REAL COLORADO COUGARS PREVIEW

July 21, 2007 - Vancouver Whitecaps FC women conclude their 2007 season when they host Real Colorado Cougars on Saturday.

The Swangard Stadium clash will be the third meeting between the two Western Conference rivals this season and the final game for both clubs this year.

After suffering costly defeats to San Diego Sunwaves and Seattle Crossfire Sounders last week, Bob Birarda's side were officially eliminated from the W-League playoffs before Saturday's game. Seattle's 3-1 win over Real Colorado on Thursday and San Diego's 5-2 victory over Fort Collins Force on Friday meant the Whitecaps cannot finish in a playoff position, as the top two teams in the Western Conference advance to the post season.

After recording four straight victories last month, the Whitecaps have gone winless in their last four games and Birada admits the recent run of matches have taken its toll on his team. “After Saturday, we gave the players a couple of days off,” he said. “It’s been such a long haul that the players were shattered physically and emotionally through the full run of seven games in 22 days in six different cities. We had a social thing together this week to stay connected. We also had some individual discussions with some players through the last few days. Right now, it’s just about getting energy back and trying to feel good about ourselves and have fun playing the game this week.”

Regardless of the situation, a win over the Cougars will be a positive ending to what has been a challenging season for the Whitecaps. They should feel confident of claiming all three points after beating Real Colorado 3-1 on June 25 before drawing 1-1 with Brian Haynes’ side in the final game of their recent four-game road trip to Colorado. “There’s a lot of players and staff here who have pride,” Birarda said. “We wanted to accomplish a lot this year, but it’s been a really tough challenge in the last couple of weeks to try and find the energy to keep going.”

Like their Colorado counterparts in Fort Collins and Mile High Edge, the Cougars were already eliminated from this season’s playoffs before the Arapahoe County-based club prepared for a two-game road trip to the Pacific Northwest.

With nothing to lose at this stage of the campaign, Birarda thinks Real Colorado could prove to be a tough opponent. “They’re a talented group,” he said. “They are well organized and well coached, so there’s no doubt that they’ve got something. Going into the season, teams like Real Colorado don’t usually expect to make the playoffs, so it’s probably not devastating for them to miss out on the post season. They will be just as motivated as they were at the beginning of the season to get results, so I’m sure they’ll enjoy the challenge of doing something to Seattle and then doing something to us as well.”

Saturday’s game at Swangard Stadium kicks off at 4:00 p.m. Single game tickets start at just $16 and are available by calling Ticketmaster at 604.280.4400 or visiting whitecapsfc.com. For more information on Whitecaps ticket packages and group rates, please call 604.669.WAVE (9283) or visit our tickets page.

You can also watch Saturday’s game between the Whitecaps women and Real Colorado live on USLlive.com or on Shaw Cable. Check your local listings for time and availability.

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