Only a week after a very successful first week back on the FLL, the Saints Ladies tied their cleats, tightened those headbands and adjusted the flags once again. The second gameday of the year took place in Wiener Neustadt under perfect football weather conditions. The Saints were set to face only two opponents this time, the Vienna Vikings and the Dark Angels.
Up first were the very experienced team and a club with rich Football history: the Vienna Vikings who had clearly come to play. The offense did their thing throughout the game, with QB Sassi leading the team to touchdown after touchdown. Favorite target in this game was none other than the Tower of Power herself: Jess! Another standout performance in the offense came by rookie Kari, who played her first gameday in Wiener Neustadt. She scored a whooping 12 points, which would make even some veteran players jealous. The opponents tried to find holes in the Saints’ defense and succeeded once or twice per half. An interception from defense titan Sophie, taking the opponents last hopes away. In the end our ladies decided this game 47-24 in their favor.
On their second games the Saints faced a newcomer in the league: the Dark Angels, a young and promising team. Even though this was the two teams’ first introduction, both units of the Saints fired in all cylinders. Defensively, the team didn’t allow any scores and a minimal number of first downs. Absolute star of the show was the other rookie who was playing her first ever game of flag football, Ines. After a much-needed Quarterback sack she topped it all off with an athletic play on the ball that ended in an interception. Not a way bad to start your flag career! The offense put on an excellent performance, as well, scoring a total of 54 points, which is still not the Saints highest score of the year. One thing is for sure; the champs are still hungry! End score: 54-0.
(Scores: #84 Jessica M.: 18p, #19 Sarah L. 16p, Sophie S.: 13p, #2 Anja P.: 6p, #79 Karime G.: 1p, Interceptions: #59 Ines K.: 1x, Sacks: #39 Lisa W.: 1x, #59 Ines K.: 1x TD Passes: #10 Saskia S.: 7x)
Another gameday in the books, another awaits on the 11th of May. The Ladies meet up two very difficult opponents in Innsbruck, where they hope to return in June for the Sport Austria Superfinals to raise the FLL trophy once again.
Next Gameday @ American Footballzentrum Innsbruck, 11 May
11:15 Saints vs. Tigers
12:30 Saints vs. Constables
The following photos were provided to us by @Holly Kellner.
Saints Ladies are back after Back2Back championship wins! FLL season 2025 raised the curtain on 30th of March, earlier in the year than usual. After cold pre-season trainings, that started as early as mid-February, Saints Ladies were ready to try their hand at playing flag football again. Excitement was high for everyone, but especially for our 4 rookies that joined the team after last season (fret not, you will hear about them soon) and newly crowned Head Coach Holly.
First up against the Saints in Ravelin Football Center were the Vienna Knights. Both teams now each other well enough, having had interesting offensive games against each other through the years. Saints offense came out firing in all cylinders, while our defense needed a bit of warming up, dusting off and then starting up their engines. QB Sassi routinely found her receivers for a total of 9 TD passes and 60 points! Even some defense veterans got some fun offensive drives. The Knights also had a high scoring offensive game, especially in the first half, but the Saints were able to clean their defense in the second half helped by a sack from star blitzer Lisa. Saints won with an end score of 60-32 and a sparkly debut for two of the rookies Sarah and Leonie.
After a short break, the Saints went into the afternoon session to tackle the last two games of the day. The next opponents were the Istropolis Invincibles from Slovakia, who newly joined the FLL this season. New opponents mean uncertainty, but we have never backed down from a challenge. It soon became clear that Franny was the MVP of this game, since she was tearing up the middle of the field and our opponents defense drive after drive. Defensively the team had to adjust to the Invincibles run offense and backfield motions, but they successfully managed to do that without much difficulties, allowing no scores from the opponent. Highlight of the game was a TD run from defense captain Saskia for a total of 48 yards! The Saints win their second game 54-0.
