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Marshall scores twice at Los Angeles; Force climbs into second-place tie
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 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.
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