Colorado Springs, CO (September 21st, 2024) – The Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC were looking to hold onto their 2nd place standings position tonight as they traveled to El Paso to take on the Locos, but El Paso, hungry for points in their playoff push, wanted three points for themselves. Ultimately the night would end in a 1-1 draw, as the teams split the points one each.
With both teams eager for a result in their favor, the match started evenly paced, and no team showed the advantage until 20 minutes in when #20 Yosuke Hanya earned his fifth goal of the season to get the Switchbacks on the board first. A long forward pass from #17 Jairo Henriquez at midfield put the ball right on Hanya’s foot inside the 18 yard box, and a sniper shot through the legs of #25 Arturo Ortiz would find the back of the net for the Switchbacks. El Paso’s aggressiveness would continue to wane throughout the first half, and the score would remain in COS’s favor heading into the locker rooms.
El Paso came out hard in the second half, and just six minutes in would get their first goal of the night, as #33 Ricky Ruiz earned his first goal as a Locomotive player, with a speedy header that just notched past the defenses of Colorado.
The Locomotive had the opportunity to take the lead in the 68th minute, when a penalty was awarded to #10 Amando Moreno. El Paso captain #6 Eric Calvillo would take the shot, and an incredible read on the ball gave Herrera the save to keep the score 1-1. Herrera would have two more huge saves in the final minutes of the game, notably using the fingertips of his 6’7″ frame in the 93rd minute to prevent El Paso from taking the lead. The night ended in a draw, with each team leaving the field with a point to their name.
The Switchbacks currently sit third in the Western conference, with five matches left in the regular season. With only two games left at home, make sure to grab your tickets for our September 28th match as the team heads up Loudoun United for our Mental Health Awareness Night. For tickets to that match, and all others, head HERE.
