Passion outlast Cleveland to win season opener
The Pittsburgh Passion women’s football team rallied twice in the first half of Saturday’s season opener against Women’s Football Alliance foe the Cleveland Fusion.
The Passion extended a lead in the third quarter and held off the Fusion challenge the rest of the way to score a 26-20 victory at West Allegheny’s Joe P. DeMichela Stadium.
Angela Baker scored touchdowns on runs of 6 and 1 yard and also threw a TD to Krystal Cozzo.
Kia Foster broke a 20-20 tie in the fourth quarter with the game-winning run from 2 yards out.
The Passion defense turned away a late Cleveland scoring attempt to secure the victory.
Baker finished with 240 passing yards and 37 more on the ground.
Cozzo caught six passes for 118 yards.
Diamond Rodriguez had a team-best nine tackles and added a sack for Pittsburgh. Kaitlain Niedermeyer and Kim Zubovic each recovered a fumble.
The Passion return to action Saturday at longstanding rival the D.C. Divas.
Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.
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