As the Colorado Force begins its season at 7 p.m. tonight against Seattle at the Loveland Sports
Park, we take a look at the players who the Force will rely on most heavily in 2009:
GOALKEEPERS
Kara Linder
Hometown: Lincoln, Neb.
College: University of Colorado
Major: integrative physiology, interested in pre-pharmacy
—Linder missed most of last season, but Coach Craig Deacon says he has high expectations for her
this year.
From left: Sally Cole, Brittney Macdonald, Iris Mora, Kay Hawke and Jenae Gibbons.
(photos by Tom Auclair, Zane Tanner, George Tanner/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)
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.
Sounders right back Kelli Smith clears a header off the goal line after a Colorado Force
corner kick during the first half in Loveland. Seattle won 1-0 on Wednesday. The play was the
closest the Force came to scoring. (photo by Zane
Tanner/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)
Michelle French scored in the 32nd minute as the Seattle Sounders began a two-game road swing
through the Centennial State with a 1-0 victory over the Colorado Force on Wednesday at the
Loveland Sports Park.
Force midfielder Maggie Doe, right, closes in on NY/NJ Sky Blue striker Natasha Kai during
the first half of their friendly on Wednesday at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
(photo by Jonathan Ingraham/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)
Mother Nature gave them lemons.
Last season, the Colorado Force finished fourth in the W-League's Western Conference, with a
record of 3-6-3. The team turned in strong performances against the top teams in the conference and
was in contention for the playoffs until the final two games of the season.
Coach Craig Deacon said he hopes to draw confidence from that.
The Colorado Force was missing some heavy hitters Sunday against the defending W-League
champions.
Central defender Carly Peetz was invited to train with the U.S. U-23 national team.
Shay Powell hurt her left knee last week in a 2-2 tie with the Real Colorado Cougars; she wanted
to play in Sunday's matinee against the Pali Blues, but the Force kept her out of the game as a
precaution.
The Colorado Force will attempt to win its first game of the season tonight as Brazilians
Fabiane Nascimento and Paula Pires and the rest of the Ventura County Fusion visits the Loveland
Sports Park.
Pires played for Brazil's U-20 national team in the U-20 World Cup last fall, a tournament that
also featured Force midfielder Nikki Marshall.
The Colorado Rapids have waived forward Gregory Richardson.
Richardson appeared in one game for the Rapids this season, playing 11 minutes in the season
opener against Chivas USA on March 21. He also played 90 minutes in Colorado's U.S. Open Cup
play-in match against Seattle on May 26.
Richardson's rights were acquired by the Rapids in a trade with Toronto FC on Feb.
The defending W-League champion, the Pali Blues from Pacific Palisades, Calif., come to Colorado
for two matches, starting tonight.
The Blues play at 6:30 p.m. today against the Real Colorado Cougars, and they travel to Loveland
to play the Colorado Force at 1 p.m. Sunday. The Sunday match is the Force's only afternoon match
at the Loveland Sports Park this season.
Jestina Orlando, right, and Lisa Kosena vie for a header on June 21 against the L.A.
Legends. (photo by George Tanner/ ColoradoSoccerNow.com)
With its eyes on a playoff spot, the Colorado Force kicks off a three-game Southern California
road trip tonight against league-leading Pali Blues.
Lisa Kosena, right, and Natalie Martineau go shoulder to shoulder for possession of the
ball in the first half Wednesday in Loveland. (photo by Tom
Auclair/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)
Nikki Marshall scored a first-half goal as the Colorado Force tied its fourth consecutive game, a
1-1 draw against Ventura County on Wednesday at the Loveland Sports Park.
After building a 2-1 lead in the second half against the defending W-League champion, the
Colorado Force fell 5-2 to the Pali Blues in the first round of the W-League playoffs Saturday
night in Pacific Palisades, Calif.
The Force took a 2-1 lead in the 70th minute on a goal by Nikki Marshall, her second of the
evening.
RMAC defensive player of the week Wally Fink punches the ball away from Fort Lewis
striker Euan Purcell. (photo by George Tanner/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)
Jeff Nelson of the Colorado School of Mines was named Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
offensive player of the week for games played the weekend of Oct.
Jestina Orlando, left, fends off Cougars striker Beth West in the first half of Real
Colorado's 2-2 tie with the Colorado Force on Thursday in Loveland. (photo by George
Tanner/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)
Brianne Young scored on a free kick in the 88th minute as the Real Colorado Cougars salvaged a
2-2 tie with the Colorado Force on Thursday at the Loveland Sports Park.
The defending W-League champions, the Pali Blues, powered past the Colorado Force 3-0 on Friday
night in Pacific Palisades, Calif., clinching the Western Conference title for the second
consecutive year.
The Blues improved to 8-0-3, good for 27 points. Second-place Seattle, 3-0-6, can do no better
than 24 points.
