted by Sharks’ Shana Segers who returned the ball to New York 33-yard line. From here, the New York offense marched the ball down the field. Sticking mostly to the ground, the Sharks were back in the endzone after 7 plays. Three big runs of 17, 14, and 19 yards by Pringle, Bonds, and Mulligan respectively did most of the heavy lifting. The final 4 yards were run in by Mulligan. Antonucci split the uprights on the extra point attempt and New York extended their lead to 25-0.

The Sharks continued to dominate the Nighthawks as they scored 2 more times before the first half ended. The first one came on a 40-yard, 12 play drive that was done by going to the air. The second touchdown came after Drumgold got hit by Ebony Jones and the quarterback fumbled the ball. The Sharks recovered the ball on the Nighthawks’ 31-yard line. Four plays later, Mulligan hit Blum for the Sharks’ sixth and final touchdown of the day. Antonucci was successful on the extra point to make the score 38-0 at halftime.

With the game firmly in the Sharks control, it was just a matter of will New York get their 41st shutout. It started to look that they would as the defense kept the Nighthawks at bay. But late in the fourth quarter, Drumgold hit Nolan for a 45-yard touchdown pass. The extra point attempt failed so the final score was Sharks 38 – Nighthawks 6.

The game was history in the making. The victory helped keep the Sharks in the playoff hunt, but the game itself put the Sharks in the history books as the first women’s team to play 100 games. Their record for their first 100 games is 82 wins, 40 wins by shutout, and 18 losses.

The New York Sharks will travel to Pittsburgh in 2 weeks to take on the Pittsburgh Passion (4-3) in a battle for the last playoff spot. A Sharks victory will clinch them a berth in the second season, while a Passion win could put Pittsburgh in. New York beat Pittsburgh earlier this season in an exciting come from behind win in Brooklyn, 12-8. But the Passion have been playing tough of late and are looking to reach the playoffs for themselves.

Kick-off will be at 7:05pm (EDT). If you cannot make it to the game, listen to Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell describe all of the action on WFNradio.

Scoring Summary

First Quarter
NY – (08:48) Bonds 11 yard pass from Mulligan (Kick failed)
NY – (04:46) Holloman 10 yard run (Kick failed)
NY – (02:50) Pringle 66 yard pass from Mulligan (Kick failed)

Second Quarter
NY – (12:03) Mulligan 4 yard run (Antonucci kick)
NY – (05:02) Bonds 2 yard pass from Mulligan (Kick failed)
NY – (02:28) Blum 9 yard pass from Mulligan (Antonucci kick)

Fourth Quarter
BAL – (08:45) Nolan 45 yard pass from Drumgold (Kick failed)

Somerville, Massachusetts, May 10, 2010

The New York Sharks will host the Baltimore Nighthawks next Saturday at the Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn. It will be the Sharks historic 100th game played, no other women’s football team has played this number of games. Kick-off will be at 7:30pm (EDT). If you cannot make it to the game, listen to Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell describe all of the action on WFNradio.

Scoring Summary

First Quarter
BOS – (07:30) Saur 10 yard pass from Cahill (Roderique kick)

Second Quarter
BOS – (09:13) Snyder 28 yard field goal
BOS – (01:11) Cahill 11 yard run (Snyder kick)

Third Quarter
BOS – (00:10) Saur 8 yard pass from Cahill (Snyder kick)

Fourth Quarter
BOS – (07:21) Brickhouse 12 yard pass from Cahill (Roderique kick)

Brooklyn, New York, April 24, 2010
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.

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)

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).

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)