On the most important Saturday to ever grace the DeLaSalle Saints calendar, both the ladies’ and the men’s teams took the field at Ravelinstrasse Football Zentrum to fight for their spot in the big FLL and FLA finals. As it is custom, the ladies did go first, playing their semi-final against a familiar, yet always challenging team, the Amstetten Thunder Ladies. Excitement filled the air, as the ladies were itching to get on the field, so much so, that everyone made it to warm-up earlier than required. There to support on the sidelines, were not only the Saints Men (who honestly had no excuse not to be present, as they were warming up for their own game), but also family and friends proudly flying the newly acquired Saints flags.
And just like that, it was semi-finals time. The ever hasty and chaotic lineup on the Saints sideline took place, Captains Saskia and Sophie shook hands with the opponent captains, the referee tossed that infamous coin and as fate would have it: Loss! However, the Thunder Ladies chose to start the first half with the ball, so actually a Win in Captain Sophie’s book (Author’s note: disagree).
Historically, playoff and final games have been defensive games for the Saints Ladies, so the defense unit took the field buzzing, but confident and fully prepared. The first Thunder drive proved short, as they were not allowed to make it past the first down line. Receiver turned defense cast regular, Alba had apparently forgotten her catching hands at home, as she only managed to bat the ball down on the opponent’s 4th down. Nevertheless, the team could let out a breath they did not know they were holding, as the offense had the ball in its own hands now. Unfortunately, the Saints could not turn this drive into points, as catches were also followed by drops.
On the other side of the ball, the Saints defense took care of business and although Thunder receivers were showing safe hands, they did not manage to reach the Endzone once again. Having got rid of the first day of school nerves, the offense started this game anew, as consistent catches from Claudia, Franny and Steffi, were crowned at the end of the drive with a beautiful TD from Jess. Saints were finally on the board.
For the next two defensive drives, the opponents did not manage any first downs, as DBs Esther, Saskia, Sophie, Alba and Carola only allowed short completions followed by immediate, lightning fast flag pulls. The Saints offense reciprocated in kind with safe hands all around, crisp routes and a Touchdown by the Tower of Power, Jessica Macharia.
On the closing drive of the half, the Thunder Ladies brought out their A game in offense, scoring their first points of the game, courtesy of an outstanding catch by their slot receiver, all that while being in double coverage.
Ending the first half one score in front of the opponents, did not yet mean job well done. There was still business to be taken care of, and luckily the Saints offense had checked their e-mails, because duties were fulfilled, dimes were thrown and caught, and a Touchdown was scored. Defense had studied the night before the exam too, stopping the Thunder Ladies at the first down mark, thanks to a deflection by Captain Spitzer.
If you know one thing about the Saints offense, is that once they get the ball rolling, there is no obstacle to bring a stop to it. QB Sassi and receiver Steffi had neither the time, nor the patience to keep the Saints fans on the edges of their seats, so they decided to connect on a spectacular 45-yard Touchdown from their own 5-yard line! After these Hall of Fame level stats, defense took the field again, after a very short break, courtesy of the two aforementioned rascals. The Thunder Ladies showed resilience, by completing relentlessly on their closing drive, topping it off with another faultless catch in the Endzone. Nonetheless, Father Time was on the Saints side, as they took the field one last time with the goal of getting a first down, and practically ending the game on their own terms. And just that they did! Saints win the semi-final with a score of 27:13.
The job was finally done, the ladies were free to celebrate and enjoy the fruits of their hard work. Congratulations are in order as well for the Amstetten Thunder Ladies, on an outstanding season and we wisht them good luck on their small final game for 3rd place.
The referee’s whistle sealed another grand final appearance for the Saints Ladies, a 3rd in 5 FLL seasons played! Still euphoric from this achievement, the ladies remained on the field to cheer on and support the Men’s Team on the sidelines. That nail-biting semi-final deserves its own game report, and it shall indeed get one, but for now this one spoiler: They made the FLA Final for the first time in history!
A most successful playoffs weekend came to an end, with the promise of the biggest day in club history yet to come, where both teams are going to play for the championship title. Saints Family, this is your chance to come support the teams and witness history!
