This week the 2023 USL Summer Showcase descends on Colorado Springs, highlighted by the Switchbacks hosting FC Tulsa on Wednesday evening at Weidner Field. Tickets remain available HERE, with the first fans through the gates at 6pm receiving a back-to-school backpack, courtesy of GE Johnson.
Last Friday the Switchbacks defeated Birmingham Legion 2-1 at Weidner Field through an early goal from Deshane Beckford and an 84th minute winner from Juan Tejada. FC Tulsa have lost back-to-back matches by a 3-0 scoreline; first to the Tampa Bay Rowdies on July 29th in the Sunshine State, followed by a loss to Louisville City last Friday at ONEOK Field in Oklahoma.
What the Switchbacks Say:
Head Coach Stephen Hogan: “Obviously we went super aggressive with the lineup against Birmingham for certain reasons and then you know we hit them in transition. We probably wanted a little bit more on the ball than what we saw but you know sometimes it’s like that. Sometimes we’re phenomenal on the day and not getting results [and] sometimes we’re not 100% or 80% [and] we’re getting wins.”
“Especially at home we’ll be super aggressive – people have to come and deal with us [here]. I know we have to always discuss [Tulsa’s] strengths, but the mindset needs to be the same that we built two years ago in terms of can we go forward [and] how we go forward and how quickly can we go forward.”
Striker Romario Williams: “We owed [the win against Birmingham] to ourselves, but we also owed it to our fans. They’re always here [at Weidner Field] loud and proud and cheering us on. It was important for us to come out and make things right.
“To have everyone here in town and have the eyes of the league on us [will] be good for us. But that doesn’t take away from the ultimate goal that we want to achieve, and that’s to come out again and have a good showing and get three points. That’s the focus and hopefully we can come out and execute again.”
Tulsa Takeaways:
“They’re pretty aggressive in their style, especially defensively,” added Romario Williams. “We know they’re going to come after us. They have a dynamic front four [with] Marcus Epps on the left and [Phillip] Goodrum – guys who are in good form [and] able to create their own opportunities and chances and put the ball in the back of the net. We know what we’re up against, but we know what we’re capable of as a group [and] as a team. The most important thing for us is to come out and execute the way we did against Birmingham, and you know we love playing here. We protect [Weidner Field] for a reason! As long as we come out and do the right things and bring the energy, then I’ll back our chances.”
“They had a lot of ball against Louisville but again we’ve had a lot of ball against certain teams and not gotten the results,” said Head Coach Hogan. “Louisville’s expected goals was high compared to Tulsa’s, but the idea is [that] we can definitely hit these guys especially in central areas. We have to be clean on it. And then [we have to] stop one or two of their players – Phillip Goodrum is a great center forward. Marcus Epps is one of the best players in the league and he’s dangerous in front of goal anywhere, so you have to sort of think of those two while exploiting the spaces that they leave behind them – and that’s part of [our] idea.”
Vargish’s View:
The Switchbacks deserved the win last Friday night against Birmingham and were it not for the odds-on USL Championship goal of the season by the Legion’s Neco Brett, the Switchbacks would have comfortably won by a larger margin. Tulsa is mired in their worst form of the season following back-to-back 3-0 losses and are just 2-5-4 away from ONEOK Field in the Sooner State. All signs on paper point to another Switchbacks home win. Thankfully, games aren’t decided by recent form, stats, and home field advantage. Tulsa will be desperate to avoid a third consecutive defeat, while both teams will feel the added pressure of having the eyes of the entire league focused solely on Wednesday’s match. Anticipate a cagey first 15 minutes and expect goals by full time – especially from the Switchbacks.
