The Vancouver Whitecaps snapped a tie in the 89th minute to topple the Colorado Force 2-1 on
Sunday afternoon.
All of Sunday's scoring occurred in the final 20 minutes. After a scoreless first half,
Vancouver tallied the game's first goal in the 70th minute off of a free kick. The ball was played
into the box where defender Martina Franko, a veteran who played for the WPS Los Angeles Sol last
season, headed the ball into the top right corner of the goal past Force keeper Maria Del
Guercio.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.Â
(photo by Jonathan Ingraham/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)
Â
Mother Nature gave them lemons.
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)
Â
Finally, a victory.
The Colorado Force had played five matches, all in this state, but had not won a game .
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.
