This Saturday evening, the Switchbacks FC welcome USL Championship newcomers Monterey Bay FC to Weidner Field in downtown Colorado Springs on Women’s Empowerment Night. Tickets for Saturday’s match are available HERE, with all ticketed fans having access to the Women’s Empowerment Panel at 4pm.
Fans are encouraged to visit the Sea of Cyan fan event, starting at 3:30pm on Sawatch Street, featuring prizes, live music, and a shared love of all things Switchbacks. Once at Weidner Field, Happy Half Hour will feature discounted beer on the Modelo Terrace when gates open at 5pm.
Last Saturday night, the Switchbacks defeated the reigning USL Champions Orange County SC behind goals from Michee Ngalina and Switchbacks debutant Malik Johnson. Also on Saturday evening, Monterey Bay FC fell behind 4-0 in the Valley of the Sun to Phoenix Rising FC, before scoring twice in the second half to end the match in a 4-2 defeat.
What the Switchbacks Say:
Malik Johnson:
Johnson scored the Switchbacks’ winning goal last weekend against Orange County.
“It was great to open up my account in the first game, but most importantly it was great to get the three points, and we’re looking to do the same again this weekend against Monterey. It was a great crowd last weekend and they brought the energy and gave us that extra push and we’re looking for that again [on Saturday]. [Monterey] showed a lot of fight to score two after being down 4-0. We’re going to push hard and do our best this weekend.”
Cam Lindley:
Lindley was named to the USL Championship Team of the Week on Tuesday, and was the Better Business Bureau Man of the Match on XTRA Sports 1300 AM for his performance alongside Zach Zandi in the win against Orange Country.
“[I’m] happy to be named to the Team of the Week bench, but it’s a credit to everyone who played a part on Saturday. [I’m] excited to see where the team goes this year and can’t wait to see the fans back at Weidner Field this Saturday against Monterey Bay. Monterey have a lot of experienced guys. They’ve gone and done a good job of getting guys who know the league and have won in the league. Former teammate of mine Sam Gleadle – from San Antonio last year – is there and he’s a great player. They’re going to come in here firing and they’re going to start better than they did in Phoenix and we know we have a tough test ahead of us. We need to focus on us. We have some of the best players in the league and some of the best attackers, so we need to focus on keeping a clean sheet this game because we know our guys are going to score. This year we’re all about focusing on ourselves and having teams adjust to us.”
Switchbacks Head Coach and General Manager Brendan Burke:
“[Lindley] controlled the tempo of the game on the ball, which is really important. We were about 50-50 in possession against OC, but a lot of OC’s possession was pinned back on top of their 18 [yard box], and you can see that from the average positions: we were really on top of the game. Although we didn’t create a ton, I thought the way we were structured was really good and Cam was obviously right in the middle of that with [Zach] Zandi.
“[Monterey] are a big physical team so we do expect them to be playing for set pieces and to be playing for knockdowns. I think they’re the team that won the second half [against Phoenix]. They might have been a little shell shocked – I don’t know what led to such a slow start – but the fact they could come back into the game as much as they did shows that they’ll be fine. And they threatened more than just those two goals. They’re a team that’s going to look to respond right from the opening whistle this weekend.”
Monterey Bay FC Ones to Watch:
Liberian striker Seku Conneh and former Cal State Monterey Bay Otter Adrian Rebollar were the scorers of Monterey’s two goals at Phoenix Rising Stadium at Wild Horse Pass last Saturday night. Former Switchbacks striker Christian Volesky was not among the 17 available players on Saturday for Monterey Bay Head Coach Frank Yallop. Volesky signed with Monterey on February 2nd after spending last season in Iceland with Keflavík íF.
Monterey Bay have numerous players with USL Championship experience throughout their roster, with the likes of Kai Greene, Sam Strong, Arun Basuljevic, James Murphy, and team captain Hugh Roberts all having played multiple seasons in the league. El Salvador international Walmer Martinez adds depth and trickery behind the towering forward partnership of 6’3” Chris Cortez and 6’2” Chase Boone. Rafael Díaz – an international with the Dominican Republic – started in goal for Monterey Bay in Saturday’s loss to Phoenix, having made the move southwest from Sacramento Republic FC to California’s Central Coast on February 4th.
