THE PASSION SWIMS OUT OF THE DEEP WATER TO COME AWAY WITH ANOTHER WIN
Pittsburgh knocks off the Sharks to clinch the division title. |
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In the early going of Saturday night's game at Cupples Stadium on
Pittsburgh's south side it appeared that the New York Sharks were going
to welcome the Pittsburgh Passion into the IWFL with their first loss of the season.
The Sharks drove inside the Pittsburgh 25 yard line on two consecutive
occasions only to have Beth Amato and Jen Dulski intercept passes from
New York QB Karen Mulligan. Pittsburgh QB Lisa Horton connected with
Lori Johnson in the end zone for a five yard score to put Pittsburgh
ahead late in the first quarter. It appeared the game was headed to
that score for halftime, but Mulligan connected with Lauren Pringle with
less than seven seconds to go and the game was tied at 7-7. Laurie
Roberts put Pittsburgh back on top with 7:23 left in the 3rd quarter
on a two yard touchdown run. New York then had a twelve play drive,
exclusively on the ground, and tied the score on a one yard TD run by Mulligan.
Passion QB Lisa Horton responded with a 3 yard touchdown run in the 4th quarter
to give Pittsburgh the lead for good. Laurie Roberts added her 2nd touchdown
of the game to give Pittsburgh a 28-14 advantage. Karen Mulligan found Sharks
WR Brooke McKinney in the end zone to finish out the scoring.
Tia Montgomery, Veronica Burress, and Jo Jo Warner all recorded double
digits in tackles to lead the defense. Warner and Olivia Griswold each
recorded a sack for the Passion. QB Lisa Horton connected on six of 12
passes for 89 yards and a touchdown. Torina Henley led the offensive ground
game with 71 yards on 16 carries. Wilma Walton was the leader receiving bringing
in two catches for 58 yards. Kicker Laura Graf was 4 for 4 on the extra points on
the evening for Pittsburgh. The Passion improved to 6-0 and has clinched a share
of the North Atlantic Division. The Sharks fell to 4-2 and are in a 3-way tie with
the Boston Militia and the D.C. Divas. This will be the first season that New York
has not won the division since the beginning of the IWFL. Pittsburgh will host the
Columbus Phantoms this Saturday before ending the season in Washington D.C. next
weekend to battle the Divas. With the win, Pittsburgh has clinched a first-round
home playoff game to be held on Saturday, June 28th.
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