|
June 28th,2007
Wardorg, Germany-Sparkhassen
Big Bowl
Israel Women have come along way since there last
place finish at the
World Cup in Dominican Republic in 2004. Israel
defeated Austria 13-6 to claim the European title in
5Man No Contact action. While the victory was
not against the likes of Mexico, Canada or the USA
its still a large improvement for the team who only
scored two touchdowns in 5 games just 3 years ago.
The success can be contributed to the commitment of the
Israel's to succeed. The League in Jerusalem has a
brand new flag football stadium, donated by Robert
Kraft(Kraft Stadium) and 8 women's teams playing
competitively in the league. The next big test for
the Israel's will be the
9th
annual World Cup in Costa Rica where eight
women's teams have committed to attend.(Panama,Costa
Rica, USA, Canada, Honduras, Venezuela, Mexico).
BetMike.com
Sports Book & Casino will give Team Israel &
Salamandres of France $1000 cash
& Austria $800 to be used at the
9th Annual World Cup in Costa Rica.BetMike.com will also give semifinalist $500.
BetMike.com is
the Title Sponsor for the 9th Annual World Cup of
Flag Football Extravaganza scheduled for Feb 2008 in
Costa Rica.
for more info please visit
http://www.ifff.net/WC2008/WC2008.htm
Team Israel
Story
Yael Freedman caught a TD pass and Israel made the
conversion to take their first lead, 13-6. The
Austrians then took over and were moving the ball
downfield, but a spectacular interception in the end
zone by Emily Neilson clinched the victory, and sent
Israel to the podium for the gold medal. "It was
probably the most amazing and satisfying win we've
ever had," said coach Yonah Mishaan. "To see the
fans in Germany overwhelmingly support the Israeli
team was just a beautiful thing to watch."
Earlier in the tournament, the same Austrian team
soundly defeated Israel 13-0, handing the Israelis
their only loss.
The women opened the six-team women's
tournament with three straight shutout victories.
Due to Sabbath observance, the Israeli women’s games
were all played on Sunday, so the games were played
in rapid progression. The Israeli first-round wins
came over the German Pink Panthers 24-0, the French
Le Havre Salamandres 19-0, and 39-6 over the
Austrian Bingen Bucs Bunnys. Israel rolled through
the semi-final, beating the Salamandres 19-0,
despite the absence of star quarterback Shana
Sprung. A diabetic, Sprung was unable to continue
playing due to her dangerously high blood-sugar
reading. Yael Freedman filled in ably at quarterback
to start the game, but Sprung re-entered the game in
the second half to spark the offense, before tossing
the winning touchdown to Freedman.
For the men, it was a disappointing 6th
place finish as they were beaten in the
quarter-finals 32-26 in sudden-death,
double-overtime by the Italian Champion Cleaver
Bandits. The men were then beaten by the Austrian
champions 27-26 on the last play of the game, to
finish a respectable sixth out of 27 teams in the
tournament.
In the preliminary round, the Israeli
men swept through their group with four victories
and no losses, while compiling the best point
differential in the tournament. Israel opened with a
21-0 shutout over the Dortmund Devils, followed by a
27-6 victory over the Franken Knights, trounced the
IImenau IImroosters 39-6, and nipped the host
Walldorf Wanderers 20-19. The team advanced as
top-seed into the final-16, and nipped the Franken
Knights 19-12 to reach the final eight. Captain and
Quarterback Kenny Zweibel expressed disappointed at
the final result, but not at the team’s overall
performance. “Throughout the two days we played well
enough to go all the way. One tough loss in
double-overtime ended that dream, but as a team, we
played like champions.” The French champion
Salamandres finished first in the men’s tournament.
The
“Sparkassen Big Bowl" is the largest flag football
tournament this year in Europe. Some 30 teams from
eight German states and seven European nations took
part in the tournament held in the town of Walldorf,
south of Frankfurt.
The
Israeli teams were sponsored by FIELDTURF CEO John
Gilman. The women’s team was co-sponsored by
www.Diamonds.com |
|