Last but not least, the Saints faced one of their most difficult opponents in the FLL, the Amstetten Thunder. Although the two teams have had close and fought-out battles through the years, Thunder has yet to defeat the Saints. We know they get hungrier every time, so underestimating the Thunder ladies was never an option. As expected, the game was a back-and-forth between the two teams, no one allowing easy touchdowns. Sassi threw 6 TDs in this game helping the offense score a total of 39 points, 14 of which were scored by center extraordinaire Anja! The opponents kept our defense on their toes for most of the game, but two interceptions from defense captain Saskia (one of which a clear assist from rookie Leonie!) helped the team decide the game in their favor with a score 39-28.
Am 7. Dezember 2024 fand die alljährliche Weihnachtsfeier des Sportvereins DeLaSalle Saints im gemütlichen Ambiente des Café Benno statt. Spielerinnen, Spieler, Trainer und Freunde des Vereins kamen zusammen, um ein erfolgreiches Jahr gebührend ausklingen zu lassen und die Highlights der Saison zu feiern.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Ein Höhepunkt des Abends war die Verleihung der Teamawards, bei der herausragende Spieler und Spielerinnen für ihre Leistungen ausgezeichnet wurden:
FLA-Defense: Simon Kloiber, FLA-Offense: Benjamin Fibi
SAINT OF THE YEAR
Eine besondere Ehre wurde auch denjenigen zuteil, die sich durch außergewöhnliches Engagement und Teamgeist hervorgetan haben. Der Titel „Saint of the Year“ ging an:
FLL-Team: Tudor Dobra
FLA-Team: Jakob Hanzl
Die Verleihung der Awards war ein emotionaler Höhepunkt des Abends und spiegelte die Werte des Vereins wider: Zusammenhalt, Fairness und Leidenschaft für den Sport. Die Stimmung war ausgelassen, und die Feier bot allen Anwesenden eine wunderbare Gelegenheit, auf die Erfolge des Jahres zurückzublicken und die Gemeinschaft des Vereins zu stärken. Mit Vorfreude blicken die Saints nun auf die kommende Saison!
Mitte Oktober wurden die Herren der DeLaSalle Saints ein letztes Mal an ihrer Traumsaison 2023 erinnert. Das Erreichen des Finales der österreichischen Staatsmeisterschaften zog eine „Einladung“ zur Champions Bowl 2024 in Porec nach sich. So machten sich die aktuellen Saints inklusive etwas Übergepäcks (Anm.: der sich in Flagfootballpension befindende QB des letzten Jahrzehnts, Alexander Huber durfte bei diesem Ereignis natürlich nicht fehlen) gen Kroatien auf den Weg.
Auf internationalem Boden gegen Gegner aus Deutschland (2x), der Slowakei (2x), der Schweiz, England, Italien und aus den Niederlanden konnten die Saints zeigen was in ihnen steckt und eine durchaus Schwierige aber auch erfahrungsreiche Season 2024 abschließen.
Wie schon in der abgelaufenen Spielzeit in Österreich reihten sich an gute Phasen, in welchen scheinbar ein Rädchen ins andere zu greifen anmutete, folgten Phasen zum Haareraufen.
Schlussendlich können die Saints auf ein sehr ereignisreiches Wochenende zurückblicken. Acht Spiele (Anm.: Das ist beinahe eine halbe FLA-Season) innerhalb von drei Tagen sind ein beachtliches Programm, bei welchem Höhen und Tiefen vollkommen natürlich um die Ecke kommen. Aber nach der Season ist bekanntlich vor der Season und die Herren der De La Salle Saints müssen sich einige Fragen für ihre Zukunft stellen, um wieder an erfolgreichere Zeiten anschließen zu können. Eine spannende Offseason liegt vor den Herren in Tangaroa, Weiß und Gold.
Ergebnisse:
Saints 20:14 Augsburg Lions (GER)
Saints 25:19 Pribram Bobcats (SVK)
Saints 20:53 Luzern Pikes (SUI)
Saints 26:43 Walldorf Wanderers (GER)
Saints 40:19 Invictus Invincibels (SVK)
Saints 0:40 London Smoke (ENG)
Saints 25:39 Trieste Refoli (ITA)
Saints 20:21 Monkeys with Attitude (NED)
Die folgenden Fotos wurden uns von Ingeborg Christer zur Verfügung gestellt.