FLL Week 1/23
The opening game of the season was the one against Amstetten Thunder, a fierce competitor against whom we have played some gripping games in the last seasons. Our captains Saskia Stribrny and Sophie Spitzer gave us the first W of the day, the coin toss. That can only mean one thing: defense has the honor of stepping up on the field first. And step up they did, by not allowing our opponents to go over the first down on the opening drive. Rookie Esther Linton-Kubelka sealed the fate of the Thunder Ladies’ first drive by getting the sack on the 4th down. Offense hit right back, scoring all their four drives of the first half, with the last TD caught by our other rookie Anja Pewny. Saints Ladies went into the half time with a clear advantage, having allowed only one TD from the opponents. The Thunder Ladies came into the second half motivated to change things and showed great skill and determination, outscoring the Saints by 7 points. Fortunately, that wasn’t enough to change the end result: SAI 41:27 THU!
(Scores: #84 Jessica Macharia 18p, #42 Stefanie Schönecker 8p, #39 Claudia Freiberger 6p, #59 Anja Pewny 6p, #18 Franziska Glaser 2p, #74 Eva Krancan 1p; Sacks: #79 Esther Linton-Kubelka 1x)
Waiting for us after this exciting game were the Vienna Knights/Vipers, a very young but talented team. Whatever expectations we had for this game, went out the window right at the beginning of the game. The first half was characterized by lightning fast scores from both teams, end zone interceptions and missed flag pulls. The Saints made it out on top of the first half by the skin of their teeth, only thanks to a 40 yard Hail Mary (basically only a flick of the wrist for our QB Sassi) caught by Steffi in the opponents endzone. The second half saw less action and a noticeable improvement on our defense, only allowing two more TDs. Had we not have witnessed it with our very own eyes, we wouldn’t have believed the end result. Never has there been a higher scoring game in the history of the Saints Ladies: a total of 103 points! Saints get their second win of the day: SAI 58:45 KNI/VIP.
(Scores: #42 Stefanie Schönecker 20p, #39 Claudia Freiberger 6p, #17 Sophie Spitzer 13p, #18 Franziska Glaser 12p, #59 Anja Pewny 6p, #9 Saskia Macharia 1p; Interceptions: #9 Saskia Macharia 1x; Sacks: #79 Esther Linton-Kubelka 1x)
After a short break and a motivating speech from defense coach Lila (looking fabulous as ever), the ladies put their big girl pants on and were ready to play last year’s FLL champions, the formidable Vienna Constables. Through the years, every game against these opponents has proven to be quite the thrill, and this one was no exception. This face-off promised to be as much of a tactical battle as a physical one, as both teams know their opponent very well. The offense started the game in the best way possible, converting drive after drive with star receiver Jessica Macharia leading the scoreboard yet again. Defense was not far behind, as they made sure the Saints finished the first half ahead of the Constables by three points. The second half was hard fought on both fronts, but the Cons managed to get the better of us. The extra point conversions ended up being the decisive factor here, as both teams had scored the same amount of TDs by the end of the game. End result: SAI 37:43 CON
(Scores: #18 Jessica Macharia 24p, #31 Alba Gumbardhi 6p, #42 Stefanie Schönecker 6p, #Sophie Spitzer 1p)
All in all, it was a good gameday and an even better weekend spent together in Tirol, with a lot of lessons learnt and a few laughs sprinkled in between. No doubt, the ladies will have plenty of time to implement the wisdom gained this past weekend as a long break is ahead of the team before the second gameday of the season, this time a lot closer to home.
Next Gameday: 01.07.2023 @ Kendlerstraße 38, Wien (11:15 vs Vienna Vikings, 13:45 vs Tiroler Adler, 15:00 vs Domžale Tigers)
Die folgenden Fotos wurden uns von Hanna zur Verfügung gestellt.
Die folgenden Fotos wurden uns von Fabian zur Verfügung gestellt.
