Off the back of the Colorado Springs Switchbacks’ most impressive result of the season comes a trip to one of North America’s most diverse and beautiful cities: Vancouver, British Columbia.
Third in the USL’s Western Conference, the Switchbacks produced a scintillating offensive display last Saturday evening as they ran away 3-0 victors over the Los Angeles Galaxy II in front of a record crowd at Switchbacks Stadium. Propelled by a brilliant brace by forward Mike Seth, the Switchbacks matched their highest scoring offensive output of the season and reached the three-goal mark for the first time since a May 21st 3-1 victory over Arizona United SC.
After his goal-scoring exploits Seth was named a starter on the USL’s Team of the Week, while Switchbacks captain Luke Vercollone made the bench. Seth narrowly missed out on the award for USL Player of the Week, after a national media poll chose the Charlotte Independence’s Enzo Martinez – who himself scored twice in a wild 3-2 victory against FC Cincinnati.
“It was one of our best performances of the season against the Galaxy II,” said Switchbacks Assistant Head Coach Wolde Harris, who took charge of Saturday’s match as Head Coach Steve Trittschuh served a sideline suspension. “We’ve had games this season where we’ve done as well as we did on Saturday, but not for the entire 90 minutes. We deserved the win after all the work the players have put in.”
“That’s how we know we can play,” said Head Coach Steve Trittschuh when asked about the performance against the Galaxy II. “I think we’ve performed better this season, but tactically we did exactly what we’ve been stressing to the players.”
“I think the win against L.A. and our home game against Saint Louis F.C. are our two best games this season simply because we executed both in defense and attack,” said Switchbacks winger Saeed Robinson after the win against the Galaxy II that saw the Jamaican speedster beautifully assist Mike Seth’s opening goal. “We kept clean sheets in those games and we scored multiple goals.”
Sitting just a point behind the Switchbacks in the USL’s Western Conference, the Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 are desperate for a playoff berth after a highly disappointing 2015 USL season that saw WFC2 finish twelve points below the playoff cut line.
The Whitecaps 2 have managed to maintain their high-flying standing in the Western Conference despite having registered just one win in the last six weeks. Monday saw WFC2 surrender a second half equalizer to their Pacific Northwest rivals, the Seattle Sounders FC 2, in a back-and- forth contest that eventually finished 2-2 in British Columbia as the Sounders 2 were reduced to 10-men.
Monday’s match against the Sounders 2 was played 34 miles southwest of downtown Vancouver at McLeod Athletic Park in Langley, B.C. while Sunday’s contest against the visiting Switchbacks will take place at WFC2’s more accustomed home arena, Thunderbird Stadium on the campus of the University of British Columbia.
WFC2 striker Kyle Greig, who assisted teammate Marco Bustos’ third-minute goal against the Sounders 2, received his eighth yellow card of the season in the 57th minute of Monday’s match and will be suspended for the Switchbacks’ visit on Sunday. Third in minutes-played for the Whitecaps 2 in 2016, Greig has been vital to Vancouver’s success and his absence could prove vital to Sunday’s outcome as the Wisconsin native leads WFC2 in goals (11) and is second on the assist chart (3).
Canadian forward Daniel Haber will be asked to provide goals in Greig’s absence, while the aforementioned Marco Bustos will be looking to build on a fine goal-scoring run that saw him net both WFC2 goals in Monday’s 2-2 tie against the Sounders 2.
Defensively the Whitecaps 2 are marshaled by Dutch center back Sem de Wit, who partnered former Norwegian international Pa-Modou Kah in Monday’s tie. Although not blessed with tremendous pace, the heart of WFC2’s defense boasts a wealth of experience that will be vital to stopping a resurgent Switchbacks offense.
A player who could be tasked with unlocking Vancouver’s defense is versatile Switchbacks attacker Conor Doyle. On-loan from MLS’s Colorado Rapids, Doyle has slotted seamlessly into the Switchbacks lineup and proved his versatility after starting in multiple positions.
