Opponent: The Miami FC
Match Date: March 9th, 2024
Location: FIU Football Stadium
Kickoff: 5:00pm MT
Last Meeting with Opponent: Switchbacks 2, The Miami FC 0. July 1st , Weidner Field in Colorado Springs. Goals from Deshane Beckford (59’) and Romario Williams (75’).
How to Listen: XTRA Sports 1300am with the Voices of the Switchbacks, Ryan Kaufman and Roland Vargish – coverage starts at 4:30pm MT.
Coach Chamber’s Comments: “I think the key [for] us is to take everything that we’ve learned through the six weeks in preseason and look to implement it next Saturday in Miami,” said Head Coach James Chambers. “[Miami] will be a young hungry group – they’ve got a lot of international players, and they obviously have a new coach as well, so he’ll be looking to stamp his authority on the team, and then obviously try and get a result. But for us it’s about focusing on what we’re trying to do [and] not get overly confident, or also beat ourselves over the head. It’s a case of going into the game with our game plan and our principals and trying to put our best foot forward to start the season. Obviously we’d like to start the season with a win but we know going to Miami is a very difficult place, but I think we have a young hungry group that really wants to do well and try to impress. “We’re very close to having our [starting] 11 [for the game in Miami]. But again, it’s not a set [lineup] for us this season where it’s going to be a set 11 and then guys are just filling the bench to be spot-starters here and there. It’s a really competitive group. It’s got a lot of quality, a lot of energy, and again, a lot of young hungry players that are out to impress. It will be a group that if it performs, yes, it will continue to play [and] if it doesn’t perform then it won’t play. You also have to do your best every week to stay in the team – that’s really what we want. We want an iron sharpens iron mentality in the building.”
Player’s Points: “I definitely say we’re ready to go to Miami and play them and just kick off the season,” said Swedish striker Alex Andersson. Andersson, who starred collegiately for the UCCS Mountain Lions, scored a stunning goal to net the Switchbacks a 3-2 preseason win over Union Omaha at Weidner Field last Saturday. “I think just following through with our principles is key [to getting a good result in Miami] and working hard together as a unit. I feel like we definitely have the quality in the team to do something really special this year, so just staying true to ourselves and sticking to our principles [is key].”
Opposition Outlook: “We’re aware of Ben Mines [and] we know Frankie López who plays as the 9, and then Ben Ofeimu, we have a personal relationship with from a couple of years back [at the Philadelphia Union],” said Head Coach Chambers. “We’re well aware of the quality that
they’ve returned and signed [from around the] league, and they have a lot of players who are unknown to USL, but we’re doing our due diligence to understand their roles in the team. We’re aware that Miami will pose a serious threat at home and are similar to ourselves – they want to start in the right frame of mind.
Vargish’s View: What a way for the Switchbacks to start the season: half an hour west of South Beach and against a team in The Miami FC who have lofty playoff aspirations following an off-season that included the arrival of former Serie A stalwart Antonio Nocerino as Head Coach. The Switchbacks have so far signed nine new players to a club that has made the playoffs in each of the past three seasons; expectations are high in Colorado Springs. The Miami FC pose a unique challenge early in the season, with a solid mixture of established quality players and highly rated young talent. Offensively the Switchbacks looked crisp in preseason. To get a win in the 305, James Chambers’ team must attack with the pace and power that fans in Southern Colorado have grown to expect and adore.