15:00 FLL Final: DeLaSalle Saints Ladies vs Vienna Constables
16:30 FLA Final: DeLaSalle Saints Men vs Vienna Vipers
Another legendary FLL regular season came to an end this past weekend, on the 16th of September. After probably the most successful weekend of the club’s history the previous week, with 5 wins in 5 games across FLL and FLA, the Saints geared up once again to finish this season in a comfortable position for the upcoming playoffs. The weather had still not received the memo of it being mid-September, so yet again the ladies enjoyed a sunny gameday, this time with a tent to shelter their ever heating heads (Who said we don’t learn from our mistakes?). Armed with a carefully attained knowledge of their opponents and a slowly, but surely growing fan club, the Saints ladies were set to face the Domžale Tigers, the Vienna Constables and the Vienna Knights/Vipers.
Facing the Tigers has historically never been an easy task for the Saints ladies, since the former bring a much needed diversity to the FLL with their run-play heavy offensive system. This game saw the opponents start with the ball, trying to get first on the board. The Saints defense did a good job of covering the Tigers receivers on the open field, but because of the opposing QB’s impressive run skills, they marched down the field, ending their first drive in 6 points. The Saints offense responded with a quick a score of their own, in part thanks to a 25-yard catch by receiver Steffi Schönecker. As the first half went along, considerable improvement was seen on the defensive side of the ball, but unfortunately that could not be translated into the scoreboard.
The Tigers managed to score another three times in this half, utilizing their athleticism as best they could. Offense did their best to keep up, performing under pressure and finishing this first half only 6 points behind the Slovenians. Some may say it was luck, but those on the sidelines knew it was the coaching and the team’s ability to adapt to the opponents that turned the game in the Saints favor. Defense was able to implement all the lessons learned in the first half, not allowing the Tigers to score on their opening drives of the second half. Not being ones to let opportunities pass them by, the Saints receivers led by QB Saskia Stribrny embraced this chance to get in front of the Tigers by scoring another 20 points in this half. The opponents never gave up, by finishing strongly and scoring on their closing drive of the game. First game, first win for the Saints: 40:34.
On went the Saints to their next match, the most important of the day, against the leaders of the FLL, the Vienna Constables. Both teams had comfortably secured a place in the playoffs, so this game only served to decide the opponents of the post-season stage. The Saints captains, also known as the SaskiasTM, won the coin toss for the team, so the defense was the first to be sacrificed to the Gods of Flag. This turned out to be a well-thought-out sacrifice, as the Cons offense did not manage to get the first down on this opening drive, turning the ball over to the Saints. The offense could not take advantage of this particular chance, but they were so ashamed of that, they made sure to capitalize on every other opportunity of the first half. QB Sassi led the team patiently on the field, taking the time to spread the ball around to her receiver army.
On the other side of the ball, defense made their opponents work for every caught ball, forcing long drives but still conceding 12 points during this half. The halftime break saw the Saints in a 8 point lead over the Constables, with a real chance of finishing the regular season at the top of the standings themselves. The second half showed why the opponents are one of the best Austrian teams, as they persevered by showing determination and outscoring the Saints by 9 points. Just like on the first meeting of the season, the determining factor turned out to be the PATs, where the Cons never made a mistake. Saints narrowly lose this game 32:33.
The ultimate game was set to be played at 16:15, the last time slot of the day and to say the Saints were overly motivated for this one would be a blatant lie. Alas, the job had yet to be done against the young but very talented Viennese team Knights/Vipers. They proved very quickly in their opening drive that no teams are to be underestimated in the FLL, speaking to the steady growth of the game in the past few years. The Knights offense took our rather new defensive unit by surprise, thanks to well-constructed plays that ensured continuous scoring. As a result, despite the Saints offense not missing a beat, the Knights’ team ended the first half only 6 points behind.
This game was starting to seem like the very identical twin of the teams’ first offensive showdown, earlier in the season. Both defenses continued to struggle in the second half, with the Saints only stopping a few drives, helped in part by a pick from the team’s personal pick machine, Saskia Macharia. Approaching the end of the game the defense, plagued by many injuries during this season, took another unfortunate blow, as star Blitzer Helena Bachler got injured in the line of duty. A somehow sloppy win for the Saints to end the regular season: 53:35.
