REAL COLORADO AWAY PREVIEW

June 24, 2007 - Vancouver Whitecaps FC women continue their Colorado road trip on Monday evening when they visit Real Colorado Cougars.

Bob Birarda’s side made a fine start to the four-game road stint after recording a 4-1 victory at Fort Collins Force on Friday evening. They now prepare for the first of two away meetings with the Cougars, with Vancouver following Monday’s game by visiting Mile High Edge on Wednesday before taking on the Arapahoe County-based outfit again on June 30. The 3,000-seat Shea Stadium in Littleton, Colorado will be the venue for both games with the Cougars, who are under the direction of a new head coach in Brian Haynes.

Having not seen the make-up of the current Cougars side, Birarda admits Monday’s game will be a venture into the unknown. “When we play games two, three and four of our road trip, we will have not seen these teams play, so we basically know nothing about them,” he told whitecapsfc.com. “Real Colorado have a new coach, which usually means a new perspective from a team point of view. They’ve had a rough start and that is probably because they’ve been coming to grips with a new style of play.”

Real Colorado have indeed struggled this season, as Haynes’ side recorded just two wins from their opening six games in the W-League Western Conference. Four of those contests were played at home, with the Cougars claiming maximum points on one occasion after a 2-0 result against state rivals Fort Collins on May 30. Their final two regular-season games at Shea Stadium come against the Whitecaps, and Haynes is sure to want victories over Vancouver before his side conclude their schedule with four matches on the road next month.

Though Real Colorado have struggled this term, Birarda expects his side to have a tough encounter with the Cougars. “The San Diego coach (Elio Bello) thought they were the most talented of the Colorado teams, so I don’t expect it to be easy at all,” he said.

After meeting twice on the road, the Whitecaps will face Real Colorado one more time at Swangard Stadium on July 21. The game will be the final regular-season contest for both clubs in 2007.

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