It’s Video Game Night at Weidner Field this Saturday evening as the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC host the Tulsa Roughnecks FC. The Better Business Bureau will be sponsoring the third part of the Poster Giveaway series for the first 500 fans in attendance, in addition to being entered for a chance to win a Nintendo Switch along with a video game package.
The Switchbacks will be desperate for a return to winning ways after a narrow 1-0 defeat last weekend in Colorado Springs against high-flying Sacramento Republic FC. The loss to Sacramento Republic dropped the Switchbacks into 9th place in the USL’s Western Conference, just three points behind a Fresno FC team that’s won three consecutive matches.
“Saturday is 100% a must-win,” said Northern Irish striker Marty Maybin. “Sacramento was a must-win too…but we slipped up there, so this weekend is even more important now. We need to pick up points in every game. Saturday is a big test for us. Tulsa have some momentum now so we know we have got to take care of our business.”
Tulsa endured a brutal start to the 2018 USL regular season that saw the Roughnecks go winless through their first fifteen matches. The streak included a three-game stretch where the Roughnecks were outscored 12-1 which eventually cost Head Coach David Vaudreuil his job. Michael Nsien was appointed as the Roughnecks Head Coach on June 25th, with the Tulsa, Oklahoma native orchestrating an immediate impact as the Roughnecks recorded their first win on June 27th, defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy II 2-0 at ONEOK Field.
Two draws followed Tulsa’s win over the Galaxy II until heavy rain in Missouri postponed last Saturday’s match against Saint Louis FC at Toyota Stadium. Tulsa currently sit second from the bottom in the Western Conference, just a lone point above the Seattle Sounders FC 2.
“Tulsa will come out here ready and they’re dangerous,” said Shane Malcolm. “They’ve had a lot of draws and they could have easily had a lot of those be wins – they’ve been unlucky recently. Having said that, we have to bounce back and focus on ourselves and on our game.”
“They don’t have anything to lose,” said AJ Ajeakwa on Monday afternoon. “We are going through a phase right now with ups and downs – a bit like them. We are hungry to win and we have the right attitude. We know what we need to change and we’re working at it every day. We’re not afraid of Tulsa. If anything, they should be more worried about us coming at them and playing our best game – which we’ll do. We know we have to win this one on Saturday and we have to stay focused to do that. We have to win on Saturday. We have to win!”
A recent illness bug that impacted the Switchbacks’ preparation ahead of last Saturday’s match seems to have abated, with intense practices involving the majority of the squad taking place to start the week in Colorado Springs. “Taylor [Hunter], JJ [Tambe], and Luke [Vercollone] are all training but they need time,” confirmed Switchbacks Head Coach Steve Trittschuh. “I don’t know if Sam [Hamilton] or Kip [Colvey] will be with us Saturday – we just have to wait on those two and hope they’re able to be down here from the Rapids. It had been a while since Kip played 90 minutes, but he did good things for us against Sacramento. He did well. [Cameron] Iwasa is a very good player for Sacramento, and he didn’t do a lot all game because Kip and our defense controlled him. Sacramento had two shots on target and got one goal and really didn’t do a lot through the run of play. It was another re-start goal that went against us. Also, Nicholas Amoako came in and showed us something.”
“We focus on things we did well from Sacramento,” said central midfielder Jordan Schweitzer. “This weekend will be a fresh start for us. We know what we need to improve and how we have to up our game – we started working on that today and we’ll keep on it all week.”
Discipline has been a major concern for the Roughnecks this season, with a total of six red cards being dished out so far in 2018. Forty-two yellow cards have also been shown to Roughnecks players through their first eighteen games.
El Salvadorian Joaquin Rivas is Tulsa’s leading goal scorer, while the tremendously named Canadian, Paris Gee, has found the net twice for the Roughnecks over their last three matches.
“We have to be ready,” said Trittschuh. “This week we’re working on keeping our tempo up, pressing high, and that tempo has to stay high this weekend. All our games are must-win for us now. All are important. Right now, we need to get people healthy and move on from Sacramento. We’re still not aggressive enough in the area and that has to change for us to score. We’ve just got to keep a positive attitude and keep working this week.”
Following Saturday’s match, the Switchbacks head out of Colorado Springs where they’ll play two road games in just four days. On Wednesday, July 25th the Switchbacks face San Antonio FC at Toyota Field, before a Saturday evening showdown on July 28th against Rio Grande Valley FC at H-E-B Park.
On August 4th, the Switchbacks will return to Weidner Field as they host Oklahoma’s other USL team, the OKC Energy FC, on Back to School Night, with the first 500 fans receiving a backpack, courtesy of GE Johnson Construction Company.
