Melissa Smith scored four rushing touchdowns on July 21, leading the Chicago Force to a win in the Women's Football Alliance (WFA) National Conference Championship Game, played in Evanston.
But it was one near-30-yard run with less than two minutes remaining to play that she remembers most.
It was that run which iced the 35-34 win for the Force over the two-time defending national champion Boston Militia.
The Force had a 35-21 lead heading into the fourth quarter before the Militia answered with a pair of touchdowns, cutting the Force lead to one pointwith Ashley Snyder waiting to attempt the point-after touchdown kick to tie the game at 35. But her kick failed and the Force took over with less than two minutes remaining to play.
Chicago then just needed to make one first down, and the team could run the clock outand then officially punch their pick to the National Championship Game on Aug. 4, in Pittsburgh.
Smith broke free and scampered for about 30 yards before being brought down, and the Chicago celebration officially was underway.
"That [30-yard run] charged me up that much more," Smith said.
Smith, 32, playing in her fifth season for the Force, scored on rushing touchdowns of 3-, 4-, 14- and 4-yardsall in the first half as the Force carried 35-14 edge at halftime.
Quarterback Sami Grisafe connected with Trish Harper on a six-yard pass in the first quarter for Chicago's only other touchdown.
="We knew it was going to be a dog fight. We knew it was going to be a tough game. Coach [John Konecki] repeatedly told us that they were not going to hand us [the victory], that we'd have to take itand that's what we did," Smith said. Beating Boston "puts a big smile on my face.
"This is so excited. This is history; that's what's most exciting."
After all, the WFA National Championship game, against the 11-0 San Diego Surge, reportedly will be the first women's game ever played in an NFL stadium. Heinz Field is the NFL home of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"I knew, no matter what, that we were going to win tonight," Albi Zhubi said among the celebrating fans and players. "Coach [Konecki] kept saying that it was our destiny, and I felt it.
"If I could trade in the last four [successful] seasons to be playing in Heinz Field, and to be playing on the 10th anniversary of the [founding of the] Chicago Force and on the 40th anniversary of Title IX, I definitely would do it. It's going to be a magical life experience, one that all of us will remember and think back on for the rest of our lives."
Boston struck first, grabbing a 7-0 lead at 11:23 of the first quarter. The Force answered with three consecutive scores to build a 21-7 edge.
Chicago was not able to score in the second half.
"We clearly didn't play our best game in the second half. The offense played at a low level," Zhubi said. "The difference was, we came out and we knew. We trusted our training; we trusted our coaches; we trusted our teammates.
"This is what we've been preparing for since 2008to get back to the National Championship game, and now we're back."
Zhubi admitted that she expected Snyder to convert the point-after kick "I couldn't believe for a second that she missed the [point-after] kick."
Boston attempted an on-side kick in the final moments, but Chicago's Ashley Berggren recovered the kick.