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Late goal helps Cougars earn 2-2 draw
Jestina Orlando, left, fends off Cougars striker Beth West in the first half of Real Colorado’s 2-2 tie with the Colorado Force on Thursday in Loveland. (photo by George Tanner/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)
Brianne Young scored on a free kick in the 88th minute as the Real Colorado Cougars salvaged a 2-2 tie with the Colorado Force on Thursday at the Loveland Sports Park.
Beth West and Young, the Cougars’ two strikers, lined up to take the free kick just outside the Force’s penalty box. West blasted the ball into the wall, but referee Younes Marrakchi ruled that the Force players moved too soon. The two Cougars lined up to take the kick again, and this time Young punched a strong shot into the back of the net.
“I told them before the game, it’s between both of you guys. You decide. And Beth took the first one, and Bri said, ‘I’ll take the second.’ She hit it well,” Cougars coach Brian Haynes said. “Good show of character by the girls to come back on the road. To come back that late on the road, it was huge.”
Real Colorado needed the late-game heroics because Emmalie Pfankuch and Molly Thomas scored two consecutive goals in the second half to give the Force a 2-1 lead.
Thomas scored in the 63rd minute on a long pass from the defensive end of the field. She muscled around one defender and found herself with only goalkeeper Kristin Arnold to beat. Thomas slotted her shot into the lower right corner to erase what had been a 1-0 lead for the Cougars.
“The goalie was straight down the middle, so I had to place it one way or the other and hope it went in,” Thomas said. “It’s good to get the first goal of the season in and know that you can score against really good players. We know how they play now, and we know we can score against them.”
Thirteen minutes later, Pfankuch, who entered the game at the hour mark, gave the Force a lead with a nearly identical finish. Force goalkeeper Kara Linder made a big save on West, and the Force moved the ball right back up the pitch on a quick transition. With a straight-ahead look at Arnold and the net, Pfankuch drove a hard shot into the same bottom-right corner, just as Thomas did.
Midfielder Kellyn Farrell opened the scoring for the Cougars in the 54th minute. Streaking down the right wing, Farrell cut toward the inside, beat defender Carly Peetz and curled a nasty little shot into the side netting on the far side of the goal.
All of the goals came in the second half, when both teams played with 10 on the field. Estelle Johnson of the Force and Becca Mays of the Cougars got involved in a pushing match and were ejected in the 43rd minute.
The Force, led by the energetic Shay Powell, had a few more chances to score in the first half than Real. But once the sides were reduced to 10, the game opened up.
“It would’ve been nice to walk away three three points because I felt we deserved it toward the end there,” Force coach Craig Deacon said. “Coming back 1-nil down in any game is difficult enough. But to go 10 men and 1-nil down as well, the girls showed a lot of character and scored two goals.”
FORCE WOMAN OF THE MATCH: The Force chose Lisa Kosena for the honor, but I thought Powell was the real star. She used her speed to create problems on defense for the Cougars and breathed life into the Force offense when she had the ball at her feet. Thomas was a close second. The Force played well after she scored the team’s first goal, but her game seemed to pick up particularly. She almost scored again in the 74th minute on a nice one-two with Pfankuch, but her finish was lacking. I also enjoyed the play of defender Sally Cole, who, like Pfankuch, was a second-half substitute. Cole played with strength and determination and made several key stops, including breaking up a centering pass by the Cougars in the 89th minute.
COUGARS WOMAN OF THE MATCH: This is a tough one. Farrell got all the goals started with a wicked shot, and Young closed the books with another strong shot. West was crafty and quick and often dropped back into the midfield to be more involved in the offense. Arnold was on her own on the Force’s two goals and wasn’t at fault on either one, but she was very active on the field, often playing way off her line, like a fifth defender. I’d have to give the nod to West.
ROUND TWO: The teams will meet for their second W-League fixture of the week at 1 p.m. Sunday in Highlands Ranch. For directions to Shea Stadium, the Cougars’ home turf, head to the Real Colorado Web site.
George Tanner is a former writer and editor for the Rocky Mountain News; the Greeley Tribune; The Daily Independent of Ridgecrest, Calif.; the Durango Herald; and the Boulder Daily Camera. He is a graduate of the University of Colorado and an associate professor at Metropolitan State College of Denver. E-mail him at ColoradoSoccerNow@gmail.com.
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