Vargish’s View: Switchbacks Look For First Win of June Against Orange County SC
Half-priced margaritas return to Weidner Field for Margaritaville on Saturday evening as the Switchbacks host Orange County SC in downtown Colorado Springs. The first 2,000 fans through the gates at 6pm will receive an authentic penalty booklet giveaway courtesy of D1 Training. Tickets for Saturday’s match are available HERE.
Last Saturday Orange County produced arguably their best performance of the season as they defeated the Rio Grande Valley FC Toros 2-0 at Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine, California behind goals from Milan Iloski and Korede Osundina. The Switchbacks fell 1-0 last Friday evening to the Oakland Roots at Weidner Field.
What the Switchbacks Say: Switchbacks Head Coach Stephen Hogan: “[On Saturday we need] the same intensity and start that we had against Oakland. But it’s the same old story and we’re here talking about the same things over the last five or six weeks. That chance needs to go in from Jairo [Henriquez] 15 or 20 seconds in and then the complexity of that game is completely different. [Oakland] would have then had to come out. And with Romario [Williams taking his] two chances which he’s super upset about, I think the game is over even before halftime. It’s if’s, but’s, and maybe’s which is not the business we’re in, but if we give [Oakland] the goal it’s 4-1 at halftime. [Taking our chances] needs to happen against Orange County and they’re coming off a win against RGV. I don’t know if [OC] have ever seen our pressing – the way we come back in and re-press and all that sort of stuff – so I’m interested to see how they handle that. And we obviously have to be careful at the back.”
Midfielder Zach Zandi: “[We need to] get back to our principles. I know a lot of people have said that in past interviews, but we just have to get back to what we’re good at [and] what got us wins and get that momentum back and get what a winning feeling feels like again to hopefully build upon that and build steam going into the rest of the season. This is a massive game and hopefully the fans can come out and support us to help us get these three points, because they’re massive.”
Orange County Overview:
The artists formerly known as the Orange County Blues enter Weidner Field 3-7-4 in USL Championship play this season. Ex Colorado Rapids midfielder Dillon Powers and last year’s USL Championship Golden Boot recipient Milan Iloski were both named to the USL Championship Team of the Week after OC’s 2-0 win against RGVFC. Iloski leads Orange County in goals, assists, shots, and chances created. OC have scored 12 goals this season and Iloski has scored or assisted on eight of them.
“Milan is a very good goal-scorer,” said Head Coach Hogan. “[OC] are coming in confident and they’ll be organized against us. I know we’ve lost five on the bounce but I think people still fear what we can do going forward. We just have to be ruthless in front of goal, and see what [OC] can do if we do break them down once or twice early. If we can even stop [Iloski] with how we move off the ball and how we move going against him with the ball it will take him out of the game and make him run a little bit more. The idea of stopping him in and around the box is really smart, clever, aggressive defending and that’s been a talking point.”
Vargish’s View:
The last six weeks have been incredibly frustrating for the Switchbacks: they’ve played some genuinely attractive and commendable soccer but have not been able to find the breakthroughs in front of goal that their game and hard work has deserved. Saturday’s match is a winnable game for the Switchbacks against an Orange County team that’s already lost seven times in league play this season.
Former UCLA Bruin Milan Iloski is one of the best players in the USL Championship. Lose track of him for a millisecond and Orange County will score goals. The key to stopping OC on Saturday is corralling Iloski and not allowing him a sight of goal. To do that, the Switchbacks must boss the dictation of tempo in the midfield third and out-posses Orange County. So much has been made about the Switchbacks’ recent profligacy in front of goal, but the true sign of a team that’s desperately struggling is not creating chances. The Switchbacks are playing good soccer. On Saturday night they just need a bit of luck and the Weidner Field crowd urging the ball into the back of the net. Get one goal and this Switchbacks team will begin to fly once again.
