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The Erie Illusion was a women's football team playing in the
United States Women's Football League The United States Women's Football League (USWFL) is a full-contact women's American football minor league that opened with exhibition play in 2010 and subsequently played its first regular season in 2011.https://www.uswfl.net/copy-of-schedule-n ...
and they were based in
Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...
. Their team colors was orange and purple; the team played at
Erie Veterans Memorial Stadium Erie Veterans Memorial Stadium is a football and soccer stadium located in Erie, Pennsylvania, United States. It was built in 1924 with the 1920 Academy High School building (the current Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy) overlooking it ...
. Mary Butler was the owner and general manager of the franchise. Troy Allen was the Illusion's final head coach.


History

They began playing in 2003 as a member of the
National Women's Football Association The National Women's Football Association (NWFA) was a full-contact American football league for women headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. The league was founded by Catherine Masters in 2000, as the two benchmark teams, the Alabama Renegades ...
, finishing the season with a 0-8 record. After bringing in a new coaching staff with significant collegiate playing experience, the team improved in 2004 and finished with a 1-7 overall record. The 2005 season, under head coach Robert Beres, had been (prior to 2007) the Illusion's best season to date. The team finished with a respectable 3-5 record. In addition, all five losses in 2005 were to teams that qualified for the NWFA playoffs. In 2006 the Illusion struggled to a 1-8 finish as they faced home and away contests against league powerhouses Pittsburgh Passion, Cleveland Fusion and the Columbus Comets. In 2007, the Illusion schedule featured eight teams with comparable populations and market size to Erie. The Illusion rolled to a 7-1 record, including a 7-game winning streak to end the season and a defense that only allowed more than 8 points once the whole season (a 14-13 win over the Maine Freeze). The Illusion qualified for the playoffs but faced the eventual league champion
Pittsburgh Passion The Pittsburgh Passion is a women's American football team based in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The franchise was formed in March 2002 and is currently owned by Teresa Conn, Anthony Misitano, and the estate of Franco Harris. The team is a ...
in the opening round. In 2008, the Illusion finished with a 4-4 season. The team easily defeated each team it played that shared a similar market and roster size but lost four games to teams with more sizable rosters and greater populations (populations of 1 to 2.5 million - compared to Erie's 150,000). In 2009, the Illusion was granted membership to the
Independent Women's Football League The Independent Women's Football League (IWFL) was the first Women's American football league established by women players for women players. The league was founded in 2000, began play in 2001, and played its last season in 2018. Members of th ...
, arguably the most successful women's full-tackle league in the country. Based on team and market size, the Illusion was designated a Tier II team, competing against similar teams. To mark the transition, the Illusion adopted a new, modern logo. In 14 seasons, the Illusion played at two stadiums - Erie Veteran's Memorial Stadium (2003 & 2004; 2011-2016) and Mercyhurst College (2005-2009). In 2009, the team played all but one of their games at Mercyhurst College. The Illusion's final home game in 2009 was played at Erie Veterans Memorial Stadium. Mercyhurst's Tullio Field was not available due to a scheduled replacement of the stadium turf. Despite many obstacles, the Illusion has survived and thrived in Erie. In fact, the Illusion is Erie's second-longest surviving professional indoor, or outdoor semi- or professional football franchise, men or women's, in nearly 50 years (the only team with a longer existence was Erie Veterans, an independent men's outdoor team that played for over 30 years from the 1920s to the 1950s). The Illusion concluded its 2009 season with a 3-5 record, despite playing against five teams that earned Tier II playoff spots, including the 2008 Tier II Champion - Montreal Blitz. The team's 2009 schedule also included a game against the former NWFA champion and powerhouse Detroit Demolition. Following the 2009 regular season, Illusion coach James Reavis and four Illusion players were selected to participate in the IWFL's All-Star Game in Round Rock, Texas. Veterans Michelle Kephart, Corinne Schaeffer, Martha Swick, Brandy Polinick and Tracy Leet were named to the team. This marks the first time in seven seasons that any Illusion players were selected for league, post-season honors. After the 2010 season, the Illusion announced they were joining the
Women's Football Alliance The Women's Football Alliance (WFA) is a professional full-contact Women's American football tackle minor league that began play in 2009. It is the largest 11-on-11 football league for women in the world, and the longest running active women's ...
.


Season-By-Season

, - , colspan="6" align="center" , Erie Illusion (NWFA) , - , 2003 , , 0 , , 8 , , 0 , , 5th Northern Mid-Atlantic , , -- , - , 2004 , , 1 , , 7 , , 0 , , 4th Northern Mid-Atlantic , , -- , - , 2005 , , 3 , , 5 , , 0 , , 14th Northern , , -- , - , 2006 , , 1 , , 7 , , 0 , , 4th Northern North Central , , -- , - , 2007 , , 7 , , 2 , , 0 , , 2nd Northern Central , , Lost Northern Conference Quarterfinals (
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
) , - , 2008 , , 4 , , 4 , , 0 , , 3rd Northern Central , , -- , - , colspan="6" align="center" , Erie Illusion (IWFL2) , - , 2009 , , 3 , , 5 , , 0 , , 12th League , , -- , - , 2010 , , 3 , , 5 , , 0 , , 4th Eastern Northeast , , -- , - , colspan="6" align="center" , Erie Illusion (WFA) , - , 2011 , , 3 , , 6 , , 0 , , 4th National Mid-Atlantic , , -- , - , colspan="6" align="center" , Erie Illusion (IWFL) , - , 2012 , , 4 , , 4 , , 0 , , 3rd Eastern Mid-Atlantic , , -- , - , 2013 , , 1 , , 4 , , 0 , , ''X-Team'' , , -- , - , 2014 , , 0 , , 6 , , 0 , , ''X-Team'' , , -- , - , colspan="6" align="center" , Erie Illusion (USWFL) , - , 2016 , , 0 , , 3 , , 0 , , ''X-Team'' , , -- , - !Totals , , 30 , , 66 , , 0 , colspan="2", (including playoffs)


2010 roster


2009


Season schedule

** = Won by forfeit


2010


Season schedule


2011


Season schedule

** = Forfeited Image:Illusionold.PNG, Erie Illusion (2003-2008) Image:ErieIllusionWFA.PNG, Erie Illusion (2009–2016)


References


External links

* {{Pennsylvania Sports Sports in Erie, Pennsylvania Women's Football Alliance American football teams established in 2003 2003 establishments in Pennsylvania American football teams in Pennsylvania