Saturday evening sees the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC travel to California’s capital city in need of three points to keep their 2017 USL Playoff hopes alive against Sacramento Republic FC.
In 7th place in the USL’s Western Conference at the time of writing, the Switchbacks are holding their playoff position by three points over Phoenix Rising FC. The Seattle Sounders FC 2 and Orange County FC are both four points behind the Switchbacks and each club has games-in-hand over Colorado Springs as the 2017 season ticks down to its final two months.
Phoenix Rising defeated Sacramento Republic 3-1 on Saturday evening in Arizona, as the Switchbacks enjoyed their off-week in the altitude of Colorado Springs. “I believe we can do it,” said Switchbacks Head Coach Steve Trittschuh when asked about his team’s playoff chances. “Our practice has been two weeks of just preparing for Sacramento. The guys believe we can do it and the training has been fantastic. We’re going to go there and do it – we’re going to go to Sacramento and get three points – it all starts this weekend.”
“We have to bring the intensity – Sacramento are a good team, especially at home,” said Masta Kacher. “It’s not impossible at all for us to win there. We have to go and take a higher intensity with us. If we have that it will be key. We’ve put some good work in training this last week. The time to sit back and think about our game has been helpful but now we must get our focus back.”
Trevin Caesar jumped into Sacramento’s goal-scoring lead after a 50th-minute strike in the loss against Phoenix Rising. Caesar’s seventh goal of 2017 sees the Trinidad and Tobago international lead teammate Tyler Blackwood by a lone goal on the stat-chart. Forward duo Sammy Ochoa and Wilson Kneeshaw are tied with five goals apiece. Former Wake Forest University Demon Deacon Hayden Partain opened the scoring in Sacramento Republic’s 2-1 loss at Papa Murphy’s Park on August 19th to Western Conference high-flyers Reno 1868 FC.
Caesar will be absent from Sacramento’s lineup this weekend after being called into the Trinidad and Tobago national team for The Soca Warriors’ two World Cup Qualifiers. On September 1st T&T host Honduras at Ato Boldin Stadium in Couva. Tuesday, September 5th will see Caesar and his countrymen take on Panama at the Estadio Rommel Fernández in Panama City as T&T look to ignite a campaign that sees them currently sitting at the very bottom of the CONCACAF table ahead of next summer’s World Cup in Russia.
Sacramento Republic defender Emrah Klimenta will also be out of action for the visit of the Switchbacks on Saturday as the 26-year-old will be representing his native Montenegro in two UEFA World Cup qualifiers. Second in Group E of UEFA qualification, Montenegro will face off against Kazakhstan on September 1st at the Astana Arena in the Kazakh capital before hosting Romania just three days later at the Podgorica City Stadium in Montenegro.
“Sacramento still have a quality team – even without those two,” warned Trittschuh. “But they haven’t been playing their best in the last few weeks. We’ve had two weeks to prepare just for them and we’ll go there with the ambition of winning. The week off has been great. We’ve brought guys in to have a look at. The intensity and quality of training has been very high. I’ve been preaching to the guys that they’ve got to be putting all negative thoughts and speech out of our minds and they’ve done a great job of doing that.”
Currently in 5th place in the USL’s Western Conference – just two points ahead of the Switchbacks – Sacramento Republic are winless since a 1-0 victory over the Portland Timbers 2 on August 13th at Providence Park in Oregon. Sacramento’s offense has shown signs of the explosive nature that saw the Republic FC finish the 2016 regular season atop the Western Conference table. A 4-0 win on April 1st against Orange County SC at Papa Murphy’s Park helped start Sacramento’s season on a high, but they were unable to reach those free-scoring ways until a rampant 6-2 victory over Rio Grande Valley FC on June 21st.
“They have dangerous players,” said midfielder Eddy Prugh. “It’s a tough place to play with a lot of people. It’s down to that time to see who’s got the bone marrow for the challenge. Who’s got the strength for the fight? At this time of the season, you see who’s got the character to scrap for those points. If we do make the playoffs we’ve got as good a chance as any team. We’re aware of our situation but we’re not in desperation-time yet.”
Saturday will be the first meeting of 2017 between the Switchbacks and Sacramento Republic FC. The Switchbacks play their final regular season match at Weidner Field against Sacramento Republic on October 7th on Oktoberfest Fan Appreciation Night, presented by Budweiser.
“Sacramento are just a good team,” said Conner Bevans. “You look around the entire field and every player they have is solid. They won’t take us lightly. I’ve been part of a team with Kitsap [Pumas] in the U.S. Open Cup last year that beat them 3-1 so I know it’s possible to win there. In the week off we’ve been able to get good rest and recovery. We’ve put in a lot of work so it was good to have that little break. The rest of the season will be good for us with one game per week – we’ll have time to prepare and work for each opponent.”
After Saturday’s match at Papa Murphy’s Park, the Switchbacks will return to Colorado Springs to face Phoenix Rising at Weidner Field on September 9th. The first 500 fans in attendance will receive the 5th and final section of the Poster Giveaway series, courtesy of Accelerated Wealth. Tickets are start at just $12 and are available here.
A victory against Sacramento Republic would see the Switchback leapfrog Saturday’s opponents in the Western Conference standings. Switchbacks fans will be rooting for the Seattle Sounders FC 2 on Wednesday night as they host the Tulsa Roughnecks at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Washington. The Roughnecks currently sit in 6th place – sandwiched between Sacramento Republic and the Switchbacks – while the Sounders FC 2 are in 10th position.
“We’ve got to show up in Sacramento and win,” said Jack Jones. “It’s been a pretty intense week of practice and we’ve had a good energy around here. The break has been good – we’ve been able to hit the reset button and get a nice balance. Now let’s go to Sacramento and kick some ass.”
