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.

I enjoyed the 2009 W-League season so much that I decided to put together an all-conference team based on the games we covered at ColoradoSoccerNow.com.

First, let me talk about the logistics of picking such an exercise. Because every W-League game we saw in 2009 included the Real Colorado Cougars or the Colorado Force, the all-conference team reflects that. We have a Colorado-heavy squad, and I suppose that’s to be expected. I considered an all-Colorado team, but I dismissed that idea because many of the Force and Real Colorado players performed at a level that was higher than most of their peers across the conference.

And, at the most, we got to see visiting teams play only two games. So this squad is skewed, based on which players actually made the road trip to Colorado and how their clubs fared at altitude. Pali’s Tobin Heath, for example, didn’t play against the Force or the Cougars. Neither did Vancouver’s Jodi-Ann Robinson; she had seven goals and didn’t make this team because we didn’t see her. And the undefeated Pali Blues scored only one goal in their two games in this state. The Cougars and Force stood on their heads against the defending champs, but neither team could conjure a victory. The Force was the only team to shut out the Blues this year, and soccer fans in Colorado saw a Pali team that had its back against the wall.

I loved the Force defense. I wouldn’t trade the back line of Mo Smunt, Carly Peetz, Estelle Johnson, Zoe Avner and Sally Cole for any other W-League team’s defenders. The Force’s defensive unit was the best in the conference. But I couldn’t pick them all. …

And I loved the Cougars’ midfield. Brittney Macdonald, Beth West and Kellyn Farrell formed the core of a group that sometimes included Taryn Hemmings and Becca Mays. Those five would create havoc for any team in the W-League. But I couldn’t pick them all. …

Tom Auclair, who was on the sidelines shooting photos, helped me with the scouting, but the final selections were mine. Enough discussion. Here is ColoradoSoccerNow.com’s first W-League All-Western Conference team:

GOALKEEPER
Kay Hawke, Ventura County Fusion: Hawke didn’t have the best team in front of her, but she played as if she did. She barked orders like each game was her team’s last. She knows when clear the ball and when to hang back and wait for the save. She is mobile and delivers the ball to her teammates with accuracy and an understanding of the game. She would be the captain of this all-conference team.

DEFENSE
Jenny Anderson-Hammond, Pali Blues: The best outside back in the league. Pushes forward with abandon, defends with ferocity. She’s fast, skilled and athletic and likes to show it.

Sally Cole, Colorado Force: A dynamic defensive fullback. Cole wins balls in the air that her 5-foot-2 frame has no right to. Is she a better defender than Colorado’s Carly Peetz or Estelle Johnson? Probably not. But she turns heads on the back line with her power and her aggressiveness. She is the immovable object for the irresistible Force defense.

Jenae Gibbons, Los Angeles Legends: Excellent defender on a mediocre team. She moves forward to become a threat in the box on corner kicks, and she takes all the throw-ins in the forward third because of her upper-body strength. A quiet leader, but a leader nonetheless. Without Gibbons, 2009 could’ve been dreadful for L.A.

Randee Hermus, Vancouver Whitecaps: An excellent two-way threat. She takes the team’s free kicks and is a scoring option on corner kicks. Closer to the Vancouver goal, she can beat players positionally or challenge them and dispossess.

MIDFIELD
Leah Tapscott, Pali Blues: In the two games the Blues played in Colorado this year, Tapscott was the most impressive Pali player on the pitch. She gobbles up large amounts of turf and is a tireless defender. Moves well with the ball and moves well without it.

Beth West, Real Colorado Cougars: The best distributor we saw. She has a creativity that betrays her 19 years. Excellent ball control. Excellent vision. Excellent possession. The Cougars are a different team, almost flat, when she’s not on the pitch. I look forward to watching her play for years to come.

Michelle French, Seattle Sounders: The most enterprising player on a talented Seattle team. Her winning goal in the Force’s home opener turned out to be a key piece of the puzzle as Seattle and Colorado battled for the conference’s second playoff berth.

