The Chicago Force's roller-coaster season came to a sudden stop July 11 with a 40-14 loss at the Kansas City Tribe in a semifinal game of the Independent Women's Football League ( IWFL ) .
The loss ended Chicago's bid for a return to the national championship game.
"We just don't match up very well against them," said Chicago general manager Linda Bache. "We had our chances, but did not capitalize. We had four trips into the red zone, but didn't convert on any of them."
Chicago led 7-6 at halftime off a touchdown pass from quarterback Sami Grisafe to wide receiver Albi Zhubi.
Chicago fell behind in the third quarter, but cut the score to 20-14 on an 11-yard touchdown run by Darcy Leslie.
Kansas City scored two touchdowns in the final minute of the game to blow open a relatively close battle.
"Midway through the season, we lost our [ top ] quarterback and running back, but the team re-committed and finished strong," Bache said. "We were one of the final four teams [ in the league ] , and considering the injuries we endured and the team's overall lack of experience, we did very well this year, which is a tribute to the dedication of the players and the coaching staff.
"I'm very proud of this team."
Bache said running back Karen Silvestri is expected back from her injuries in 2010.
"We used seven running backs and three quarterbacks. We tried a lot of combinations because we had to be creative this season," Bache said. "And we just kept finding ways to get it done. We just could not pull out the victory in Kansas City."
The Force will have a booth at Market Days, recruiting players for the 2010 campaign.