Two teams desperate for three points square off this Saturday evening at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs as the Switchbacks FC host the Seattle Sounders FC 2 on 90’s Night where the first 500 fans will receive a POGS Giveaway, courtesy of Weidner Apartment Homes.
Both the Sounders 2 and Switchbacks have so far played 20 matches in the 2017 USL campaign, with the Switchbacks occupying 7th position at the time of writing – one point and one place above the 8th-placed Sounders 2. The top eight in the Western Conference will make the playoffs, but due to wildly uneven scheduling, 9th-place Orange County SC have a whopping six games in hand on the two clubs who currently occupy the last two playoff positions. Just two points behind the Switchbacks, OC will host the Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 on Saturday before making a mid-week trip to the StubHub Center to take on the Los Angeles Galaxy II next Wednesday.
Winless in their last four matches, the Switchbacks hosted Saturday’s opponents on April 29th in a wild game that saw five goals and the home team finish the match with ten men. Irvin Parra started the scoring for S2 with a penalty-kick in freezing conditions in Colorado Springs before a second-half brace from Felix Chenkam overcame goals from Switchbacks full back Jordan Burt and on-loan midfielder Ricardo Perez.
Burt was named as a starter on the USL Team of the Week after scoring twice last Saturday as the Switchbacks lost 4-3 to the Oklahoma City Energy FC at Taft Field in Oklahoma.
“I’m just sticking to the day-in, day-out work,” said Burt when asked about his place on the Team of the Week – the second such award of 2017 for right back Burt. “It’s about the team and we’ve got to get things going. It will be a big game on Saturday against Seattle and we need to bring back our focus to our game. I’m looking forward to being back at home and in front of our fans. Coming home helps – we always play well at home so hopefully we can continue to press and play at our tempo.”
“It’s not like we’ve been playing badly. In a lot of moments, we’ve been doing the right thing, but the simplest mistakes have led to us giving up goals,” said Switchbacks Head Coach Steve Trittschuh. “Changing the lineup this weekend is a possibility. Davy [Armstrong] is almost back so that’s a good lift for everyone. He looks good in practice and I’m very glad for him that he’s involved. We have to take care of our game and not worry about Seattle. They’ve been playing younger guys and the Sounders have an MLS game this weekend – but none of that matters: we’ve simply got to show up and play.”
Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders will travel to Carson, California to play the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday as the Sounders look to keep their grip on a 2017 MLS Cup Playoff place.
S2 have not won in USL play since a 2-0 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 on July 1st. Four consecutive losses have S2 Head Coach Ezra Hendrickson’s men hovering just above the aforementioned 2017 USL Playoffs cut-line. Former Duke Blue Devil’s standout Zach Mathers is S2’s leader in goals-scored in 2017 with six, while ever-dangerous striker Irvin Parra has netted five times this season.
S2 will be without midfielder Ray Saari who leads S2’s stat-chart in assists and remains his team’s most influential player. Saari is second in matches-started and minutes-played to Brian Nana-Sinkam, a defender who perfected his trade as a standout at Stanford University, playing under Head Coach Jeremy Gunn – who himself made his coaching name at Durango, Colorado’s Fort Lewis College.
“We have to come out and be aggressive and press Seattle and go after them,” said Luke Vercollone after a midday training session at the Air Force Academy. “It means a lot to be back here. We play well at home and we know we need to win. We’ve put in a good week of practice so far so I’m feeling good about this weekend. We’ve put the past couple results behind us and we’re ready to get back on track.”
“There have been seven games this season – SEVEN! – where we’ve had the lead and ended up tying or losing,” said Trittschuh. “That’s just not good enough. It happened in Arizona and of course in Oklahoma and it must stop. Being home this weekend against Seattle will help, but only if we eliminate our mistakes. It’s a must – if we don’t get two wins at home we can almost kiss the playoffs goodbye.”
S2 have so far used 38 players in the 2017 USL season – clearly showing the immense depth afforded to MLS 2 teams. Seattle-native David Olsen is another player the Switchbacks will have to mark closely on Saturday, with the 21-year-old striker having accounted for four goals in his nineteen appearances this season. Olsen was the scorer of S2’s most recent goal – in a 2-1 loss at the Starfire Sports Complex on July 16th to Orange County SC.
“We’ve got to show up and play our best in front of our fans. It’s our fortress,” said striker Jack Jones. “Everyone talks about the altitude, and that’s a part of it, but it’s on us and about our game – we’ve got to bring the fire. We need to show not just that we can get back-to-back wins at home, but that we’re one of the best teams in this league. It’s crunch-time now.”
Next Saturday the Switchbacks will return to Weidner Field for a showdown against a struggling Portland Timbers 2 side, with Colorado Technical University sponsoring a Kids Backpack Giveaway.
The Switchbacks will conclude their three-match 2017 regular season series against the Sounders 2 on September 16th at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Washington.
Tickets for Saturday's match against S2 start at just $12 and are available here.
