The Province from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada • 14

THE PROVINCE Friday, August 1, 2003 A49c ks' late By Steve Ewen Sports Reporter show Dick McCormick is either absurdly honest or creatively cunning. The Seattle Sounders coach insisted Thursday that his team has almost no shot at beating the Vancouver Whitecaps when the women's soccer teams square off Saturday (7 p.m.) at Swangard Stadium for a berth in next week's W-League final four. History would disagree, considering that the Sounders dumped the Whitecaps 3-1 in the season opener at Swangard and then EDMONTON 31 OTTAWA 26 By Matthew Sekeres CanWest News Service OTTAWA It was the Ottawa Renegades' third consecutive loss. It didn't need to be. The Renegades fell 31-26 to the i Edmonton Eskimos Thursday night, but, in the words of Ottawa quarterback Kerry Joseph, this defeat was more difficult to digest than the previous two blowouts because opportunities abounded for the home side.

Ottawa (2-5) imploded in the fourth quarter and had to settle for four field goals three of them from short range by Lawrence Tynes. When late chances for redemption presented themselves, the Renegades missed those also. There was, for example, Chandler Smith's near interception on the Eskimos' final drive. Had Smith caught the ball, he likely would have run to the end zone for a "I dropped a game-winner," he said. "I was expecting the ball.

I even read the route, so I was able to get a jump on the ball. "I saw the rotation of the spiral, but it was coming faster than I thought. It went right Dast mv hands tJ Kj 1 lost the next three games to by an aggregate 4-1 margin. Whether McCormick is saying what he really thinks, or trying to get into the heads of both his side and Vancouver, is the real question. "They're so much stronger than us when they have their whole team," McCormick said of the Whitecaps, who won't be missing any players to national team commitments Saturday, unlike a good chunk of the regular season.

"We have a very little chance. We're still going to play the game, though. Put it to you this way if the girls were getting a big cash bonus for a win they wouldn't have gone out and spent the money already." His argument does have some legs. Vancouver outshot Seattle 87-36 in the four games, including 28-5 in that opening loss. Of course, you could flip that around and say that Vancouver (10-1-1 in the regular season) hasn't been able to finish against Seattle (8-3-1) and that may be playing on their minds.

As well, the Sounders are one of the few teams that hasn't benefitted from key Whitecaps being absent. Midfielder Andrea Neil, the Canadian national captain, played all four games versus Seattle, while phenom forward Kara Lang and goalkeeper Erin McLeod got into three apiece. "We've been preparing for this game all season, because we knew that it was going to be them," said Neil. "Then again, they've been preparing for us." McCormick did say that part of his preparation would be switching to a bigger lineup, to better handle the likes of Lang and Phebe Trotman up front. The coach wouldn't give out much else, though, deciding to stick with his underdog mantra.

"I can't say we don't have a chance," he said. "We'll come and play. We'll have to stay with them early. They come out with a boat load of energy." Fresh off a three-game roadswing, the Whitecap men take on the Cincinnati River-hawks tonight at Swangard (7 p.m.) before heading off for another three-game trip. ana Douncea on my cnest.

There was also the TD pass that bounced off D.J. Flick's facemask after being deflected. If Flick had managed to catch the ball, the Renegades would only have needed a field goal, not a touchdown, on their last, desperate possession. Speaking of that campaign, it certainly gave the announced crowd of 21,200 at Frank Clair Stadium its money's worth. Joseph drove the Renegades 67 yards before his final pass was intercepted by Shannon Garrett at the three-yard line.

"We knew the clock was against us," said Joseph, who went 23-for-36 for 316 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. "We I I i si I I 11 Sn I fcit" i iii'i n'ii i i i nin liii ifiliiiliii iiv-" i i ntit juot a cuupiL ui piaya away. This one is tougher." Edmonton (4-3) scored 17 fourth-quarter points and erased an early 13-point deficit en route to a much needed win. The Ottawa Citizen STATISTICS, Page A37 Rlc Ernst The Province Sasha Andrews (left) and Martina Holan at practise for the big game against Seattle..