Seattle Gaels Ladies Football
Win National Championship
By PAMELA McGRATH
SEATTLE - The Seattle Gaels Ladies Gaelic Football team won the North American County Board (NACB) Finals of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) this Labor Day weekend 2007 in Chicago, Illinois.
 |
SEATTLE GAELS Ladies football team won this year's North American County Board (NACB) Finals of the GAA weekend 2007 in Chicago, Illinois.
|
Following the championship game, Geraldine Giles, President of the Ladies Gaelic Football Association commended the Seattle Gaels for bringing up the level of play and growing the GAA's overseas clubs.
The Junior B Division Gaels played two matches on August 31 against the Orange County and Pittsburg. The first match against Orange County left them scoreless with a final score of 3_19 to 0_0.
That same afternoon the Lady Gaels took the field again - this time versus the ladies from Pittsburg. A different caliber of opponent from the morning's game but the first half left the Pittsburg team without a score and Seattle in the lead.
The 41st minute gave Atlanta their first point but Seattle finished the game strong with a score of 1_12 to 0_4.
At 9:40am Saturday, Seattle was in full swing again versus Philadelphia in what would prove to be a skilled game. In the second minute, Seattle put away their first goal letting Philadelphia know that it wasn't going to be a cake walk.
The Lady Gaels made their opponent work for every score they were able to get and in the end it was Seattle 4_5 to Philadelphia 1_11.
On Sunday, Seattle faced their opponent Atlanta. 0.25 seconds into the first half January Chay put the ball through the uprights for the first point of the game. It wouldn't be until 20 minutes into the first half that Atlanta would score their first point. Seattle wanted that cup and nothing was going to stop them, and in the end it was Seattle 3_14 to Atlanta 0_6.
Kate Starbird, former WNBA player, is now receiving recognition for her skills on the football pitch. She received the award for player of the week following the Gaels championship match.
The Gaels experienced growth in the 2007 season. The Lady Gaels have a roster of around 40 women playing this year. Prior years found the Gaels ranging from 16 to 20 players annually.
Immigration reform in the U.S. has been impacting recruitment for many teams across the United States. Cities like San Francisco, Boston and New York are finding recruitment of Irish-born players difficult and numbers tend to fluctuate.
The Gaels, with a smaller Irish community to recruit from, have made it a priority to recruit American players and to grow the youth program. The success is evident in their championship this weekend. The Gaels sent a squad of 31 to Chicago, with only one Irish born player on the team.
|
