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Rush is in; Force is back; Cougars are out
Colorado welcomes a new team this spring, as the Colorado Rush begins play in the W-League’s Western Conference.
The Rush, based in the Denver area, will join the Colorado Force, based in Northern Colorado, as the two W-League teams representing Colorado. The Real Colorado Cougars no longer are competing in the league.
That leaves the Western Conference with six clubs: the W-League champion Pali Blues, the Vancouver Whitecaps, the Seattle Sounders, the Force, the Rush and another new entry: Santa Clarita.
It actually makes for nice scheduling as far as road trips go: two teams in Southern California, two teams in the Denver area and two teams in the Pacific Northwest.
The Force will get the Northwest swing out of the way early, playing its first match May 28 against Seattle at the Starfire Sports Complex (Rapids coach Gary Smith’s favorite venue). The Force faces Vancouver two days later in a matinee in Washington. The team’s home opener is June 4 against Seattle at the Loveland Sports Park.
The Rush starts off against Seattle and Vancouver at home on June 6 and 8, respectively, at Valor Christian High School Stadium in Highlands Ranch (the school’s campus is beautiful).
To see the full schedule, check out our Schedules/Results page, updated for 2010.
To see all the Rapids, W-League and college results from Colorado in 2009, go here.
The W-League released its 2010 schedule this week, with Hampton Roads and Charlotte, two of the league’s oldest teams, opening the season on May 14. The regular season wraps up on July 18.
The defending two-time league champion Pali Blues will have a long wait to begin their title defense with their first match coming Saturday, June 5 at home against the Santa Clarita Blue Heat.
The 2010 W-League postseason will follow the same format for the conference playoffs. The league’s regular season champion will receive and automatic berth to the league semifinal round with all three conferences hosting playoffs to determine the other three semifinalists. The next highest seed in the regular season champion’s respective division will then qualify for the regional playoffs.
The top two teams each in the Atlantic and Northeast Divisions will advance to the Eastern Conference tournament and the top two clubs in the Western Conference will play for the right to play in the league semifinals.
The W-League playoffs will conclude with a Final Four formatted championship.
Would love to have a professional soccer team, men’s or women’s in the Albuquerque area. Could be good competition with the Colorado teams. Any takers?
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