Iris Mora, Pali Blues: Her skill level was apparent, but she didn’t have the best two games in Colorado. Was it the rigors of playing a mile above sea level? Was it the determination of the Colorado teams? It doesn’t matter. She was the constant that kept Pali ahead of the rest of the league. The W-League Web site lists her with 16 points during the season (but it says she had only six assists, which can’t be correct; that means she would’ve scored 10 goals, but she’s not among the league leaders on the league’s stats page). Whatever the total, her prowess lifted Pali to another level.

Brittney Macdonald, Real Colorado Cougars: The best holding midfielder in the W-League. I would be comfortable using her in central defense or as an attacking midfielder. So maybe defensive midfield is perfect for her. Strong, tall, composed, elegant. Dominant in the air.

FORWARDS
Nikki Marshall, Colorado Force: Where to put her. Defense? Midfield? Striker? She can do it all. If I were a W-League team, Marshall and Real Colorado’s Taryn Hemmings would be the first two Western Conference players I looked at. Marshall got better as the season progressed, and it’s no coincidence that the Force did, too. I’d put her up front on this team; with a full season at striker and these midfielders feeding her, there’s no telling how many goals she would score.

WESTERN CONFERENCE MVP
Nikki Marshall, Colorado Force: Her versatility makes her invaluable. Force coach Craig Deacon could pencil her in at any position. Then, he could move her anywhere and bring in any players as substitutes to react to the script of the game. She’s a tactical weapon without equal in the W-League. And she’s a force of will on the pitch. Her talent level, speed, size and work rate make her the complete package. I can’t wait to watch her play for CU this fall.

ALL-CONFERENCE HONORABLE MENTION
Jodi-Ann Robinson, Vancouver Whitecaps; Katie Thorlakson, Vancouver Whitecaps; Estelle Johnson, Colorado Force; Carly Peetz, Colorado Force; Taryn Hemmings, Real Colorado Cougars; Becca Mays, Real Colorado; Bri Young, Real Colorado Cougars.

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.

Have different ideas about the Western Conference’s Best 11? Let George know at ColoradoSoccerNow@gmail.com.

The Force took a 2-1 lead in the 70th minute on a goal by Nikki Marshall, her second of the evening.

Pali tied the match in the 75th minute, when Christen Press notched her second goal of the match for Pali. The tie score held until the 87th minute, when Pali broke the deadlock on a booming shot by midfield Kelly O’Hara from outside the penalty area.

At that point, Colorado pushed forward, exposing the defense to Pali’s high-scoring offense. Midfielder Iris Mora took advantage of the situation to score unassisted goals in the 90th minute and in extra time to close the scoring.

The loss ends the Force’s season with a record of 4-3-6 and halted a three-match winning streak. It was the first playoff appearance for the Force since 1998, when Colorado won the W-League’s W2 national title. Pali (10-0-3) advances to play the W-League’s top regular-season team, the Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues (12-0-2) of Newburgh, N.Y., in next weekend’s semifinals.

Pali started the scoring in the 11th minute on the first goal by Press, a Stanford University star.

Colorado played a physical first half and created several scoring chances, but couldn’t gain the equalizer before halftime.

The Force got its first goal in the 60th minute, tying the match at 1-1 when Marshall scored on a crossing pass from fellow striker Shay Powell.

Colorado then took the lead in the 72nd minute on a second Marshall goal, this one assisted by Lisa Franke. The Colorado lead forced Pali, which has yet to lose in two years of W-League play, to be in the rare position of playing from behind. After Press pulled Pali even, the game appeared to be headed to overtime before the final torrent of goals.

The Blues had 22 shots to Colorado’s seven.

BUSY WEEK: Press’s second goal for Pali was assisted by Lauren Cheney, who had just returned to the Blues after playing for the U.S. national team on Wednesday night against Canada. Cheney also had an assist in that match, a 1-0 win for the U.S.

PROLIFIC: Marshall finished the season with six goals, tops for the Force.

UNBEATEN STREAK: The Blues have not lost in 27 matches, during which the team’s record is 24-0-3.