Saturday evening sees the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC travel to California’s capital city in need of three points to keep their 2017 USL Playoff hopes alive against Sacramento Republic FC.
In 7th place in the USL’s Western Conference at the time of writing, the Switchbacks are holding their playoff position by three points over Phoenix Rising FC. The Seattle Sounders FC 2 and Orange County FC are both four points behind the Switchbacks and each club has games-in-hand over Colorado Springs as the 2017 season ticks down to its final two months.
Phoenix Rising defeated Sacramento Republic 3-1 on Saturday evening in Arizona, as the Switchbacks enjoyed their off-week in the altitude of Colorado Springs. “I believe we can do it,” said Switchbacks Head Coach Steve Trittschuh when asked about his team’s playoff chances. “Our practice has been two weeks of just preparing for Sacramento. The guys believe we can do it and the training has been fantastic. We’re going to go there and do it – we’re going to go to Sacramento and get three points – it all starts this weekend.”
“We have to bring the intensity – Sacramento are a good team, especially at home,” said Masta Kacher. “It’s not impossible at all for us to win there. We have to go and take a higher intensity with us. If we have that it will be key. We’ve put some good work in training this last week. The time to sit back and think about our game has been helpful but now we must get our focus back.”
Trevin Caesar jumped into Sacramento’s goal-scoring lead after a 50th-minute strike in the loss against Phoenix Rising. Caesar’s seventh goal of 2017 sees the Trinidad and Tobago international lead teammate Tyler Blackwood by a lone goal on the stat-chart. Forward duo Sammy Ochoa and Wilson Kneeshaw are tied with five goals apiece. Former Wake Forest University Demon Deacon Hayden Partain opened the scoring in Sacramento Republic’s 2-1 loss at Papa Murphy’s Park on August 19th to Western Conference high-flyers Reno 1868 FC.
Caesar will be absent from Sacramento’s lineup this weekend after being called into the Trinidad and Tobago national team for The Soca Warriors’ two World Cup Qualifiers. On September 1st T&T host Honduras at Ato Boldin Stadium in Couva. Tuesday, September 5th will see Caesar and his countrymen take on Panama at the Estadio Rommel Fernández in Panama City as T&T look to ignite a campaign that sees them currently sitting at the very bottom of the CONCACAF table ahead of next summer’s World Cup in Russia.
Sacramento Republic defender Emrah Klimenta will also be out of action for the visit of the Switchbacks on Saturday as the 26-year-old will be representing his native Montenegro in two UEFA World Cup qualifiers. Second in Group E of UEFA qualification, Montenegro will face off against Kazakhstan on September 1st at the Astana Arena in the Kazakh capital before hosting Romania just three days later at the Podgorica City Stadium in Montenegro.
“Sacramento still have a quality team – even without those two,” warned Trittschuh. “But they haven’t been playing their best in the last few weeks. We’ve had two weeks to prepare just for them and we’ll go there with the ambition of winning. The week off has been great. We’ve brought guys in to have a look at. The intensity and quality of training has been very high. I’ve been preaching to the guys that they’ve got to be putting all negative thoughts and speech out of our minds and they’ve done a great job of doing that.”
Currently in 5th place in the USL’s Western Conference – just two points ahead of the Switchbacks – Sacramento Republic are winless since a 1-0 victory over the Portland Timbers 2 on August 13th at Providence Park in Oregon. Sacramento’s offense has shown signs of the explosive nature that saw the Republic FC finish the 2016 regular season atop the Western Conference table. A 4-0 win on April 1st against Orange County SC at Papa Murphy’s Park helped start Sacramento’s season on a high, but they were unable to reach those free-scoring ways until a rampant 6-2 victory over Rio Grande Valley FC on June 21st.
“They have dangerous players,” said midfielder Eddy Prugh. “It’s a tough place to play with a lot of people. It’s down to that time to see who’s got the bone marrow for the challenge. Who’s got the strength for the fight? At this time of the season, you see who’s got the character to scrap for those points. If we do make the playoffs we’ve got as good a chance as any team. We’re aware of our situation but we’re not in desperation-time yet.”
Saturday will be the first meeting of 2017 between the Switchbacks and Sacramento Republic FC. The Switchbacks play their final regular season match at Weidner Field against Sacramento Republic on October 7th on Oktoberfest Fan Appreciation Night, presented by Budweiser.
“Sacramento are just a good team,” said Conner Bevans. “You look around the entire field and every player they have is solid. They won’t take us lightly. I’ve been part of a team with Kitsap [Pumas] in the U.S. Open Cup last year that beat them 3-1 so I know it’s possible to win there. In the week off we’ve been able to get good rest and recovery. We’ve put in a lot of work so it was good to have that little break. The rest of the season will be good for us with one game per week – we’ll have time to prepare and work for each opponent.”
After Saturday’s match at Papa Murphy’s Park, the Switchbacks will return to Colorado Springs to face Phoenix Rising at Weidner Field on September 9th. The first 500 fans in attendance will receive the 5th and final section of the Poster Giveaway series, courtesy of Accelerated Wealth. Tickets are start at just $12 and are available here.
A victory against Sacramento Republic would see the Switchback leapfrog Saturday’s opponents in the Western Conference standings. Switchbacks fans will be rooting for the Seattle Sounders FC 2 on Wednesday night as they host the Tulsa Roughnecks at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Washington. The Roughnecks currently sit in 6th place – sandwiched between Sacramento Republic and the Switchbacks – while the Sounders FC 2 are in 10th position.
“We’ve got to show up in Sacramento and win,” said Jack Jones. “It’s been a pretty intense week of practice and we’ve had a good energy around here. The break has been good – we’ve been able to hit the reset button and get a nice balance. Now let’s go to Sacramento and kick some ass.”