After missing Saturday’s win against the Galaxy II, Doyle returned to Switchbacks practice ahead of Sunday’s showdown in British Columbia. “I’m excited to be back with this great group of guys and playing games again,” said Doyle. “Vancouver are a good team and they’re better at home. It should be a tough test for us, but we’ll come out firing and hopefully that gets us the win.”
With just six points separating the Western Conference’s top-5 teams and only three regular season games remaining for the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, a victory in Vancouver could prove to be a priceless step towards securing a home playoff game.
“The top 4 are all desperate for points,” said Head Coach Steve Trittschuh. “Vancouver want to win against us, and we don’t know exactly who we will face as their first-team [MLS’ Vancouver Whitecaps] play Saturday night. We need to take care of what they do and we’ve had a whole week to concentrate on them. We’ve competed in every game and I don’t see any team that’s better than us.”
A win on Sunday could see the Switchbacks vault into second place in the Western Conference, with only two games to follow this weekend’s contest. September 17th sees the final regular season game of 2016 at Switchbacks Stadium as the Switchbacks take on the Seattle Sounders 2. Seven days later the Switchbacks finish their campaign in Irvine, California against the Orange County Blues.
Three Switchbacks goals against the Galaxy II rightly dominated the post-match headlines last weekend, but it was the intensity of the Switchbacks’ play that had the record crowd in attendance abuzz. Pressing Los Dos from the opening whistle, the Switchbacks were relentless in their work off the ball – and that hustle was epitomized by the defensive contribution of Saeed Robinson.
Tasked with providing service to the Switchbacks’ attack, Robinson often doubled- back to assist left back Josh Suggs with his defensive duties. Robinson, when asked about the challenge of Sunday’s fixture against the Whitecaps 2, was quick to reference the spirit with which the Switchbacks performed last weekend: “It’s never easy getting three points on the road, but we can do it if we bring the same energy from the win against the Galaxy II and follow our game plan and take our chances.”
Off the back of the Colorado Springs Switchbacks’ most impressive result of the season comes a trip to one of North America’s most diverse and beautiful cities: Vancouver, British Columbia.
Third in the USL’s Western Conference, the Switchbacks produced a scintillating offensive display last Saturday evening as they ran away 3-0 victors over the Los Angeles Galaxy II in front of a record crowd at Switchbacks Stadium. Propelled by a brilliant brace by forward Mike Seth, the Switchbacks matched their highest scoring offensive output of the season and reached the three-goal mark for the first time since a May 21st 3-1 victory over Arizona United SC.
After his goal-scoring exploits Seth was named a starter on the USL’s Team of the Week, while Switchbacks captain Luke Vercollone made the bench. Seth narrowly missed out on the award for USL Player of the Week, after a national media poll chose the Charlotte Independence’s Enzo Martinez – who himself scored twice in a wild 3-2 victory against FC Cincinnati.
“It was one of our best performances of the season against the Galaxy II,” said Switchbacks Assistant Head Coach Wolde Harris, who took charge of Saturday’s match as Head Coach Steve Trittschuh served a sideline suspension. “We’ve had games this season where we’ve done as well as we did on Saturday, but not for the entire 90 minutes. We deserved the win after all the work the players have put in.”
“That’s how we know we can play,” said Head Coach Steve Trittschuh when asked about the performance against the Galaxy II. “I think we’ve performed better this season, but tactically we did exactly what we’ve been stressing to the players.”
“I think the win against L.A. and our home game against Saint Louis F.C. are our two best games this season simply because we executed both in defense and attack,” said Switchbacks winger Saeed Robinson after the win against the Galaxy II that saw the Jamaican speedster beautifully assist Mike Seth’s opening goal. “We kept clean sheets in those games and we scored multiple goals.”
Sitting just a point behind the Switchbacks in the USL’s Western Conference, the Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 are desperate for a playoff berth after a highly disappointing 2015 USL season that saw WFC2 finish twelve points below the playoff cut line.