A RUN FOR THEIR MONEY: Colorado’s two goals matched the most scored on Pali this season. The Blues allowed two goals in two previous matches.

Marshall scored both goals for the Force in a 2-1 road victory against the Los Angeles Legends on July 14. Three days later she scored winning goal for the Force in a 3-0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps.

The Force finished the regular season with three consecutive victories and qualified for the playoffs. The team faces the undefeated Pali Blues tonight in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

The Blues were the champions of the Western Conference.

Check out the entire team of the week here. And pay particular attention to the awesome photo (by none other than yours truly).

Saturday’s match marks the first playoff appearance for the Force since 1998, when the club won the W-League’s W2 national championship.

Pali (9-0-3) won the Western Conference for the second straight year. The Blues have been undefeated since entering the W-League last summer, with an overall record of 23-0-3 over two seasons.

Colorado finished 4-2-6 this season.

In 2009, Colorado and Pali tied 0-0 at Loveland Sports Park on June 14 and Pali topped the Force 3-0 in California on July 10.

HALFTIME ENTERTAINMENT: International star Marta and her Los Angeles Sol teammates will hold a special on-field autograph session for fans.

W-LEAGUE FIRST ROUND: In all, 12 teams qualified in the league’s three conferences. The Hudson Valley Quickstrike qualified for the semifinal round as the regular-season champion. The 11 other qualifiers are battling for the other three semifinal positions.

MORE PLAYOFFS: The W-League semifinals will be July 31-Aug. 1, followed by the finals on the weekend of Aug. 7-8.

The first half was sluggish because of the afternoon heat, and most of the action was in the middle of the field. Coach Brian Haynes’ decision to add Pugh’s dazzling speed to the mix paid off almost immediately.

She had two scoring chances in the first 10 minutes of the half, and she hit the jackpot in the 60th. Streaking down the right wing, Pugh turned on the afterburners and blew past Whitecaps defender Kim McMullen. Pugh shot from an acute angle, and Vancouver goalkeeper Stephanie Panozzo couldn’t get a hand on the ball.

It was Pugh’s first goal with the Cougars.

“I took it up the line and was looking for a serve, but I just hit it really hard, hoping that it went in,” Pugh said. “And it did.” 

Pugh finished the scoring about three minutes before the final whistle, but this time it wasn’t because of her speed. She was in the right place at the right time. Kerstyn Farrell smashed a Vanessa Mais corner kick toward the Vancouver goal, but Farrell’s shot was blocked. The ball ricocheted to Pugh, and she spanked it past Panozzo.

Pugh’s presence on the Cougars’ roster was a midseason revelation.

She began the spring on a Real Colorado youth team and was invited to join the Cougars in midseason. She didn’t know if she’d get much playing time in W-League games, but her pace presents so many problems for defenses that it was difficult for the Cougars’ coaching staff to keep her on the bench.

“I know the coaches, and they asked me to come in,” Pugh said. “I wasn’t expecting to play, but I did.” 

Haynes said he was happy to find playing time for Pugh and his younger players in Real Colorado’s season finale.

“We weren’t going to make the playoffs if we won, lost or tied this game, but (the players) came with the attitude that we’ve got to win,” Haynes said. “They did what they had to do; they closed the game out early enough. So even though Vancouver was fighting, we had the upper hand. It’s a good way to end the season for us.”

The Cougars improved to 4-5-3 overall, good for 15 points and a tie for third place with Seattle in the league’s Western Conference, but just out of the playoffs.

Vancouver finished the season at 3-4-5, in fifth place with 14 points. The Whitecaps lost two three-goal decisions in their trip to Colorado, but the team was missing starters Carmelina Moscato, Jodi-Ann Robinson, Chelsea Stewart and Shannon Woeller because of call-ups to the Canadian national team. Robinson, with seven goals, was the leading the scorer for the Whitecaps.

The undefeated Pali Blues won the Western Conference with 30 points, and the Colorado Force finished in second place with 18 points. Haynes said a deep bench was the key to the Blues and Force advancing.

