CHICAGO — The Chicago Force, a women’s full tackle football team, will hold their home opener next week versus the Columbus Comets on Saturday April 21st at 5 p.m. at the newly renovated Lazier Field. Israel Idonije, Bears Defensive Tackle, will be tossing the coin at the opener. The field is located at Evanston Township High School, 2285 Church St, Evanston, IL. Tomorrow the Force play their first game of the season in Kansas City, MO versus the Kansas City Tribe. There are eight games total in the season, not including 3 rounds of playoffs, a conference championship, and the national championship; which will be broadcast from Pittsburgh, PA, Aug. 4th on ESPN.
The women of the Chicago Force will be playing four home games and four away. The additional home games are on May 5th, May 12th, and June 2nd. They will be playing such teams as the St. Louis Slam, the West Michigan Mayhem, and the Indy Crash. All home games are scheduled for tentatively 5PM. The Force will be traveling to play the Indy Crash on April 28th, the Cleveland Fusion on May 19th, and the West Michigan Mayhem on June 16th.
“Practice is going well. We are working on finding the winning combination to defeat Kansas City. I and the rest of the coaching staff are looking forward to the start of the season,” said John Konecki, the head coach and offensive coordinator for the Force. The women have been practicing three times a week since the beginning of January. They have invested their time and money into insuring that they are prepared to make it to and win the National Championships.
This year marks the second season the team is playing under the Women’s Football Alliance (WFA), the most competitive league in the nation which consists of 62 teams from all over the country. The Chicago Force has been playing football for 10 years and has only missed the playoffs once. Linda Bache, the owner and general manager of the team, stated, “This is the most experienced and talented team we’ve ever had. We are working very hard in hopes that we will be one of the two teams to make it to the Championships on ESPN.”
The Chicago Force is a full tackle women’s football team that formed in 2002. The Force is part of the 62 team Women’s Football Alliance, and competes in Division 6 of the National Conference. The women travel all over the country and feature the head coach and five members of the Gold Medal winning Team USA. Go to www.chicagoforcefootball.com for more information. Also, follow us @ChicagoForce or find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/chicagoforce.