Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, April 19, 2003
It was a beautiful late Spring day with game time temperatures in the mid-60’s with clear blue skies. The Sharks (2-0) were chomping at the bit to play as they came off the bus from Staten Island. The host Liberty Belles (0-1) was also geared up to play their home and season opener in front of their faithful crowd.
New York won the coin toss and elected to receive. After the kickoff, the Sharks were starting on their own 35 yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Virginia Leon ran up the middle and made it through the Philadelphia secondary for a 30 yard gain. Maybe it is the long bus trip or the road food or the water, but it seems the Sharks always need some time to get rid of the cobwebs whenever they play on the road. It was no different here, the big play was called back for a penalty. The Sharks could not move the ball after that and were forced to punt.
Things got worse for New York as the long snap was not long enough and bounced to punter Nicole Gwinnett. This did not give her enough time to kick the ball away and she was tackled at the New York 25-yard line. This gave Philadelphia a golden opportunity deep in New York’s territory.
But when things get tough for New York, you can rely on the defense to come through. Philadelphia was able to move the ball down to the 20 yard line when Liberty Belles quarterback Karen Ericsson dropped back to pass. She looked to her right and saw receiver Peggy Evans wide open. Only problem she wasn’t, Darleen “Blue” Hall was covering and she leaped in the air to grab the ball and then ran the interception back 80 yards for a touchdown. It was the longest interception return in Sharks history. The Sharks went for the 2-point conversion and it looked like Philadelphia was going to make a great stop by tackling quarterback Val Halesworth back at the 10 yard line. But Halesworth was able to shake off the tackler, maintain her composure and then hit Valerie Monaco in the endzone for 2 points. The score was 8-0 at the 7:00 mark in the first quarter.
New York’s offense continued to sputter in the first quarter, but the Liberty Belles could do no better. The New York offense started to come alive in the second quarter after the defense left their calling card again. Karen Mulligan sacked the quarterback to force Philadelphia to punt from their 29-yard line. After a good punt return by Halesworth, the Sharks had the ball on Philadelphia’s 36-yard line. They then put the ball in Leon’s hands and she was able to move the ball down to the 14-yard line on 4 carries. The Sharks then tried to go to the air but Halesworth could not find an open receiver so she tucked the ball under her arm and ran down the right sideline to score New York’s second touchdown. Halesworth then hit Liz Presto for the 2 point conversion and the score was 16-0 with 9:30 left in the second quarter.
On Philadelphia’s next possession, the Shark’s defense struck again. On the kickoff, the ball bounced past the kick returner and the Liberty Belles had to go back to get the ball. They recovered the ball but were now starting on their own 14-yard line. After a quarterback sack by Monica Marsh, the Liberty Belles had to punt from their 10-yard line. The snap sailed over punter Alissa Wykes‘s head and she had to run back to the endzone to pick it up. She scrambled around in the endzone and tried to kick the ball away as the Sharks started to swarm around her. She was able to kick the ball but it was blocked. It went straight up in the air and Hall came down with it for her second defensive touchdown of the game. The 2-point conversion failed, but the score was now New York 22, Philadelphia 0 with 6:50 left in the second quarter.
The Sharks scored one more time before the half ended after another good punt return by Halesworth. She ran the ball back 32 yards to give the Sharks the ball on Philadelphia’s 26-yard line. This time, they put the ball in Missy Marmorale‘s hands and on her third carry punched the ball in. Marmorale then ran the ball in for the 2-point conversion to make the score 30-0 with 2:11 left in the half.
New York continued to feast on Liberty Belles miscues in the second half. Philadelphia went 3 and out to start the second half. The snap for the punt was low and the Sharks were able to start on Philadelphia’s 12-yard line. It took 6 plays for New York to get the ball into the endzone. The touchdown coming on a 4-yard Halesworth pass to Marsh. The Sharks failed to make the conversion but the score was 36-0 at the 6:30 mark in the third quarter.
The Sharks scored again on another Liberty Belles mistake. After a quarterback sack by Michelle Brown and Hall, it had setup a third down and 12 situation. Philadelphia went to the air but rookie Teresa Schirrippa intercepted the ball and returned it 28 yards to the Liberty Belles 12-yard line. Despite having a large lead, the Sharks still showed hunger and determination. On third down and 7 from the 9-yard line, Halesworth hit Monaco on a short pass who was grabbed at the 4-yard line, with a second effort she was able to drag the defender past the first down marker on the 2 yard line. Leon then ran the ball in on the left side to push the lead to 42 points. The 2-point conversion failed.
The fourth quarter began with the Sharks last score of the game. Halesworth aired out the ball and hit Liz Presto for a 55 yard touchdown reception. The 2-point conversion failed again, but the score was now 48-0 and the Sharks started substituting freely for the remainder of the game.
Defense was the key to this game, not only stopping the Liberty Belles’ top runner Wykes, but scoring twice and setting up another touchdown for New York. Offensivley, New York did not play consistently but with the defense continually giving them the ball with good field position, they were able to take advantage. After the game, coach Nick Giannatasio gave out the game balls. One went to the defense for another shutout, one went to Hall for her two defensive touchdowns, and the last one went to Presto for scoring 8 points.
The Sharks return home to play the Rhode Island Riptide on April 26th to play their first game ever at Monsignor Farrell High School, in Staten Island. In honor of their first game in that borough, the Sharks will holding a Staten Island Night. The evening will be consist of Staten Island Borough President James P. Molinaro performing the coin toss and other Staten Island related events. Kickoff is at 7pm and tickets are still available.
If you cannot make it to the game, radio station WSAI-FM (88.9) will be broadcasting the game live from the stadium. Nick Fabiani will be doing the play-by-play.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Sharks | 8 | 22 | 12 | 6 | 48 |
| Philadelphia Liberty Belles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
NY – (07:00) Hall 80 yard interception return (Monaco pass from Halesworth)
Second Quarter
NY – (09:30) Halesworth 14 yard run (Presto pass from Halesworth)
NY – (06:50) Hall recovers blocked punt (run failed)
NY – (02:11) Marmorale 9 yard run (Marmorale run)
Third Quarter
NY – (06:30) Marsh 4 yard pass from Halesworth (pass failed)
NY – (01:50) Leon 2 yard run (pass failed)
Fourth Quarter
NY – (14:19) Presto 55 yard pass from Halesworth (run failed)