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Unbeaten streak reaches seven games
Monica Dolinsky scored on a blistering 30-yard free kick in the 75th minute to help the Colorado Force to a 1-1 draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
The tie, the second 1-1 result for the Force in less than 48 hours, extended the team’s unbeaten streak to seven matches. The Force had tied Seattle 1-1 on Friday night.
With a record of 1-1-6, Colorado now has nine points in the W-League’s Western Conference, inching closer to the third-place Real Colorado Cougars, who sit at 3-4-2 and 11 points. The tie keeps Colorado ahead of Vancouver in the standings; the Whitecaps are 1-2-5, with eight points.
The Force was awarded a free kick in the 75th minute after a hand ball was called on Vancouver. Dolinsky made the Whitecaps pay by rifling the shot into the upper corner of the net.
Vancouver scored its goal on a penalty kick at the hour mark. Forward Jodi Ann Robinson put the ball past Colorado goalkeeper Maria Del Guercio to put the home side up 1-0.
It was the Whitecaps’ second PK attempt in less than five minutes. Colorado was called for a foul inside the box in the 56th minute. The Force disputed the location of the foul, but the penalty shot was awarded nonetheless. Vancouver’s Amy Vermeulen, though, hit the post.
The match was scoreless at halftime, but there were a number of close calls.
In the 16th minute, Force midfielder Nikki Marshall hit the crossbar with a shot.
Five minutes later Force forward Shay Powell blasted a side volley that forced Vancouver keeper Stephanie Panozzo to make a fingertip save.
Then in the 45th minute, Force keeper Maria Del Guercio made a save on a low, hard-driven shot by Robinson.
Sunday’s match ends a grueling stretch, in which the Force played four matches in eight days, including an exhibition on Wednesday night against the NY/NJ Sky Blue of Women’s Professional Soccer.
The team is now off for nearly two weeks before kicking of a three-game road swing through Southern California.
Great stretch. Keep it up.
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