For the second time this season, the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC will make their way east to the Sooner State, as they face off against the Oklahoma City Energy FC this Saturday at Taft Stadium.
Saturday’s match against the Switchbacks will be the second of three USL Championship matches in a row for the Energy FC in Oklahoma’s capitol city. On May 18th, the Energy were held to a 1-1 tie by the Real Monarchs of Salt Lake City after a 93rd minute equalizer from Monarchs striker Tate Schmitt. Trinidad and Tobago international Cordell Cato had given the Energy the lead with a delightful lob after a fabulous over-the-top pass from Owayne Omar Gordon.
Former Switchbacks central defender Christian Ibeagha has started four times for OKC Head Coach Steve Cooke in 2019, while beard aficionado Cody Laurendi is entrenched as the Energy’s number one goalkeeper. Jamaican international Deshorn Brown is one of the most dangerous attacking threats in the USL, as the former Colorado Rapids striker leads OKC in goals with six.
The Switchbacks have dropped their last two road matches in the USL Championship, and will be looking for a priceless away victory on Saturday evening. Last Saturday the Switchbacks fell 3-1 at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs to high-flying New Mexico United.
“I want to apologize to all of our fans and supporters,” said Switchbacks Head Coach Steve Trittschuh on Wednesday morning. “If the club needs to make a change and make us better, I understand. We have a small squad and we’re not able to add players right now. We’re at capacity in terms of our squad and we’re getting as much out of the players as we can. The guys are preparing hard for every game, we’ve just had some mistakes and those have really cost us. We’ve got to stay positive and stay in it. Both of New Mexico’s first two goals were against the run of play, and we tried to respond but we need to do better. We were right in that game and after their second goal we fought and we have to take some positives from that.”
“I know OKC are tough to play against,” said midfielder Alex Molano. “I thought after we scored against New Mexico we had some of the better play – we played a lot better in that match and we need to take that to OKC.”
“We understand that OKC is a difficult place to play,” said Jordan Schweitzer. “It’s a smaller field and we need to be prepared for the things we can’t control. We’ll get ready this week in training for everything. It was good to score against New Mexico – it broke the seal and it’s always good to get goals and we have to take that forward into this weekend. It will be a different game in OKC and we’ll prepare a lot this week to give our best performance.”
The Energy FC have already won three times at Taft Stadium in the 2019 USL Championship season. OKC and the Switchbacks will have to wait until June 20th for the Switchbacks to welcome the Energy FC to Weidner Field on Margaritaville Night, presented by Weidner apartment homes, with the first 500 fans receiving a free 2019 Switchbacks jersey t-shirt.
“I expect a good, professional performance from OKC – they have a lot of ex-MLS players,” said Saeed Robinson. “And it will be good to see Christian Ibeagha again. We hadn’t scored in so long at home, so I felt like just getting a goal last weekend helped us. It’s one positive that we need to take with us.”
“We created a lot of chances against New Mexico and that’s something to build on for this week,” said Shane Malcolm before being asked about the danger posed by Deshorn Brown. “He’s pacey and very physical and he scores with both feet and he’s a player to watch.”
“OKC have a lot of goal scorers,” said Trittschuh. “[Cordell] Cato on one side, with {Owayne Omar] Gordon on the other makes them very dangerous. They need space to have success so we have to limit the space and keep nice and compact.”
Following Saturday’s match in Oklahoma City, Weidner Field will play host to an action-packed four days. Wednesday, May 29th will see the Switchbacks host New Mexico United in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup third round. Tickets for the Open Cup match against New Mexico United are available HERE for just $5, with free parking at Weidner Field.
On Friday May 31st, country music star Russell Dickerson will headline Springs Country Fest, with tickets available HERE. The following night the Switchbacks welcome Fresno FC to Weidner Field in USL Championship action, with Pikes Peak Brewing Company sponsoring a free cap giveaway for the first 500 fans.