“When we went to Vancouver and Seattle, we didn’t have our national-team players. We didn’t have a lot of players for that trip. If we’d gotten a win out there, that would’ve changed everything. This game would’ve meant something,” he said. “What we need to have is a roster in place that we can depend on even when players are gone. That didn’t happen all the time, and that’s something we’re going to have to deal with.”

Real Colorado got its other goals from Kellyn Farrell and Jenna Owens, who had the only goal of the first half.

Striker Ameera Abdulla made an inspired run up the left wing, darting in and out of defenders, and she unleashed a hard shot toward the far post. Panozzo lunged to her left and stopped the shot with both palms, but she couldn’t control the ball. Owens was Jenna-on-the-spot, pounding in the rebound with certainty.

In the 49th minute, Kellyn Farrell blew past the left side of the Vancouver defense and fired a sharp-angle shot into the side netting on the far side. It was Farrell’s fourth goal of the season.

Kate Qually scored Vancouver’s goal, banging home a Chelsea Buckland centering pass when Real Colorado was up 3-0.

WOMAN OF THE MATCH: Pugh. She used her wheels to turn a match that was stuck in the mud into a drag race. And she turned in this impressive performance in only 45 minutes on the pitch. She came in at start of the second half for Taryn Hemmings, who was icing her right hamstring on the bench. Abdullah dropped back into midfield, and Pugh played up front. 

WHITECAPS’ WOMAN OF THE MATCH: Defender Randee Hermus turned in a sturdy performance at center back. She was active on both ends of the field, missing a goal just wide on a header just before the hour mark that would’ve made the score 2-1. She and Katie Thorlakson, a midfielder who pushed forward with zeal, were the two best players the Whitecaps brought to Colorado. 

TACKLE OF THE GAME: Vancouver’s Eden Hingwing upended Owens in the 53rd minute, backside over teakettle.

SAVE OF THE GAME: Cougars keeper Brianne Schultz gets the nod for a stop she made in first-half extra time. Thorlakson sent a free kick to Hermus, who had pushed way forward. Hermus headed the ball high and on target, forcing Schultz to leap and tap the ball up and into the crossbar. She also denied Hermus on a Thorlakson corner kick in the fifth minute and made a clutch stop on Qually in the 45th minute. Schultz registered four saves in the game. 

WEATHER MATTERS: The game started under overcast skies, but the clouds gave way to sun and heat by halftime. A nearby outdoor thermometer read 94 degrees at the end of the match.

Q: WHAT DOES A CANADIAN TEAM DO ON ITS OFF DAY IN COLORADO? A: It goes to the mall, of course! And to Cracker Barrel and the Cheesecake Factory. British Columbia is full of outdoorsy goodness, so why not enjoy the consumer comforts of Colorado, eh?

PICTURED ABOVE: Cougars midfielder Beth West heads the ball over Vancouver’s Amy Vermuelen. (photo by Tom Auclair/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)

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.

To advertise on Colorado Soccer Now, e-mail George at ColoradoSoccerNow@gmail.com.

The Force ended the regular season with road victories at Ventura County and Los Angeles and with the team’s first ever defeat of the Vancouver Whitecaps, a 3-0 drubbing on Friday at the Loveland Sports Park. The victory pushed the Force into second place in the Western Conference with 18 points.

Meanwhile, the Sounders were stuck at 15 points after losing each leg of a three-game road trip through Southern California. The trip ended with losses to L.A. on Friday and the conference champion Pali Blues on Saturday. Seattle’s 4-1 loss at Palisades High School sealed the deal for the Force.

Colorado finished with a record of 4-2-6. Seattle ended up 3-3-6.

The Force will travel to meet Pali, the W-League’s defending champions, at Pacific Palisades, Calif. The time and date of the match has yet to be decided, but it will occur by next weekend. The United Soccer Leagues, the governing organization for the W-League, will release the playoff schedule early next week.

Pali finished the season 9-0-3 (30 points) to win the Western Conference regular season title for the second straight year. In Loveland, the Force held Pali to a 0-0 draw, and the Blues won 3-0 when the teams met in California.

