Recap vs. Pittsburgh Passion – June 14, 2008

Recap vs. Pittsburgh Passion – June 14, 2008

Divas Lose First Regular Season Home Game in Six Years, 17-12
Pittsburgh 17, DC 12
By Neal Rozendaal

Landover, MD – The D.C. Divas began their 2008 season by having a long, impressive winning streak snapped. The Divas will conclude their season the exact same way.

The defending national champion Pittsburgh Passion used a strong defense and a couple of big offensive plays to end the Divas’ 2008 season with a 17-12 defeat. The Divas’ 18-game home winning streak was snapped, and the Divas suffered their first home loss since losing the Northern Conference championship game in 2004 to the Detroit Demolition, 20-14. The Divas had not lost a regular season home game since falling to the Baltimore Burn, 6-0, in 2002.

The Passion (8-0) took home the victory thanks to a couple of key offensive plays. Pittsburgh running back Torina Henley broke free for a long 81-yard touchdown run, and Passion quarterback Lisa Horton tossed a 12-yard scoring pass to receiver Jen Moody to give Pittsburgh a 14-6 halftime lead over the Divas. Although the Divas responded with a touchdown in the second half, Pittsburgh kicker Lauren Bracco booted a 27-yard field goal to give the Passion a hard-fought 17-12 victory.

It was a disappointing end to the season for the Divas (4-4), who will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2002. The Divas opened the 2008 season with a road loss to the Boston Militia, a defeat that snapped the Divas’ 32-game regular season winning streak. The loss to the Passion is the just the second loss for D.C. in its last 30 home contests.

For the first time since their inaugural season in 2001, the Divas conclude the season without a winning record, finishing the year with a 4-4 mark. All four of the Divas’ losses this year were by six points or less and came down to the final two minutes of the game.