The Pittsburgh Passion reached a second consecutive Women’s Football Alliance National Conference Championship game last year but were left with a bitter taste in their mouths after a 35-34 loss to the rival DC Divas.
Lauren Ferragonio didn’t want that experience to be her last as a player with the Passion.
“We were capable of so much more, and the loss definitely stung,” said Ferragonio, an offensive guard for the Passion since 2012.
The Plum native’s continued love for the team added to her desire to come back and continue playing this season.
“The camaraderie with my football family, all of the people who have contributed to making this a wonderful part of my life, it makes it very hard to step away from that,” Ferragonio said.
Her drive to help the Passion succeed keeps her putting on the helmet and shoulder pads. She has been a big factor in helping the team, again under the guidance of co-head coaches Lisa Horton and Teresa Conn, to a 3-0 start with road wins over Tampa Bay (56-14), DC Divas (17-14) and Cincinnati (42-0).
“We have some great rookies who have added talent and personality to the team,” Ferragonio said. “We also have a couple Passion rookies who are not rookies to the game. Their jobs have brought them here. The team is the same in terms of the mission and how it goes about being ready to play each week. We just have a lot of hunger, a lot of dedicated people and many positive leaders.”
Ferragonio hopes to see a big crowd Saturday for the home opener against Tampa Bay at 6 p.m. at Slippery Rock University.
“Everyone is excited to play at home after three away games,” she said. “Our fans travel well and really support us, but it will be nice to be in our own element, be at home before and after the game and be in front of our fans.”
The Passion also are home for games against DC the following Saturday and Cincinnati on June 13 to wrap up the regular season.
“Goose is a very smart football player with her years of experience,” Horton said. “She has seen it all with the Passion. She was just a baby right out of high school when she started with the Passion. It is so special to see her continue to grow as a player and as a leader on and off the field. She brings that tenured leadership and knows the job and how to unite a group of players. She garners so much respect within the offensive line and throughout the whole team.”
Ferragonio doesn’t just play football. She continues to be influential in the game as a coach and recently completed her fourth season leading the girls flag football team at Sto-Rox High School, where she also teaches.
The Lady Vikings had a strong season this spring as flag football made its debut as a WPIAL-sponsored sport. They went 9-4 in Section 4, finishing one win away from earning one of the four berths from the section to the WPIAL playoffs.
“We all continued to work through some things with the structure and rules as the season went on, but it was a pretty good season overall,” Ferragonio said.
“It is great to have it be officially recognized as a sanctioned sport. Several new teams started playing this year, and there will be more joining next year. So many colleges have it now. Three of my seniors are going on to play in college. This is a great opportunity to continue in a sport they love and also get a great education.”
Ferragonio will continue to coach this summer as the head coach of one of the drafted teams for the CJ2K flag football tournament at Highmark Stadium and Montour High School. Her team won last year’s tournament championship.
“I really enjoyed the tournament last year,” she said. “I was able to coach one of my players along with others from North Catholic, North Allegheny, Moon, Bishop Canevin and Seneca Valley. I didn’t know many of the players from the other teams, so it was nice to get to know them. That is what I love about football and sports in general. You get to meet so many cool people from different places. It was a lot of fun bringing all of these girls together for the goal of winning the tournament. A lot of them wouldn’t have met otherwise.”
Ferragonio’s advisory role for the Passion’s flag football team, made up of many of the Passion skill players and coached by Horton and Conn, helped it win the inaugural WFA national championship last summer. The Passion beat the Cali War, 26-14, for the title at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.
“At that point, I had more in-game knowledge of the rules, and I offered my opinion on things here and there with them on the sidelines,” she said. “That was a lot of fun. We as the Passion try to do a couple different travel flag tournaments just for fun and to keep everyone conditioned and in football shape in the offseason.”
Ferragonio’s coaching at Sto-Rox extends beyond her work with girls flag football. She also coaches the middle school tackle football team and the school’s Unified Bocce team, which, with several of her flag football players as team members, earned a sixth-place finish at regionals this past winter.
Her passion for coaching recently was recognized when she received this year’s Positive Athlete Western Pennsylvania Most Positive High School Coach, an honor that highlights how the organization sees her demonstrate the core principles of being optimistic, encouraging, having heart for others, putting the team first, being respectful, embracing service and being able to admit imperfections.
“I was notified of the award the other day, and I was shocked,” said Ferragonio, who received more than a half dozen nominations. “I didn’t know I had been nominated. But I am so honored to receive this award. It is also very humbling. I do what I do in coaching because that’s who I am as a person. Winning an award like that has caused me to take a step back and realize that what I am doing is bigger than just teaching flag football or any other sport. It’s about developing these students as a whole.
“The things I say to my athletes often become their thoughts and their internal monologue. It comes down to working on the total person and making sure they believe in themselves and helping them develop a positive mindset in all they do.”