SOME PROPS FROM THE PILOTS: Force striker Lisa Franke, who finished the regular season with four goals, was featured in a profile on the Bethel College Web site. Check it out here.

MORE PRESS CLIPPINGS: Patrick Ridgell of the Longmont Times-Call wrote a profile of the Force’s Nikki Marshall, who also has four goals in W-League play. Ridgell calls the team the Fort Collins Force, but what the heck. Marshall says she’d like to play in Women’s Professional Soccer someday. Read the story here.

With a shot at the W-League playoffs on the line, the Colorado Force put it all together Friday night.

Emmalie Pfankuch scored twice and Nikki Marshall recorded the winning goal as the Colorado Force ended its 2009 regular season on a high note, defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-0 on Friday night at the Loveland Sports Park.

The Force improved to 4-2-6 with its third consecutive victory and stands in second place in the W-League’s Western Conference with 18 points. The Seattle Sounders, who lost 2-0 to Los Angeles on Friday night, have 15 points and one match remaining — against the undefeated Pali Blues on Saturday in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

If Pali, 8-0-3, beats Seattle, the Force will finish alone in second and will qualify for the playoffs. If Seattle wins, the Sounders hold the first tiebreaker, head-to-head results, and would advance. Seattle beat Colorado 1-0 on May 27, and the teams tied 1-1 on June 26 in Tukwila, Wash.

“We were exited because we have a chance to get in the playoffs,” midfielder Sara Campbell said. “(Coach Craig Deacon) said, ‘The line of confrontation is there is no line of confrontation. High pressure wherever the ball is. We’re right on top of them. They have one second to make a decision.’ And we did that.”

The Force pressured Vancouver from front to back, and it paid off.

Colorado’s forwards gave the Whitecaps fits, as evidenced by Pfankuch’s goals in the 23rd and 75th minutes. The team’s defense — led by starters Zoe Avner, Carly Peetz, Estelle Johnson and Mo Smunt — never let the visiting strikers get settled in.

And the biggest advantage may have come from the midfield. Marshall, Campbell, Monica Dolinsky and Lisa Kosena attacked the Whitecaps’ goal when Colorado had the ball and attacked the Whitecaps’ players when Vancouver had it.

Take Marshall’s goal. In the 18th minute, she ran down Vancouver left back Kate Qually and blocked Qually’s attempt at a clearance. The ball dropped at Marshall’s feet, and she was off to the races. She shot right to left and beat Vancouver goalkeeper Sian Bagshawe. When her attempt hit the far post, Marshall was in position to bang it home because she kept moving forward and got to the rebound before Bagshawe could.

Similarly, it was hustle and pressure that sparked Pfankuch’s goals.

In the 23rd minute, Dolinsky chased a wide ball deep into Vancouver territory and was able to cross it as it approached the right corner flag. Her powerful, looping pass dropped right to Campbell on the far side of the penalty area, and Campbell headed it back in front of the goal, where Pfankuch volleyed it past Bagshawe.

“I could’ve just stood there and it would’ve hit me on the head, so it was a great ball in,” Campbell said. “They always tell you to head back across goal, and Pfanny was there to redirect it.”

The final goal started with Campbell’s pressure in the back third about 30 minutes into the second half. Colorado pushed forward until Dolinsky crossed to Pfankuch from the right wing. Pfankuch headed the ball down and in, and the result was secure.

LOSING STREAK SNAPPED: The victory marked the first time the Force has ever beaten the Whitecaps — in 18 tries. Vancouver entered the game with a 15-0-2 record against the Force.

WOMEN OF THE MATCH: The Force picked Pfankuch. But I thought the key to the victory was the relentless work of the Energy Triplets: Marshall, Campbell and Pfankuch. Their engines run on some kind of synthetic motor oil that never shuts down.

