On Friday the Switchbacks FC welcome the Charleston Battery to Weidner Field in downtown Colorado Springs on Sea of Cyan Night, with tickets available HERE. The Switchbacks are 13-7 and sit in second place in the USL Championship’s Western Conference. The Switchbacks lost 3-0 to San Diego Loyal on Monday evening in Southern California, in a match the Switchbacks were forced to play despite having only 12 available players.
It’s been a torrid 2022 campaign for the Charleston Battery, who enter Friday’s game 3-14-3 under Head Coach – and former Colorado Rapids striker and coach – Conor Casey. The Battery are 0-7-2 away from Patriots Point Soccer Stadium in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Last Saturday, a brace from Charleston’s leading scorer Augustine Williams and a goal from Enock Kwakwa were enough to see the Battery defeat Hartford Athletic 3-1. Matthew Sheldon was sent off in the 81st minute and will be unavailable for selection for the Battery on Friday in Colorado Springs.
What the Switchbacks Say:
Switchbacks Head Coach and General Manager Brendan Burke: “I love those guys [who played against San Diego Loyal] – those guys are heroes for even walking out there. We should not have walked on that field; it was dangerous, and then the referee was an absolute horror show on top of it. We can’t even focus on Charleston because we have such a storm going on internally [with injury and illness]. The league should be seriously looked at for putting us in that situation.”
Midfielder Zach Zandi: “I don’t think Charleston’s season changes much on how we prepare, but obviously I think it gives them a bit of added extra motivation. There is nothing to lose in a sense for them. This is a big game for us to rebound from San Diego, so it’s a really important one to focus on and be up for and show out for our crowd. This has been an extremely busy schedule the past month and a half and we’ve been limited on players and obviously with the recent Covid and illness and injury situation it doesn’t make it any easier. It’s been tough. It’s been a lot of mileage on guys’ legs, but a couple extra days will definitely help our guys a lot and hopefully be enough for us to get the win.
“I think [San Diego] is just put in the rearview. It’s a bizarre circumstance to have one player on the bench who is an academy player and have seven guys out with various injuries and illnesses. There’s not much that can be done about [the match in San Diego] – it’s in the past and like any game that you’ve played you look over it and study it and try to get better, but all the focus is on Charleston this weekend. It’s amazing to be able to play in front of our fans any chance we get. The crowds have been amazing the past couple games and they really give us that extra edge and hopefully that can continue this weekend.”
Vargish’s View:
After what Switchbacks fans witnessed on Monday night in San Diego, it’s impossible to predict what Friday’s match will bring. I’ve had the privilege of writing these preview articles since the Switchbacks’ inaugural campaign in 2015, and until now I’ve never used first-person pronouns. I can’t recall a game where a team was required to step on the field despite only having one substitute. And in all honesty; the Switchbacks acquitted themselves admirably. The Switchbacks have my utmost respect for simply travelling to San Diego, let alone battling against one of the hottest teams in the league and completing 90 minutes.
Charleston Battery have conceded 41 goals this season in the USL Championship, while scoring just 21 times. Friday’s match will be a chance for the Switchbacks to add to Charleston’s woes – if they are able to field a competitive team. It’s late July of 2022; we all know the times we’ve been living through during this unprecedented pandemic. The schedule makers have dealt the Switchbacks an impossible hand time and time again this season, but on Friday Brendan Burke’s men will have a chance to put the last few weeks firmly in the rearview mirror with a typical, front-foot-forward performance at Weidner Field in front of a fan base that has already pushed the Switchbacks to victory seven times in downtown Colorado Springs this season.