It’s Video Game Night at Weidner Field this Saturday evening as the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC host the Tulsa Roughnecks FC. The Better Business Bureau will be sponsoring the third part of the Poster Giveaway series for the first 500 fans in attendance, in addition to being entered for a chance to win a Nintendo Switch along with a video game package.
The Switchbacks will be desperate for a return to winning ways after a narrow 1-0 defeat last weekend in Colorado Springs against high-flying Sacramento Republic FC. The loss to Sacramento Republic dropped the Switchbacks into 9th place in the USL’s Western Conference, just three points behind a Fresno FC team that’s won three consecutive matches.
“Saturday is 100% a must-win,” said Northern Irish striker Marty Maybin. “Sacramento was a must-win too…but we slipped up there, so this weekend is even more important now. We need to pick up points in every game. Saturday is a big test for us. Tulsa have some momentum now so we know we have got to take care of our business.”
Tulsa endured a brutal start to the 2018 USL regular season that saw the Roughnecks go winless through their first fifteen matches. The streak included a three-game stretch where the Roughnecks were outscored 12-1 which eventually cost Head Coach David Vaudreuil his job. Michael Nsien was appointed as the Roughnecks Head Coach on June 25th, with the Tulsa, Oklahoma native orchestrating an immediate impact as the Roughnecks recorded their first win on June 27th, defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy II 2-0 at ONEOK Field.
Two draws followed Tulsa’s win over the Galaxy II until heavy rain in Missouri postponed last Saturday’s match against Saint Louis FC at Toyota Stadium. Tulsa currently sit second from the bottom in the Western Conference, just a lone point above the Seattle Sounders FC 2.
“Tulsa will come out here ready and they’re dangerous,” said Shane Malcolm. “They’ve had a lot of draws and they could have easily had a lot of those be wins – they’ve been unlucky recently. Having said that, we have to bounce back and focus on ourselves and on our game.”
“They don’t have anything to lose,” said AJ Ajeakwa on Monday afternoon. “We are going through a phase right now with ups and downs – a bit like them. We are hungry to win and we have the right attitude. We know what we need to change and we’re working at it every day. We’re not afraid of Tulsa. If anything, they should be more worried about us coming at them and playing our best game – which we’ll do. We know we have to win this one on Saturday and we have to stay focused to do that. We have to win on Saturday. We have to win!”
A recent illness bug that impacted the Switchbacks’ preparation ahead of last Saturday’s match seems to have abated, with intense practices involving the majority of the squad taking place to start the week in Colorado Springs. “Taylor [Hunter], JJ [Tambe], and Luke [Vercollone] are all training but they need time,” confirmed Switchbacks Head Coach Steve Trittschuh. “I don’t know if Sam [Hamilton] or Kip [Colvey] will be with us Saturday – we just have to wait on those two and hope they’re able to be down here from the Rapids. It had been a while since Kip played 90 minutes, but he did good things for us against Sacramento. He did well. [Cameron] Iwasa is a very good player for Sacramento, and he didn’t do a lot all game because Kip and our defense controlled him. Sacramento had two shots on target and got one goal and really didn’t do a lot through the run of play. It was another re-start goal that went against us. Also, Nicholas Amoako came in and showed us something.”
“We focus on things we did well from Sacramento,” said central midfielder Jordan Schweitzer. “This weekend will be a fresh start for us. We know what we need to improve and how we have to up our game – we started working on that today and we’ll keep on it all week.”
Discipline has been a major concern for the Roughnecks this season, with a total of six red cards being dished out so far in 2018. Forty-two yellow cards have also been shown to Roughnecks players through their first eighteen games.
El Salvadorian Joaquin Rivas is Tulsa’s leading goal scorer, while the tremendously named Canadian, Paris Gee, has found the net twice for the Roughnecks over their last three matches.
“We have to be ready,” said Trittschuh. “This week we’re working on keeping our tempo up, pressing high, and that tempo has to stay high this weekend. All our games are must-win for us now. All are important. Right now, we need to get people healthy and move on from Sacramento. We’re still not aggressive enough in the area and that has to change for us to score. We’ve just got to keep a positive attitude and keep working this week.”
Following Saturday’s match, the Switchbacks head out of Colorado Springs where they’ll play two road games in just four days. On Wednesday, July 25th the Switchbacks face San Antonio FC at Toyota Field, before a Saturday evening showdown on July 28th against Rio Grande Valley FC at H-E-B Park.
On August 4th, the Switchbacks will return to Weidner Field as they host Oklahoma’s other USL team, the OKC Energy FC, on Back to School Night, with the first 500 fans receiving a backpack, courtesy of GE Johnson Construction Company.
