Arizona Caliente – The Pacific Conference WILDCARD!!! MEDIA CONTACT: Jennifer Cada 602-679-3960 (Phoenix, AZ) The Arizona Caliente, women's football team, went on a 6 game winning steak to end their season 7-3 and clinched the Pacific Conference Wildcard spot for the playoffs. The Caliente defeated the Central Pacific Division Champions, the Sacramento Sirens Saturday night (1-19-2002) in Sacramento with a score of 18-15. That win combined with their win against the South Pacific Division Champions, the California Quake, the Saturday before (1-12-2002) is what secured the playoff spot for the Arizona team. The first round game will pit the Arizona Caliente against the top seed Seattle Warbirds in a February 2nd, 2002 game in Seattle. The Warbirds, who are the North Pacific Division Champions, are currently the only team left in the WAFL that is undefeated (9-0-1). The match-up should be the best that women's football has seen, as the only "non-win" or "tie" the Warbirds had this season was against the strong Sacramento Sirens team, for which the Caliente showed they could take down. In fact, the Sirens and Warbirds tied in their first meeting 12-22-01 after one overtime, and the Warbirds game on 1-12-2002 against the Sirens at Seattle's home field was only decided after 2 overtimes, when the Warbirds finally won out. As a note, the Caliente took the win from the Sirens in regulation time, and did it while on the road. The Caliente are hot! Nobody can dispute that, and the team is anxious to show the great Northern Warbirds just how hot Arizona is. The Caliente are 4-1 on the road, and hope after February 2nd that record will be 5-1. "They (Seattle) are the last Pacific Division Champion we have left to face," Jennifer Cada, Caliente Owner/General Manager, pointed out and jokes, "and we expect the same fate for them that met the last 2 we faced." The bragging rights as Pacific Conference Champion will be decided at the February 10th game, where the winner of the Sirens/Quake game will meet the winner of the Caliente/Warbirds game. All of the playoff games are currently in negotiations for airing on both radio and T.V. and the Caliente are looking forward to being able to provide that kind of coverage for their fans that can't make the trip to Seattle. "We actually have a very loyal fan base, and are lucky that many of them travel to our away games," Cada boasts, " It's been so great for the team to look out and see 40-60 Caliente fans even at the Northern California games. I think part of our impressive road record can certainly be attributed to our fans." Pacific Conference Playoff Schedule: 1-26-2002 Sacramento Sirens vs. California Quake in Long Beach – 3:05pm kickoff 2-2-2002 Arizona Caliente vs. Seattle Warbirds in Seattle – 7:05pm kickoff 2-10-2002 Winner of 1-26-2002 vs. winner of 2-2-2002 @ the top seed The Caliente are gearing up for their post season as well, working with local girls clubs and initiating youth clinics and community service projects, but for now, the main focus is on bring home the Championship title. "This year has been a success – women have had the opportunity to play a full season of football and prove it can be done." Cada concludes, "The Caliente future is bright. We will be holding open tryouts in the spring for next year and interviewing those who want to join the team on other levels. We will definitely be looking for more local support and have many sponsorship opportunities available. What's really nice, is that now, with a year under our belt, we have shown what we promised from the beginning – the Caliente are 'The Real Deal'." For more information on the Caliente you can call the hotline at 602-212-HOTT (4688) or visit them online at www.WAFL-Caliente.com