Two teams desperate for three points square off this Saturday evening at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs as the Switchbacks FC host the Seattle Sounders FC 2 on 90’s Night where the first 500 fans will receive a POGS Giveaway, courtesy of Weidner Apartment Homes.
Both the Sounders 2 and Switchbacks have so far played 20 matches in the 2017 USL campaign, with the Switchbacks occupying 7th position at the time of writing – one point and one place above the 8th-placed Sounders 2. The top eight in the Western Conference will make the playoffs, but due to wildly uneven scheduling, 9th-place Orange County SC have a whopping six games in hand on the two clubs who currently occupy the last two playoff positions. Just two points behind the Switchbacks, OC will host the Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 on Saturday before making a mid-week trip to the StubHub Center to take on the Los Angeles Galaxy II next Wednesday.
Winless in their last four matches, the Switchbacks hosted Saturday’s opponents on April 29th in a wild game that saw five goals and the home team finish the match with ten men. Irvin Parra started the scoring for S2 with a penalty-kick in freezing conditions in Colorado Springs before a second-half brace from Felix Chenkam overcame goals from Switchbacks full back Jordan Burt and on-loan midfielder Ricardo Perez.
Burt was named as a starter on the USL Team of the Week after scoring twice last Saturday as the Switchbacks lost 4-3 to the Oklahoma City Energy FC at Taft Field in Oklahoma.
“I’m just sticking to the day-in, day-out work,” said Burt when asked about his place on the Team of the Week – the second such award of 2017 for right back Burt. “It’s about the team and we’ve got to get things going. It will be a big game on Saturday against Seattle and we need to bring back our focus to our game. I’m looking forward to being back at home and in front of our fans. Coming home helps – we always play well at home so hopefully we can continue to press and play at our tempo.”
“It’s not like we’ve been playing badly. In a lot of moments, we’ve been doing the right thing, but the simplest mistakes have led to us giving up goals,” said Switchbacks Head Coach Steve Trittschuh. “Changing the lineup this weekend is a possibility. Davy [Armstrong] is almost back so that’s a good lift for everyone. He looks good in practice and I’m very glad for him that he’s involved. We have to take care of our game and not worry about Seattle. They’ve been playing younger guys and the Sounders have an MLS game this weekend – but none of that matters: we’ve simply got to show up and play.”
Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders will travel to Carson, California to play the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday as the Sounders look to keep their grip on a 2017 MLS Cup Playoff place.
S2 have not won in USL play since a 2-0 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 on July 1st. Four consecutive losses have S2 Head Coach Ezra Hendrickson’s men hovering just above the aforementioned 2017 USL Playoffs cut-line. Former Duke Blue Devil’s standout Zach Mathers is S2’s leader in goals-scored in 2017 with six, while ever-dangerous striker Irvin Parra has netted five times this season.
S2 will be without midfielder Ray Saari who leads S2’s stat-chart in assists and remains his team’s most influential player. Saari is second in matches-started and minutes-played to Brian Nana-Sinkam, a defender who perfected his trade as a standout at Stanford University, playing under Head Coach Jeremy Gunn – who himself made his coaching name at Durango, Colorado’s Fort Lewis College.
“We have to come out and be aggressive and press Seattle and go after them,” said Luke Vercollone after a midday training session at the Air Force Academy. “It means a lot to be back here. We play well at home and we know we need to win. We’ve put in a good week of practice so far so I’m feeling good about this weekend. We’ve put the past couple results behind us and we’re ready to get back on track.”
“There have been seven games this season – SEVEN! – where we’ve had the lead and ended up tying or losing,” said Trittschuh. “That’s just not good enough. It happened in Arizona and of course in Oklahoma and it must stop. Being home this weekend against Seattle will help, but only if we eliminate our mistakes. It’s a must – if we don’t get two wins at home we can almost kiss the playoffs goodbye.”
S2 have so far used 38 players in the 2017 USL season – clearly showing the immense depth afforded to MLS 2 teams. Seattle-native David Olsen is another player the Switchbacks will have to mark closely on Saturday, with the 21-year-old striker having accounted for four goals in his nineteen appearances this season. Olsen was the scorer of S2’s most recent goal – in a 2-1 loss at the Starfire Sports Complex on July 16th to Orange County SC.
“We’ve got to show up and play our best in front of our fans. It’s our fortress,” said striker Jack Jones. “Everyone talks about the altitude, and that’s a part of it, but it’s on us and about our game – we’ve got to bring the fire. We need to show not just that we can get back-to-back wins at home, but that we’re one of the best teams in this league. It’s crunch-time now.”
Next Saturday the Switchbacks will return to Weidner Field for a showdown against a struggling Portland Timbers 2 side, with Colorado Technical University sponsoring a Kids Backpack Giveaway.
The Switchbacks will conclude their three-match 2017 regular season series against the Sounders 2 on September 16th at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Washington.
Tickets for Saturday’s match against S2 start at just $12 and are available here.