With these two wins and one loss, the ladies end up on the third place of the table, set to face the second-placed Amstetten Thunder in the semi-finals. Now that the duty is done and the first goal of getting into the playoffs reached, the Saints will go back to training, the drawing room and to film study to prepare for the hottest phase of the year.
Next Gameday, 30th of September at Ravelinstraße Footballzentrum Wien: 11:15 Semi-final vs Thunder
Die folgenden Fotos wurden uns von Fabian zur Verfügung gestellt.
Die folgenden Fotos wurden uns von Hanna zur Verfügung gestellt.
The summer break may be over for the Saints Ladies, but the summertime weather followed them like a lost puppy on this 4th week of the FLL regular season in Schwechat. The calendars said it was the 10th of September, but as if the tan some of the Saints had acquired during the rather long summer vacations wasn’t enough, they had the pleasure of taking the field three times under the scorching sun to meet with the Thunder, Adler and Vikings. Coming to this gameday as the 4th ranked team and with the big bad playoffs within reaching distance, the pressure was on in order to secure a spot on the finals of the FLL.
Due to previous injuries during the season, the defense had notable absences with veteran defensive backs Sophie Spitzer and Eva Krancan having sacrificed a knee each for the love of the game. Under these dire circumstances, receiver Alba Gumbardhi was forced to leave her beloved offense behind and help out where needed most.
Set to face the Saints first were the Amstetten Thunder, who at that point occupied the second place in the rankings. Captains Saskia and Saskia won the coin toss for the team, but the first 7 points of the day went to the Thunder after a slow start from both teams. They went on to score twice more in the first half, managing to convert all three extra points as well. The Saints offense replied in kind with Steffi Schönecker and Jessica Macharia scoring 12 points, but because the opponent’s defense was able to hold on both PATs, the team went in the halftime in a two score deficit to the Lower Austrians.
With the beginning of the second half, the Saints receivers found their groove, converting drive after drive, with the remaining receivers Claudia Freiberger and Anja Pewny getting on the board as well. Defense was not far behind holding all but one of the Amstetten attempts to reach their Endzone. The Saints manage to claw their way out of this one and take the second win against the Amstetten Thunder Ladies with a score of 32:28.
Rest is for the weak, so along marched the Saints Ladies to the next game of the day against the Tirol Adler. Earlier in the season the Saints managed to win the first matchup against the Eagles from the far away land, but not without trouble. Defense started the game solidly, managing to stop every drive of the first half, helped by an early interception from Captain Saskia Macharia. Not wasting any opportunities, the offense, led by QB Saskia Stribrny converted that turnover into points and with that every other drive of the first half. The usual suspects Jessica and Steffi scored 13 points each on this half, with Liz Bringas also getting her first 6 points of the day.
After the small halftime break the offense started with the ball, scoring another 7 points and putting the Saints in a very comfortable position. Because of this lead provided by the ever scoring offense, the Saints defense had the luxury of playing more gutsy, culminating in a QB sack by Eszter and a pick from Alba. Towards the end of the game, the Saints took their foot off the gas, allowing a last drive TD from the opponents on an impressive breakaway run from their own half. Nevertheless, a job well done by the team ending the game in a 46:6 win.
Since winning requires a lot of energy, a lunch break was well earned by the team before their third and last game of the day versus the Vienna Vikings. A slow start was in the stars for both teams in this match, with none of the first three opening offensive drives being successful. QB Saskia and her band of receivers took matters into their own hands after this, never to be stopped again in the first half scoring a total of 21 points by receivers Jess, Claudia and Anja. Defense did a great job of stopping the Vikings offense, especially their tricky flat crosses and dangerous runs.
The unsung heroes of this defense, full-time cornerbacks and part-time blitzers (also known as Esther, Helena, Eszter and our guest player from Finland, Carola Lindholm) made the Viking’s offensive feat of getting yards after catch impossible in their short zones. This pattern followed the teams well into the second half, with the Saints offense scoring two more touchdowns, and their defense only allowing one opposing score in the closing drive of the game. Thanks to her football IQ and speedy legs, defense captain Saskia Macharia had more opportunities to catch a ball than most receivers get in a lifetime, but could sadly not make her interception dreams come true. Nonetheless, another game, another win (34:14) for the Saints Ladies making it three for three on the day.
