It was an exciting night for soccer in Colorado as the Women’s United Premier Soccer League (WUPSL) had their opening match as FC Boulder and Colorado
It was an exciting night for soccer in Colorado as the Women’s United Premier Soccer League (WUPSL) had their opening match as FC Boulder and Colorado Rush faced off.
Even though this league is new to Colorado, Boulder has been playing together for four years now and are very comfortable playing together as a team. They have a deep bench and a load of talent on their squad. Rush on the other hand are far less experienced playing together but are by no means short on talent.
Boulders experience showed in the first half as they were able to move the ball smoothly all over the field and had Rush on their heels in the early stages of the match. After the first twenty minutes Rush settled in and started to get some pressure on the Boulder back line and generate some of their own chances.
As opening matches go, it doesn’t get much better than this one. The teams were evenly match and it was a high quality brand of soccer being played. Boulder was able to edge out a pair of goals in the second half but the game felt much closer.
WUPSL National Director Don Harmon was kind enough to share some of his thoughts about the league and opening match.
How do you feel like the first WUPSL match went and what’s the goal with this league?
The game went really well and was entertaining as both teams had chances to score. I was pleased to see the two talented teams on the field playing in a highly competitive game. It’s an opportunity many people have been working towards for a very long time.
The league has many of the same goals as the UPSL, connect American soccer, provide professional development for players by implementing higher standards at a cost that allows all economical statuses an opportunity to participate.
FC Boulder has been playing together before this league for a while correct?
FC Boulder has been providing a team for the women’s program over the last 4 years. There is a strong core group of players who have been with the team throughout those years.
The UPSL has grown substantially after the first season, do you expect the WUPSL to do the same?
WUPSL is hopeful that with some media and promotion of the WUPSL opportunity that more players and teams will emerge in our market. Currently Colorado has a well established pool of extremely talented players. WUPSL is looking for more players who are available and desiring to make playing at higher level a priority. Players will be able to join us and find teams to play on because one of the big advantages of UPSL being a partner of the league is that we have the infrastructure to provide more teams through the same ownership. Currently we haven’t found enough players at this level to support more teams.
