With a home playoff game on the horizon, the Switchbacks conclude the 2022 USL Championship regular season on Saturday evening in the Land of Enchantment against New Mexico United. The match will kick off at 7pm MT from Isotopes Park, with live coverage by the voice of the Switchbacks, Ryan Kaufman, beginning at 6:30pm on XTRA Sports1300 AM.
Regardless of Saturday’s result in Albuquerque, the Switchbacks are guaranteed to finish in 3rd place in the Western Conference and will host a playoff game at Weidner Field in downtown Colorado Springs on Saturday, October 22nd. Tickets for the playoff match are available HERE.
New Mexico United punched their ticket to the 2022 USL Championship Playoffs on Wednesday evening after defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy II 3-2 at Isotopes Park. The Switchbacks have not played since a rampant 4-1 win over El Paso Locomotive FC on October 5th at Southwest University Park in Far West Texas. Michee Ngalina was named the USL Championship Player of the Week after his hat-trick in the Lone Star State, while Zach Zandi marked his return to the Switchbacks’ starting lineup with a cleverly taken second half goal.
What the Switchbacks Say:
Switchbacks General Manager and Head Coach Brendan Burke: “We’ve seen it a few times [from Michee] over the last four or five years with him, but when it comes out – man! And it was the production as well – it wasn’t just what he created – it was finishing plays. That was fun to watch. [Zach] contributed to the winning goal [against El Paso] and was in the right position constantly. His feet are fantastic, he finds good pockets, does his work defensively; there’s no hole in his game – we just have to keep him healthy.
“If [New Mexico] had left themselves open to it [missing the playoffs] we would have tried to knock them out, and I think we approach it now as an audition for everyone that plays, and everyone will play for the most part as an audition to start the playoff game. But we’re still going after it with all our attention and energy, it’s just more [of an] opportunity for other guys. We’ll have scheduled changes across the board [on Saturday]. [New Mexico] can still have a home playoff game at the end of the day. I know Sacramento [Republic] will have one eye on this game and we never intend to disrupt the natural pattern of the table – we want to attack the game [on Saturday] like it’s a playoff game and go into the playoffs with momentum. As far as regular season games go, we expect a barn burner. [And] this is as healthy as we’ve been all year.”
Midfielder Zach Zandi: “It felt great to be back contributing to the team again and getting the win – I think that was a massive win for us to secure the home playoff [game] so it’s good momentum going into our game against New Mexico. We want to go into the postseason with good momentum, so going out there and really showing what we’ve got and bringing all that we can is important to us. It’s the closest rivalry we’ve got [against New Mexico] so to have [our] fans there will give us maybe that extra boost to get the win.”
Vargish’s View: With both clubs having already secured their position in the postseason, the onus will be on Saturday’s hosts to chase the win that could see a playoff game played in the 505. For the Switchbacks, Saturday will be a chance to build off the thundering offensive display in El Paso last Wednesday. Changes to Brendan Burke’s lineup will be made this weekend in front of what should be a triple-digit contingent of Switchbacks faithful who will make the journey south on I-25. New Mexico are always a valiant opponent, and they will be desperate for a win against a rotated Switchbacks side…but should you bet against this Switchbacks group after their win in El Paso, and at the twilight of a magnificent 2022 regular season? Not a chance.