The Colorado Force returns home for its final regular-season game, against the Vancouver
Whitecaps at 7 p.m. today at the Loveland Sports Park.
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.
Nikki Marshall and Carly Peetz, both recently invited to the pool of potential players for the
U.S. women's U-23 national team, will return to the Colorado Force for its 2009 season, and the
team will welcome two new players from the University of Nebraska.
The Force, which plays in the United Soccer Leagues' W-League, will open its season against the
Seattle Sounders on May 27 in Loveland.
Second-half substitute Brianne Pugh sprints into the Colorado Force's penalty box on
Sunday in Highlands Ranch. (photo by Tom Auclair/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)
It looked more like a hockey goal than a soccer goal.
After a corner kick by Colorado Force midfielder Cayla Deacon, Emily Pfankuch poked home a loose
ball in the goal mouth in the 66th minute of a 2-2 tie with the Real Colorado Cougars on Sunday
afternoon in Highlands Ranch.
Shay Powell returned to action Wednesday after injuring her left knee against Real
Colorado.
(photo by George Tanner/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)
The Colorado Force hopes to extend its four-match unbeaten streak when it hosts the Los Angeles
Legends at 7 p.
Today we'll take a look at the leading goal scorers for our two W-League teams in the state, the
Real Colorado Cougars and the Colorado Force.
The Force has just reached the halfway point in its W-League season. Lisa Franke scored twice on
Sunday to give the team its first victory, a 2-0 decision over Los Angeles.
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.
Nikki Marshall scored two goals as the Colorado Force kept its playoff hopes alive with a 2-1
win over the L.A. Legends on Tuesday night in Chino, Calif.
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.
Colorado Force midfielder Lisa Kosena traps a pass during the first half of her team's 3-0
victory over Vancouver on Friday night in Loveland. (photo by Tom
Auclair/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)
With a shot at the W-League playoffs on the line, the Colorado Force put it all together Friday
night.
The Colorado Force will face the defending W-League champion Pali Blues on Saturday evening at
the Stadium-By-The-Sea in Pacific Palisades, Calif., in the opening round of the W-League
playoffs.
Saturday's match marks the first playoff appearance for the Force since 1998, when the club won
the W-League's W2 national championship.
A few Colorado fans might recognize goalkeeper Chris Sharpe, but the Rapids players certainly
did on Saturday night. With Sharpe suited up for Chivas USA at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, many of
the Rapids bumped fists or shook hands or patted him on the back as they passed the Goats'
bench.
Sharpe's rights are owned by the Rapids, and he trains with the Rapids.
Force midfielder Sara Campbell controls the ball as Los Angeles defender Jenae Gibbons
closes in on Sunday in Loveland. (photo by Tom Auclair/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)
Finally, a victory.
The Colorado Force had played five matches, all in this state, but had not won a game .
Striker Lisa Franke and defender Carly Peetz scored as the Colorado Force topped the Ventura
County Fusion 2-1 on Sunday at Ventura, Calif.
The Force (2-2-6) jumped to 12 points in the W-League's Western Conference, pulling into a
fourth-place tie with the Real Colorado Cougars. If Colorado wins Tuesday against the L.
Today, The Tuesday List takes a look at the final goal-scoring totals for Colorado's two
W-League teams. Each team played 12 games in the regular season.
COLORADO FORCE
Lisa Franke, 4 goals
Nikki Marshall, 4 goals
Emmalie Pfankuch, 4 goals
Jessica Boots, 1 goal
Monica Dolinsky, 1 goal
Carly Peetz, 1 goal
Molly Thomas, 1 goal
REAL COLORADO COUGARS
Kellyn Farrell, 4 goals
Taryn Hemmings, 3 goals
Becca Mays, 2 goals
Jenna Owens, 2 goals
Brianna Pugh, 2 goals
Brittney Macdonald, 1 goal
Beth West, 1 goal
Brianne Young, 1 goal
The United Soccer Leagues has honored Nikki Marshall as W-League player of the week for her
three-goal performance in two victories by the Colorado Force.
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.
Saturday's exhibition between the University of Denver men's soccer team and Stanford has been
moved to the Colorado Rapids' practice field at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City. The
game time has been changed to 4:30 p.m., and admission will be free. Denver opens the regular
season at the Duke Classic in Durham, N.
After recording 1-0 home losses to Seattle last week, the Colorado Force and Real Colorado
Cougars prepare to meet twice in four days in W-League fixtures.
The home-and-home dates start at 7 p.m. Thursday with Hawaiian shirt night at Loveland Sports
Park; the second leg is scheduled for 1 p.
The Colorado Force has qualified for the W-League playoffs on the strength of three consecutive
victories, combined with three consecutive losses by the Seattle Sounders.
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.
