By Larry Snyder

Springfield, Virginia – Followers of the DC Divas and the Pittsburgh Passion (1-1) enjoyed an impressive offensive display in the opening half of their meeting on Saturday, April 13, at the Saint James Sports Complex. The Burgandy, Gold, and White entered half-time with a 36-22 lead over the Black and Gold.

The Divas (1-0) continued to add to their WFA score sheet with a returned punt to the end zone at 10:09 of the third quarter by running back D’Ajah Scott. It was her third touchdown of the contest after a two-yard run at 12:14 in the second and a one-yard plunge at 6:47 in the first.

After halting the Pittsburgh offense on fourth down at the Passion 34-yard line, DC quarterback Amanda Congialdi hit wide receiver Kasee Hilliard at 5:24 of the third with a 15-yard touchdown. Second-year running back Curtina Pope contributed the final score with a one-yard run into the end zone at 8:45 in the fourth to give head coach Greg Gaskins and the Women of the Beltway a 54-22 victory.

LOOKING BACK AT THE PASSION

Pittsburgh was first on the scoreboard as they concluded their opening drive from their 46-yard line with a three-yard touchdown pass from Angela Baker to Krystal Cozzo. The duo hooked back up for the two-point conversion at 12:48 in the first.

Head coach, Teresa Conn’s crew, continued to battle as Baker capped off a 70-yard drive with a six-yard touchdown run and then hit Cozzo again with the two-point conversion at 14:50 in the second. It gave a 16-13 lead to the Women from the Steel City.

Just before the end of the first-half, Kara Prentice took over under center after Baker needed help getting off the field. The veteran threw the Black and Gold’s final touchdown on a four-yard pass to Jana Meister as the clock ran out. It was Meister’s first touchdown reception of her career.

Baker, in addition to her two touchdowns, put together a total of 89 yards on the ground and through the air. Kia Foster, who is in her third season, rushed for 88 yards, making her the eighth player in Passion history to run for over 1,000 yards in her career.

Hannah Daman led the effort at linebacker with 10 tackles. Next was Kaitlain Neidermeyer who tallied seven tackles and one sack from her tackle position. A pair of defensive backs, Tenisha Spencer and Cozzo, chipped in six tackles apiece. When it came to takeaways, Spencer had a first-quarter interception while defensive tackle Amanda Coles recovered a fumble in the fourth.

Conn spoke after the matchup on the team’s website about how she is optimistic about the balance of the season, “I am excited about this season because of the players and staff. This weekend was a tremendous bonding and building experience to drive us moving forward.”

NEXT UP: The Women of Steel enjoy a bye week on Easter weekend and return to Joe P. DeMichela Stadium in Imperial, PA on Saturday, April 27 for a 6:00 p.m. kickoff against head coach Troy Johnson and the Grand Rapids Tidal Waves (0-2).

Grand Rapids commenced play in 2018, and it is the first meeting between the two programs. Tickets can be obtained online here. You can check on every first down on the Passion Twitter page (@pghpassionFB) or the ScoreStream App.

Photo From Passion Twitter Account – Saint James Sports Complex In Virginia…