The roundabout scuffle for Front Range college soccer supremacy is difficult to nail down. There are five teams, four leagues, two states and scant chances to face one another.
In the battle involving Colorado, Denver, Air Force, Wyoming and Northern Colorado, the top-dog tag each season often comes down to an abstract argument — “we beat a team that beat a team that beat you” — or two big area tournaments.
One gathering of powers starts today in Boulder, where the Colorado Soccer Classic brings together Denver and Colorado, along with No. 10 UCLA and Purdue, for a four-game tournament at Prentup Field.
The Pioneers (5-1) face UCLA (4-1-1) today at 1:30 p.m., followed by the Buffaloes (3-3) against Purdue (3-4-1). DU goes against Purdue on Sunday at 11 a.m., with CU playing UCLA in the finale.
That DU and CU won’t face each other is no bother. In the Denver Invitational earlier this month, the Pioneers got a penalty kick goal in the 90th minute from Nicholette DiGiacomo for a 2-1 win over the Buffs.
But CU in turn has topped Wyoming (a 2-0 score) and Northern Colorado (2-0) this season, and Air Force (2-1) in a preseason game.
Both CU and DU will get a true test this weekend against highly regarded UCLA. The Bruins, an NCAA Tournament semifinalist last season, are led by U.S. national team member Sydney Leroux. The junior forward will be on the U.S. roster for a pair of games in China next month.
Colorado counters behind senior Kym Lowry, whose two goals and three assists this season lead the team. Denver is led by sophomores Kalie Vaughn (four goals, three assists) and Kaitlin Bast (four goals, two assists).
Colorado Soccer Classic
At Prentup Field, Boulder
Friday
Denver (5-1) vs. No. 10 UCLA (4-1-1), 1:30 p.m.
Colorado (3-3) vs. Purdue (3-4-1), 4 p.m.
Sunday
Denver vs. Purdue, 11 a.m.
Colorado vs. No. 10 UCLA, 1:30 p.m.
STAY ON THE COUCH
Wall-to-wall football.
Enough college football will be on TV this weekend to make your painted-face head explode. No fewer than 57 college football games will air Saturday, from 10 a.m. through to the wee hours of Sunday morning.
Six games air at 10 a.m., including Arkansas vs. upcoming CU opponent Georgia on ESPN. Nine games air at 1:30 p.m., highlighted by Air Force playing at Oklahoma on FSN.
Colorado hosts Hawaii at 1:30 p.m. on hard-to-find Fox College Sports (Comcast 414, DirecTV 617, but no Dish). Northern Colorado-Idaho State will air on Altitude at 1:30 p.m., but Colorado State’s game with Miami (Ohio) will not be televised.
And Stanford’s hosting of Wake Forest at 9:15 p.m. on ESPN2 will cap the action. The game might just end after closing time on the East Coast.
See the full schedule on page 11CC.
GET OFF THE COUCH
The races will go on.
A minor sidenote to the Fourmile Canyon fire that tore through Boulder County in recent weeks has been the canceled, postponed and rescheduled races in the area.
The Buffalo Bicycle Classic set for last weekend, a major fundraiser for CU College of Arts and Sciences scholarships, was canceled entirely.
The Boulder Marathon, Half-Marathon and 10K at the Boulder Reservoir, originally scheduled for Sunday, was moved to Oct. 3.
Fortunately for serious cyclists this weekend, the Good Sam Bike Jam will ride as scheduled on Sunday. But organizers changed the route, for safety’s sake. The 62- and 92-mile routes will now race up through Lyons to Allenspark. All five race lengths start in Lafayette at the Good Samaritan Center, the first at 6 a.m. Check for info.
AROUND TOWN
Earning that Mile High mojo.
Given the Broncos’ struggles late last season — especially in Denver — coach Josh McDaniels doesn’t expect Denver fans to automatically create a hostile environment for the visiting Seattle Seahawks in his team’s home opener. He wants his players to earn that home-field advantage.
“When we play well early at home, it’s a huge advantage, certainly, and we’re going to always focus on trying to get off to a great start and giving our fans a great deal of energy and helping them become a major factor in the game, because that’s what they were in a lot of our wins last year,” McDaniels said Thursday.
The Broncos finished 4-4 at home last season after starting 3-0. They lost their final two home games by a combined score of 64-43.
Kickoff on Sunday at Invesco Field at Mile High is at 2:05 p.m. The game airs on Fox (KDVR-31) — a real boon to Denver fans. Chargers fans in San Diego won’t have the same luxury. The Chargers-Jaguars game will be blacked out in San Diego because of poor ticket sales. Mike Chambers, The Denver Post
WHAT WE’D LIKE TO SEE
Best of state at Gates.
Now playing its 118th edition, the historic Colorado State Open is one of the oldest tennis tournaments in the country. Since 1891, the State Open has crowned winners who earn bragging rights as some of the best players in the region.
The Open runs through Sunday at Gates Tennis Center, with quarterfinals today, semis Saturday and championship matches Sunday.
Before Thursday’s matches, both open singles No. 1 seeds — former DU standout Mallory Voelker and seasoned pro Roman Borvanov of Oregon — were still alive in the brackets.
