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Force spot on in tie
Perfection from the penalty spot earned the Colorado Force a 2-2 tie with the visiting Seattle Sounders on Friday night at Loveland Sports Park.
The Force battled back from a 2-0 deficit on the strength of penalty kicks from Hishamar Falconer in the 17th minute and Christie Ehrhardt in the 88th minute in front of a home season-opening crowd of 590.
Normally, splitting points at home would be considered a disappointment, but it was a fitting result for the Force and the Sounders. The two teams split the points a week earlier in a 1-1 tie in the season opener at Tukwila, Washington.
The game also provided an interesting “what if?” on a goalkeeper laying out to stop a shot from an offsides players. The flag was in the air and the whistle blowing as Force ‘keeper Lauren Robertson stopped the shot and collided with a rushing Seattle attacker in the fourth minute. Play halted for nearly five minutes as Robertson found her bearings and tested her fitness.
Less than two minutes after the restart, Seattle scored a goal against the run of play as forward Victoria Frederick connected with a pass from Jocelyn Charette. Four minutes later, the Sounders had a quick succession of two corner kicks. The first produced a shot off the crossbar, and the second landed in the back of the net as forward Erin Redwine latched onto Justi Baumgardt-Yamada’s pass.
The Sounders 2-0 lead after a quarter hour did little to slow the Force’s Yolanda Hamilton. The winger, who produced an excellent chance with her speed down the left side in the first minute, was sent to the ground in the box in the 16th minute. Falconer stroked the resulting penalty kick that left ‘keeper Katie Hultin frozen as the shot went low and to her right.
After three goals, the scoring opportunites waned. As each team searched for a winning combination with a shuffling of substitutes, Emmalie Pfankuch had the most immediate impact. She entered in the 69th minute and proceeded to win a corner for the Force. In the 78th, she broke through on the ‘keeper’s right and delivered a hard shot that Hultin bobbled.
Finally, the Force found the equalizer following an 87th minute corner kick. The resulting scramble produced a penalty that Ehrhradt buried to Hultin’s right, again leaving the ‘keeper to watch and pick the ball out of the back of the net.
Next Up: The Force, 0-1-2 (2 points), faces the Vancouver Whitecaps at 7 p.m. Sunday in Loveland. Vancouver snuck past the Force 2-1 this past weekend in British Columbia. Seattle, 0-0-2 (2 points), continues its Mountain time with a visit to the Colorado Rush at 2 p.m. at Englewood High School on Sunday.
The Crowd: After a 93-degree day, families were out for the Force on a delightful evening. Children were playing in the grass with soft, giveaway soccer balls and cadres of pre-teen girls were racing from the stands to the snack bar to any of the mascots roaming the area. As my 3-year-old described it, “Those girls are crazy.”
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