From the Coach... 05/28/06

D.C. Divas v. Baltimore Burn, 05/27/06

What a tremendous WIN!!! As usual it was a game full of great hits, early miscues, stifling defense, and great individual efforts. We were able to jump out to an early lead on the outstanding running of Rachelle Pecovsky. Her performance this year has been as advertised, and much more. Her 662 yards are the most running yards tallied by any DC Diva Running back at this point of the season in our brief history. Her 10 yard per carry average is second in the entire league (also another Diva first), and she ranks 4th overall in rushing yardage on only 66 rushing attempts. To produce such numbers your offensive line must really be working hard and they too share in her success.

The passing attack showed up in full force on Saturday. With an MVP performance from first year player Tara Stephenson, Allyson Hamlin crossed the 100 yard mark for the second time this year and threw for 2 TD’s. Although not completely balanced we are getting better. Continued improvement is needed and crucial for our march towards the playoffs. Andrea Major turned in a stellar defensive performance with 2 interceptions (one returned for TD), and a late fumble recovery. The defense was truly swarming and continued to give the offense great field position throughout the night.

The playoff race continues. At half time during the game, the coaching staff received word that the Massachusetts Mutiny had won their game versus the Philadelphia Phoenix, but Philadelphia managed to score a touchdown making the final score 14-7. This was HUGE for the DC Divas. With the Mutiny having 7 points scored on them this put us in the drivers seat for first place in the northern conference. The coaching staff knew that it was better to keep this information to ourselves as we had an entire second half to play. And then I witnessed something that I haven’t seen in a long time.

At 30 to zero the game was pretty much decided. The team was unaware of what transpired with the Mutiny and continued to play hard. Towards the end of the 4th quarter Baltimore starts to move the chains. There is a long pass completion that puts the ball inside the Diva 10 yard line, and eventually to the ½ yard line. At this point our defense took matters into their own hands. Including a TD saving pass interference call from #24 Allyson Fischer, the defense keep their poise and stifled the Burn offense. During the Goal Line Stand that lasted 4 minutes – I noticed the team changing. For them it wasn’t 11 individuals playing defense on the field anymore. It wasn’t even just the Diva defense on the field anymore. For the first time, although you could only see 11 players on the field, you could feel all 55. THE DIVAS, ALL OF US, TOGETHER, could be felt on the field at the same time. No matter what we do all season I will never forget that moment as long as I coach. It’s what you live for – when your teams comes together. On Saturday versus the Tidewater Floods we have to prove it wasn’t a fluke and play an entire game with that same spirit. I think we grew up a lot as a team with this win against Baltimore. Our performance against Tidewater will tell us just how much. See you all on Saturday!

Sincerely,

Ezra M. Cooper Jr., Head Coach