CLEAN SHEET: Goalkeeper Maria Del Guercio changed the face of the game with a huge stop five minutes into the match. Kirsteen Buchan headed a cross from the right wing straight for the back of the net, but Del Guercio leaped to her left to make the save, keeping her team in position to score first. Del Guercio made three saves for the shutout, the Force’s third of the season.

BEST SAVE NOT BY A GOALKEEPER: Maggie Doe’s header in the 87th minute cleared a sure goal off the line after a Vancouver corner kick.

ATTENDANCE: The Force estimated the crowd size at about 1,000. It appeared to be the biggest crowd of the season, and the fans got to see the Force’s most complete performance of the home slate.

FORCE STARTERS: Del Guercio, Smunt, Peetz, Johnson, Avner, Dolinsky, Marshall, Kosena, Campbell, Pfankuch, Lisa Franke.

WHITECAPS STARTERS: Bagshawe, Qually, Randee Hermus, Eden Hingwing, Rachael Pelat, Katie Thorlakson, Monica Lam-Feist, Amy Vermeulen, Chelsea Buckland, Kirsteen Buchan, Julie Armstrong.

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.

To advertise on Colorado Soccer Now, e-mail George at ColoradoSoccerNow@gmail.com.

Then Vancouver will travel to Highlands Ranch to take on the Real Colorado Cougars at 1 p.m. Sunday at Shea Stadium.

Friday’s match presents a number of opportunities for milestones for the Force: The Force remains in playoff contention in the W-League’s Western Conference, where it’s tied for second with Seattle. The Force, 3-2-6, has 15 points after 11 matches with one to play. Seattle, 3-0-6, also 15 points, but with three matches remaining. The top two teams in the West qualify for the playoffs.

The Force, which earned a tie this season at Vancouver, will be looking for its first win ever over the Whitecaps, W-League champions in 2004 and 2006. Vancouver’s all-time record against the Force is 15-0-2.

Vancouver enters the match with playoff aspirations of its own. The Whitecaps stand in fourth place with a record of 3-5-2 and 14 points and could finish in second place if they can win their final two matches.

BUSY SHEDULE: The Force will be playing its fourth match in eight days.

NOT-SO-BUSY SCHEDULE: Vancouver has been off for two weeks, playing its last match on July 5.

ACCORDING TO THE WHITECAPS’ WEB SITE … Four key Vancouver players will miss the Colorado trip because of call-ups to the Canadian national side. Carmelina Moscato, Jodi-Ann Robinson, Chelsea Stewart, and Shannon Woeller will be on Canada’s roster for matches against the United States on Sunday and Wednesday.  Robinson, with seven goals, is the leading the scorer for the Whitecaps.

FORCE’S LEADING SCORERS: Colorado’s top goal scorers are Lisa Franke, with four, and Nikki Marshall, with three. Marshall leads the team in shots, 19, followed by Shay Powell, 17.

REAL COLORADO’S LEADING SCORERS: Taryn Hemmings and Kellyn Farrell each have scored three goals.

The Force, 3-2-6 overall, improved to 15 points in the W-League’s Western Conference and climbed into a second-place tie with Seattle.

Seattle, 3-0-6, has three matches to play, all on the road, beginning with a match Wednesday night against the Ventura County.

The Force plays its final regular-season match at 7 Friday night against Vancouver at the Loveland Sports Park.

Marshall put the Force in front in the 31st minute. She stole a pass from a Legends defender, went in one-on-one with the L.A. goalkeeper. and knocked home the unassisted goal. The turnover was created when the Force forwards, playing in a 4-3-3 alignment, pressured the Legends’ backline, putting Marshall in a position for the steal.

Los Angeles came back in the 53rd minute on a long throw-in deep into the penalty area. After a fight for the ball, Jocelyn Charette was able to push the ball past Force keeper Maria Del Guercio to tie the score 1-1.

But Colorado retaliated in the 57th minute, when midfielder Monica Dolinsky intercepted the ball in the middle of the pitch, dribbled toward the goal then slipped a pass to Marshall, who registered her second goal while running in from the left side.

The Force, which outshot Los Angeles 5-4, claimed six points of a possible nine on its three-game trip to Southern California.