Winners of two in a row, the Switchbacks continue their home stand at Weidner Field in downtown Colorado Springs on Saturday evening against Phoenix Rising FC on Cancer Awareness Night. Special edition Capelli Sport jerseys worn by outfield players on Saturday will be signed by the entire Switchbacks squad and auctioned off, with the resulting proceeds going to the Penrose Cancer Center. A limited number of shirts will also be available for sale at the club store. Tickets for Saturday’s match are available HERE with gates opening at 6pm.
The Switchbacks fell 4-0 on July 30th to Phoenix Rising in the Valley of the Sun. On Wednesday evening, the Rising defeated the Rio Grande Valley FC Toros 2-1 at Phoenix Rising Stadium at Wild Horse Pass in Chandler, Arizona. Venezuelan Luis Manuel Seijas scored both goals for the Rising on Wednesday and is second on Phoenix’s goal charts behind former Kentucky Wildcat JJ Williams.
Tuesday saw Michael Edwards rejoin the Switchbacks on-loan from the Colorado Rapids. Center back Edwards returns to a Switchbacks team that’s coming off successive 1-0 wins at Weidner Field against the Tampa Bay Rowdies and New Mexico United.
What the Switchbacks Say:
Head Coach and General Manager Brendan Burke: “We are much more together I would say [than on July 30th in Phoenix]. It’s not lost on us that we got steamrolled down there, but that’s not our focus right now. Our focus is regaining our identity over the last two weeks where we’ve beaten two huge clubs, so we’re confident now. We’re coming back! That momentum means a lot and to be at home is great – it sets up to give you every opportunity to put in a good performance when you need one. It’s great to have Mikey [Edwards] back. He gives us size, strength, passing ability. It’ll probably take him a few weeks to get going, but we’re excited to have him back and it adds internal competition and cover all over the field. And I’m hoping to see [Zach] Zandi on the field this weekend.”
Midfielder Steven Echevarria: “Someone wrote in the locker room ‘4-0’ on the board, so hopefully we can give them the same treatment that they gave us when we went there. We feel like we’re kind of back to who we were at the beginning of the year. Our identity is pressing high up the field, strong reactions when the ball is turned over, and this week we’ve been just getting back to that and hopefully it shows this weekend because when we do those things well we’re probably the best team in the league. It was crazy here against New Mexico on Saturday. I don’t know how many people were here but it was electric and the fans give us so much energy – especially [in the] last couple moments of the game where we were a little bit against it. I think it’s very cool that it’s going to a good cause [to be wearing the special edition Capelli Sport kit for Cancer Awareness Night]. We all have family that have had cancer at some point so it’s special that we can contribute in a different way.”
Peek at Phoenix: “Phoenix are always one of, if not the most, talented teams in the West in terms of technical ability and ability to hurt you from five or six different positions and they’re showing that,” said Brendan Burke. “Their best players are on the field now. Santi [Moar] is class. Coaching Santi [at Bethlehem Steel] was an absolute pleasure – he’s fun to watch and we expect a lot out of him in this game and shutting him down becomes important and that frees space for other players like Seijas. You can’t key on any one guy with them – you have to stay connected and keep the lines connected to react out. [JJ Williams] didn’t score the other night [vs. RGVFC], but he was only inches away. Even in El Paso he had a lot of good looks. He’s obviously a big aerial threat and their ability to cross balls from a number of different positons is high level as well.”
Vargish’s View: Phoenix have too many talented individuals to be sitting in 10th place in the USL Championship Western Conference, but you are what your record says you are. 9-12-5, with a negative eight goal differential is not what USL fans have grown to expect from the perennial powerhouse that calls the Grand Canyon State home.
Back-to-back clean sheets are evidence of the Switchbacks’ recent clamp-down on defense. On July 30th in Arizona the Switchbacks were roundly defeated, but this is not the same team that played in Phoenix five weeks ago. The Switchbacks are hungry, organized, and playing with a defensive determination that makes Brendan Burke’s club as difficult to beat as any in the USL Championship. Add in the altitude and the wonderful support at Weidner Field, and Saturday is a great opportunity for the Switchbacks to further ensconce themselves in the top-three of the Western Conference.