For the second time this season, the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC will make their way east to the Sooner State, as they face off against the Oklahoma City Energy FC this Saturday at Taft Stadium.
Saturday’s match against the Switchbacks will be the second of three USL Championship matches in a row for the Energy FC in Oklahoma’s capitol city. On May 18th, the Energy were held to a 1-1 tie by the Real Monarchs of Salt Lake City after a 93rd minute equalizer from Monarchs striker Tate Schmitt. Trinidad and Tobago international Cordell Cato had given the Energy the lead with a delightful lob after a fabulous over-the-top pass from Owayne Omar Gordon.
Former Switchbacks central defender Christian Ibeagha has started four times for OKC Head Coach Steve Cooke in 2019, while beard aficionado Cody Laurendi is entrenched as the Energy’s number one goalkeeper. Jamaican international Deshorn Brown is one of the most dangerous attacking threats in the USL, as the former Colorado Rapids striker leads OKC in goals with six.
The Switchbacks have dropped their last two road matches in the USL Championship, and will be looking for a priceless away victory on Saturday evening. Last Saturday the Switchbacks fell 3-1 at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs to high-flying New Mexico United.
“I want to apologize to all of our fans and supporters,” said Switchbacks Head Coach Steve Trittschuh on Wednesday morning. “If the club needs to make a change and make us better, I understand. We have a small squad and we’re not able to add players right now. We’re at capacity in terms of our squad and we’re getting as much out of the players as we can. The guys are preparing hard for every game, we’ve just had some mistakes and those have really cost us. We’ve got to stay positive and stay in it. Both of New Mexico’s first two goals were against the run of play, and we tried to respond but we need to do better. We were right in that game and after their second goal we fought and we have to take some positives from that.”
“I know OKC are tough to play against,” said midfielder Alex Molano. “I thought after we scored against New Mexico we had some of the better play – we played a lot better in that match and we need to take that to OKC.”
“We understand that OKC is a difficult place to play,” said Jordan Schweitzer. “It’s a smaller field and we need to be prepared for the things we can’t control. We’ll get ready this week in training for everything. It was good to score against New Mexico – it broke the seal and it’s always good to get goals and we have to take that forward into this weekend. It will be a different game in OKC and we’ll prepare a lot this week to give our best performance.”
The Energy FC have already won three times at Taft Stadium in the 2019 USL Championship season. OKC and the Switchbacks will have to wait until June 20th for the Switchbacks to welcome the Energy FC to Weidner Field on Margaritaville Night, presented by Weidner apartment homes, with the first 500 fans receiving a free 2019 Switchbacks jersey t-shirt.
“I expect a good, professional performance from OKC – they have a lot of ex-MLS players,” said Saeed Robinson. “And it will be good to see Christian Ibeagha again. We hadn’t scored in so long at home, so I felt like just getting a goal last weekend helped us. It’s one positive that we need to take with us.”
“We created a lot of chances against New Mexico and that’s something to build on for this week,” said Shane Malcolm before being asked about the danger posed by Deshorn Brown. “He’s pacey and very physical and he scores with both feet and he’s a player to watch.”
“OKC have a lot of goal scorers,” said Trittschuh. “[Cordell] Cato on one side, with {Owayne Omar] Gordon on the other makes them very dangerous. They need space to have success so we have to limit the space and keep nice and compact.”
Following Saturday’s match in Oklahoma City, Weidner Field will play host to an action-packed four days. Wednesday, May 29th will see the Switchbacks host New Mexico United in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup third round. Tickets for the Open Cup match against New Mexico United are available HERE for just $5, with free parking at Weidner Field.
On Friday May 31st, country music star Russell Dickerson will headline Springs Country Fest, with tickets available HERE. The following night the Switchbacks welcome Fresno FC to Weidner Field in USL Championship action, with Pikes Peak Brewing Company sponsoring a free cap giveaway for the first 500 fans.
