Pittsburgh Passion in Boston for Week 2 of WFA playoffs

Last Saturday at Hempfield Area High School Stadium in Greensburg, Pa., the Pittsburgh Passion women’s football team shut out the Cincinnati Sizzle 63-0 in the first round of the Women’s Football Alliance playoffs. It was the largest margin of victory in Passion playoff history.

Quarterback Lisa Horton led the Passion attack with two passing touchdowns and 112 passing yards.

Pittsburgh’s running game was also hitting on all cylinders as running back Ciara Chic had one touchdown along with 79 yards rushing. Rookie fullback Candice Snyder was not to be denied as she contributed two touchdowns and 41 yards rushing.

The Passion’s stingy defense against Cincinnati was led by rookie defensive tackle Monica Williams with one sack and five tackles as well as defensive back Melissa Gaskick, who also had five tackles to go along with one fumble recovery. Defensive lineman Kaitlin Niedermeyer had four tackles and one fumble recovery, while defensive back Autumn Kramer added one interception on the night.

Pittsburgh placekicker Amy Fallon tied a team record for the most PATs in a single postseason game as she went 9-for-9 on extra points.

The Pittsburgh Passion will be on the road for the second round of the 2013 WFA Playoffs as they travel to Boston to take on the Militia on Saturday at Dilboy Stadium in Sommerville, Mass. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. The last time the Passion and Militia faced each other was Week 5 at Highmark Stadium in Station Square, when Boston defeated Pittsburgh 42-28.

Passion Pride: The Passion finished the 2013 regular season with a 6-2 record and in second place in the Women’s Football Alliance NFC Division 2. In nine games, the team has averaged 38.9 points per game while surrendering only 13.9.

Horton has completed 116 passes on 215 attempts for 1802 yards, 23 touchdowns and just four interceptions. Rachel Wojdowski was the leading receiver with 36 receptions for 766 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Snyder gained 297 yards on 50 carries and seven touchdowns to lead the Pittsburgh ground game.

The Pittsburgh defense had four shutouts during the regular season to go along with last week’s shutout in the playoffs.

Linebacker Ebony Ivy led the defense with 48 tackles while linebacker Tia Montgomery was second with 45 tackles. Defensive linemen Kaitlain Neidermeyer and Olivia Girswold each had 3.5 sacks this season.

The WFA announced their 2013 All-American Squad and the following menbers of the Passion were named to the First Team: Horton, Wojdowski, cornerback Sharon Vazquez, wide receiver Amanda Haeg, Snyder and Fallon.

Second-team honors were bestowed on Montgomery, defensive linemen Kim Zubovic and Shelby Horak. They will all be representing Pittsburgh on Aug. 3 when they play in the 2013 WFA All-American Game in San Diego, Calif.

Boston Clipboard: The Militia finished the regular season with a record of 8-0. They were 6-0 in WFA games and 2-0 in non-league games. Boston finished in first place in the Women’s Football Alliance NFC Division 1 and had a first-round bye in the WFA playoffs.

The Boston Militia ground game is lead by Whitney Zelee, who set a team and WFA record in Week 7 when she rushed for 236 yards aginast the Central Maryland Seahawks. Zelee has rushed for 2,138 yards on 129 carries; she had 34 touchdowns this season. Stacey Tiamfook has 566 yards on 53 carries and 11 touchdowns.

Quarterback Allison Cahill is completing 65.3 percent of her passes to go along with 12 touchdowns and only two interceptions. Adrienne Smith is the leading receiver with 19 receptions for 342 yards and four touchdowns.

In Week 6, Boston put up 81 points on the scoreboard while the D.C. Divas had 54 points in one of the highest scoring games in WFA history.

Linebacker Vicky Eddy is the leader of the Militia defense this season with 42 tackles while linebacker Jennifer Pirog is second with 33 tackles and two interceptions.