Pictured The Chicago Force in action (wearing black) against the Iowa Crush in heavy rains last Saturday. Photos by Tracy Baim
New look, same result.
The Chicago Force kicked off its eight-game 2006 season on April 29, defeating the Iowa Crush 26-8 at Lane Stadium at Lane Tech High School, 2501 W. Addison.
'In the past, we have been very dominant with our defense and our offense has struggled against good teams,' said Linda Bache, who doubles as the team's general manager and a defensive standout. 'The difference this year is, we have a good athlete at quarterback ( rookie Angie Bandstra ) who is capable of throwing the ball. She got the ball downfield ( against Iowa ) and showed a lot of poise, especially when they were putting a lot of pressure on her.
'We really have a high-quality athlete at quarterback; that's something different. And I think she's much better than she should be at this point.'
The Force, in its fourth season in the Independent Women's Football League ( IWFL ) , scored against the Crush on its first drive and grabbed a 14-0 lead after the first quarter on a rain-soaked field. It was 20-8 at halftime.
'We have a run- and a pass-offense, which has never been the case in the past. We've never been a passing team,' Bache said. 'We will be a more balanced offense versus past years.'
Bandstra completed 11 of 22 passes for 148 yards, including a 27-yarder. She completed a touchdown pass to Abby Riewe.
Against the Crush, Melissa Smith was the running hero, carrying 22 times for 148 yards, including a 35-yarder. Sally Beaumont added 95 yards rushing on 16 carries.
'It's great having a bruiser in the backfield [ like ] Melissa Smith. We've never had a punishing runner like Melissa, one who is very hard to bring down,' Bache said.
'Melissa had a great game,' Bache said. 'She previously played on defense for the Force and sat out the last two seasons for personal reasons. ... I was very proud of her, but not all that surprised because I was kind of expecting this level of play from her. She's been looking so good of late in practice. She ran really hard and literally went right at some people.'
Bache anchored the defense, leading the Force with 11 tackles and two interceptions.
'I thought we were a little out of sync on both sides of the ball at different times,' Bache said. 'I would have liked to have seen us win by more. But overall it was a good first game, especially since we have so many rookies starting.
'We didn't really get the passing game until the second half, but when we did, it looked good. With all of the rain, I was thrilled.'
Force coach Jim Stahl also was pleased with his players: 'For the amount of rookies we have on the roster, each playing in their first game, I thought they were overall very pleasing,' he said.
The Force—the 2005 Midwest Division Champions—plays at the Detroit Predators May 6. Chicago's next home game is May 13 against the Detroit Demolition, which boasts a 45-1 overall record over the past four years.
The Force's Defensive Player of the Game award went to Jennifer Dulski, who finished with two TDs, and each was big. She also had a few key tackles.