The Whitecaps 2 have managed to maintain their high-flying standing in the Western Conference despite having registered just one win in the last six weeks. Monday saw WFC2 surrender a second half equalizer to their Pacific Northwest rivals, the Seattle Sounders FC 2, in a back-and- forth contest that eventually finished 2-2 in British Columbia as the Sounders 2 were reduced to 10-men.
Monday’s match against the Sounders 2 was played 34 miles southwest of downtown Vancouver at McLeod Athletic Park in Langley, B.C. while Sunday’s contest against the visiting Switchbacks will take place at WFC2’s more accustomed home arena, Thunderbird Stadium on the campus of the University of British Columbia.
WFC2 striker Kyle Greig, who assisted teammate Marco Bustos’ third-minute goal against the Sounders 2, received his eighth yellow card of the season in the 57th minute of Monday’s match and will be suspended for the Switchbacks’ visit on Sunday. Third in minutes-played for the Whitecaps 2 in 2016, Greig has been vital to Vancouver’s success and his absence could prove vital to Sunday’s outcome as the Wisconsin native leads WFC2 in goals (11) and is second on the assist chart (3).
Canadian forward Daniel Haber will be asked to provide goals in Greig’s absence, while the aforementioned Marco Bustos will be looking to build on a fine goal-scoring run that saw him net both WFC2 goals in Monday’s 2-2 tie against the Sounders 2.
Defensively the Whitecaps 2 are marshaled by Dutch center back Sem de Wit, who partnered former Norwegian international Pa-Modou Kah in Monday’s tie. Although not blessed with tremendous pace, the heart of WFC2’s defense boasts a wealth of experience that will be vital to stopping a resurgent Switchbacks offense.
A player who could be tasked with unlocking Vancouver’s defense is versatile Switchbacks attacker Conor Doyle. On-loan from MLS’s Colorado Rapids, Doyle has slotted seamlessly into the Switchbacks lineup and proved his versatility after starting in multiple positions.
After missing Saturday’s win against the Galaxy II, Doyle returned to Switchbacks practice ahead of Sunday’s showdown in British Columbia. “I’m excited to be back with this great group of guys and playing games again,” said Doyle. “Vancouver are a good team and they’re better at home. It should be a tough test for us, but we’ll come out firing and hopefully that gets us the win.”
With just six points separating the Western Conference’s top-5 teams and only three regular season games remaining for the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, a victory in Vancouver could prove to be a priceless step towards securing a home playoff game.
“The top 4 are all desperate for points,” said Head Coach Steve Trittschuh. “Vancouver want to win against us, and we don’t know exactly who we will face as their first-team [MLS’ Vancouver Whitecaps] play Saturday night. We need to take care of what they do and we’ve had a whole week to concentrate on them. We’ve competed in every game and I don’t see any team that’s better than us.”
A win on Sunday could see the Switchbacks vault into second place in the Western Conference, with only two games to follow this weekend’s contest. September 17th sees the final regular season game of 2016 at Switchbacks Stadium as the Switchbacks take on the Seattle Sounders 2. Seven days later the Switchbacks finish their campaign in Irvine, California against the Orange County Blues.
Three Switchbacks goals against the Galaxy II rightly dominated the post-match headlines last weekend, but it was the intensity of the Switchbacks’ play that had the record crowd in attendance abuzz. Pressing Los Dos from the opening whistle, the Switchbacks were relentless in their work off the ball – and that hustle was epitomized by the defensive contribution of Saeed Robinson.
Tasked with providing service to the Switchbacks’ attack, Robinson often doubled- back to assist left back Josh Suggs with his defensive duties. Robinson, when asked about the challenge of Sunday’s fixture against the Whitecaps 2, was quick to reference the spirit with which the Switchbacks performed last weekend: “It’s never easy getting three points on the road, but we can do it if we bring the same energy from the win against the Galaxy II and follow our game plan and take our chances.”