With a record of 7-2, the team now sees itself in a much comfortable second position in the rankings, also securing a definite place for the FLL playoffs on the 30th of September. Returning next weekend, the Saints seek to end this regular season on a high, playing against the FLL leaders Constables as well as the Tigers and Knights/Vipers at the Football Center Ravelinstraße in Vienna.
Next Gameday, 16th of September:
12:30 vs Tigers
13:45 @ Constables
16:15 @ Knights/Vipers
Die folgenden Fotos wurden uns von Andreas zur Verfügung gestellt.
Die folgenden Fotos wurden uns von Fabian zur Verfügung gestellt.
After what felt like forever, the Saints Ladies finally took the field again on the 1st of July, a whooping 8 weeks after the first gameday of the season. After their bye week, the team was eager to prove themselves against three new opponents at the Red Star Platz in Vienna.
First up were the Vienna Vikings with their experienced team of coaches and players and their very purple jerseys (usually very purple, they wore white this time). And just like that the gameday had started, Saints on defense, Vikings with the ball. Saskia Macharia had other plans though, as she picked the very first ball thrown by the Vikings QB and wouldn’t you believe it, the Saints have the ball now. A quick touchdown on the books, caught by Jessica Macharia and the game is under way. The opponents respond quickly with a TD of their own, but the offense lead by QB Saskia Stribrny take matters into their own hands and score twice more.
On the other side of the ball, defense also does a good job, but the Vikings manage to use their last drive of the half wisely and score another TD. Saints Ladies struggled to find a rhythm in the second half missing their chance to turn the first drive into points, allowing the opponents to equalize early. As the game went on QB Saskia connected with receivers Claudia and Jessica for another two TDs, that ultimately put Saints in front with an end result of 32:24.
They say there is no rest for the wicked, but the Saints Ladies did get a short break before they faced the second opponent of the day, the Tiroler Adler. After another success in the battle of the Coin Toss, the Saints started on defense. Coach Lila’s wise philosophy of “rookies have to learn and in rookies we trust” was implemented throughout this game. So there they were, Esther and Eszter taking over the defensive unit, battling it out with the best receivers of the opposing side. All this, while defense captain Sophie was putting on a show on offense, catching for 4 TDs and a few stray extra points for good measure.
Both halves were characterized by high scoring on the Saints side with QB Saskia connecting with a total of 6 receivers throughout the game. To the Adler’s merit, they did not give our defense an easy time, managing to score three TDs and holding their own. All in all, a good game for the Saints and the second win of the day. End result: W 59:18
Last on the list for the day were the mighty Tigers from Slovenia, a most anticipated faceoff and this not without reason. The Tigers offense proved too strong for the Saints Ladies, starting strong and converting every one of their 5 drives in the first half into points. However, the Saints were not far behind themselves scoring 4 TDs with receivers Jessica and Franny. The team found themselves a score behind in the halftime, but all was still for the taking as Coaches Tudor and Lila did not fail to mention in their speeches.
The second half saw the Saints starting with the ball on offense, giving them a slight edge to their opponents, which they managed to capitalize upon quickly when WR Steffi caught a deep touchdown. Things were heating up quickly and Tigers responded quickly, taking their one score advantage back. There was clear improvement on the defense for the Saints as this half saw them more focused and able to stop some of opponent’s drives. Unfortunately this was not enough as the Saints closely lose this match 38:45.
This gameday marked the halfway point of the FLL season, leaving the Saints with a 4-2 record and the 4th place on the classification table. With that there was only thing left to do: Summer Break, with training commencing at the start of August to prepare for the very intense second half of the season and hopefully the playoffs in September. Next gameday takes place in Schwechat, with the Ladies facing Thunder, Adler and Vikings for a second time this season.
Die folgenden Fotos wurden uns von Andreas zur Verfügung gestellt.
Die folgenden Fotos wurden uns von Fabian zur Verfügung gestellt.
