RSS
World Cup undercurrents at Force opener
The Colorado Force salutes the upcoming World Cup at its 14th home opener at 7 p.m. Friday when it hosts the Seattle Sounders in a W-League match at Loveland Sports Park, 950 North Boyd Lake Ave.
The opening match will be followed quickly at 7 p.m. Sunday when the Force welcomes the Vancouver Whitecaps to Loveland.
Friday’s match is a return engagement from last week’s 1-1 tie at the Sounders’ home pitch in Tukwila, Wash. In that match, the Force scored first through Christie Ehrhardt on a header in the 22nd minute. Seattle’s Erin Redwine tied the score five minutes later with a header of her own off a corner kick. Similarly, Sunday night’s match ties off the season series with Vancouver, just one week after the Whitecaps beat the Force 2-1 with an 89th-minute goal in British Columbia.
For the Force, the Seattle match kicks off an important stretch of three home games in less than a week. After the Vancouver match on Sunday, the Force will be back in action June 10 to duel with the two-time defending W-League champ Pali Blues.
Friday’s match is the first home appearance for the Force since making a dramatic run to the W-League playoffs last summer. The Force won its last three regular season matches last July before falling to Pali Blues in the playoffs at the Blues’ home pitch in Pacific Palisades, Calif.
The Sounders, 0-0-1, will arrive without one of last week’s starters. Seattle Assistant Coach Todd Stauber said he expects defender Kelli Smith to miss the game on Friday. “But other than that we will look very similar,” Stauber said.
Vancouver, 1-0-0, will be hoping to welcome some key players back from duty with the Canadian National Team, which is playing in Norway on Wednesday night. The national team players include star forward Jodi Ann Robinson.
Vancouver Coach Hubert Busby Jr. said he’ll “wait and see” which players are healthy and ready to play after the trans-Atlantic travel.
Cup Fever: The theme for the evening will be World Cup Jersey Night. Fans who come to the game with their favorite soccer jersey (from any level) on will receive $2 off their ticket price at the gate. Regular ticket prices are $7 for adults and $5 for seniors and youth. Children under 3 are free.
Drawing: With last week’s tie, Seattle and the Force have played to a draw in three of the previous five contests. The two sides tied 1-1 last July in Washington, and 0-0 in 2008 at the Loveland Sports Complex. Seattle also has 1-0 and 6-1 victories during that stretch.
Tickets: The Colorado Force offers Family Passes for 2 adults and 2 youth for only $19. Tickets are available here.
Leave your response!