“Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try.” – Yoda, Star Wars
On Galactic Night at Weidner Field, the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC will look for immediate retribution against an Oklahoma City Energy FC side that knocked the Switchbacks out of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday evening.
All fans on Saturday at Weidner Field are invited by the Switchbacks FC to dress-up as their favorite character from across the galaxy in support of Galactic Night. The first 500 fans through the turnstiles will receive a light-up saber, courtesy of Penrose St. Francis Pediatric E.R. and their sponsorship of Galactic Night.
A dour first half in Wednesday’s match continued into the early minutes of the second ’45 before the Energy were able to make a 72nd minute breakthrough from the wicked right foot of the impressive José Barril. The Madrid native spent more than a decade at Real Madrid’s imminent youth academy before making his way stateside, wherein 2016 he was named to the USL All 2nd Team.
A quick-fire second goal from imposing Polish striker Wojciech Wojcik seemed to have assured the Energy’s place in the Fourth Round before a stoppage-time penalty kick from Jordan Burt gave the Switchbacks a lifeline when Kevaughn Frater was unceremoniously hauled down in the box. Burt converted the spot-kick past C.J. Cochran, who was filling in at goalkeeper for OKC’s usual starter, Cody Laurendi.
In addition to seeing Laurendi start in net, Oklahoma City could make a small selection of other changes for Saturday’s USL match. Daniel Gonzalez – younger brother of former Switchbacks winger Miguel Gonzalez – was dynamic after appearing as a second-half substitute on Wednesday and will be hoping for a place in the starting XI. Fellow substitute Alex Dixon, who scored against the Switchbacks in USL play on April 1st at Weidner Field, could be another change that Head Coach Jimmy Nielsen makes for this weekend’s match.
“I think Saturday will be a really big day for us,” said Jacob Cawsey who started and impressed in the heart of the Switchbacks midfield on Wednesday evening. “We now know firsthand just what OKC are about. I don’t expect them to make a lot of changes to their team, but we might. Because of going out of the Cup we look forward now to Saturday even more.”
Lineup alterations for the Switchbacks could begin with winger Masta Kacher. Kacher is tied for the Switchbacks lead in goal scoring with right back Jordan Burt after Burt’s two-goal performance against Reno 1868 FC on May 27th. Kacher could be key in jumpstarting an offense that seemed disjointed at times on Wednesday evening. “We have to watch our mistakes,” said Kacher. “We must do better and make sure we see and attack their weaknesses. But also, we must learn from what we did wrong. Our motivation will be even higher now. If we win we know then we can move to third place in the league so Saturday is a huge game for us!”
“We are going to look for guys in these next two days who want to step-up and play,” said Head Coach Steve Trittschuh immediately following Wednesday’s loss when asked about how his team will line up on Saturday evening at Weidner Field. “What we had from coming back against Reno wasn’t there for us tonight. I gave guys chances to step up and they didn’t. Guys didn’t show the quality or desire to win. We’re out of the Open Cup now so we’ll concentrate on the league.”
The good news for the Switchbacks ahead of Saturday is their depth of the squad. Midfielder’s Eddy Prugh and Luke Vercollone were both rested for the Open Cup tilt against the Energy FC, as was defender Diego Gutierrez and goalkeeper Moise Pouaty.
“We’ve just got to work hard Thursday and Friday to prepare,” said Switchbacks captain Rony Argueta. “We’ve got to come out with more energy and intensity on Saturday because at times during the game that was not there. OKC are going to have several different players for Saturday’s game – and we might too. Their style won’t change. We’ll come prepared for Saturday and with even more fight.”
Initially rested from the starting XI, defender Sean McFarlane was called upon as a replacement for Pascal Eboussi in the heart of the Switchbacks’ defense on Wednesday. Slotting seamlessly next to stalwart Josh Phillips, McFarlane showed his defensive prowess and ability to start the Switchbacks’ attack from his center back position during his time against the Energy. “It was a rough game coming off a great tie against Reno,” said McFarlane after walking off the Weidner Field surface on Wednesday. “Our main focus is Saturday. Tonight was an unfortunate result and now we have to bounce back this weekend. I don’t want to take anything away from the game tonight – we wanted to win and played to go to the next round. But the league matters most to us.”
The Switchbacks will travel to Taft Stadium in Oklahoma’s capital city on July 22nd to round out the 2017 USL regular season three-game series between the burgeoning Western Conference rivals.
Without any further U.S. Open Cup action to occupy their thoughts and squad, attention for the Switchbacks in the remainder of the 2017 season lies squarely on Western Conference USL play and making sure Steve Trittschuh’s team secures their third-consecutive playoff berth. “Putting the Open Cup out the way now is disappointing because we made the next round against the Rapids the last two seasons but we’ll put all our focus on the league,” said Trittschuh. “We’ve got four league games in June – two of them are at home. There are no excuses now to not add points and win our home games. That starts Saturday.”
Masta Kacher made certain after his post-match interview on Wednesday night that his prediction for this weekend’s match be included in this article: “Remember I said this: on Saturday, we will win!”
Tickets for Galactic Night start at just $12 and are available here!
“Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try.” – Yoda, Star Wars
On Galactic Night at Weidner Field, the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC will look for immediate retribution against an Oklahoma City Energy FC side that knocked the Switchbacks out of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday evening.
All fans on Saturday at Weidner Field are invited by the Switchbacks FC to dress-up as their favorite character from across the galaxy in support of Galactic Night. The first 500 fans through the turnstiles will receive a light-up saber, courtesy of Penrose St. Francis Pediatric E.R. and their sponsorship of Galactic Night.
A dour first half in Wednesday’s match continued into the early minutes of the second ’45 before the Energy were able to make a 72nd minute breakthrough from the wicked right foot of the impressive José Barril. The Madrid native spent more than a decade at Real Madrid’s imminent youth academy before making his way stateside, wherein 2016 he was named to the USL All 2nd Team.
A quick-fire second goal from imposing Polish striker Wojciech Wojcik seemed to have assured the Energy’s place in the Fourth Round before a stoppage-time penalty kick from Jordan Burt gave the Switchbacks a lifeline when Kevaughn Frater was unceremoniously hauled down in the box. Burt converted the spot-kick past C.J. Cochran, who was filling in at goalkeeper for OKC’s usual starter, Cody Laurendi.
In addition to seeing Laurendi start in net, Oklahoma City could make a small selection of other changes for Saturday’s USL match. Daniel Gonzalez – younger brother of former Switchbacks winger Miguel Gonzalez – was dynamic after appearing as a second-half substitute on Wednesday and will be hoping for a place in the starting XI. Fellow substitute Alex Dixon, who scored against the Switchbacks in USL play on April 1st at Weidner Field, could be another change that Head Coach Jimmy Nielsen makes for this weekend’s match.
“I think Saturday will be a really big day for us,” said Jacob Cawsey who started and impressed in the heart of the Switchbacks midfield on Wednesday evening. “We now know firsthand just what OKC are about. I don’t expect them to make a lot of changes to their team, but we might. Because of going out of the Cup we look forward now to Saturday even more.”
Lineup alterations for the Switchbacks could begin with winger Masta Kacher. Kacher is tied for the Switchbacks lead in goal scoring with right back Jordan Burt after Burt’s two-goal performance against Reno 1868 FC on May 27th. Kacher could be key in jumpstarting an offense that seemed disjointed at times on Wednesday evening. “We have to watch our mistakes,” said Kacher. “We must do better and make sure we see and attack their weaknesses. But also, we must learn from what we did wrong. Our motivation will be even higher now. If we win we know then we can move to third place in the league so Saturday is a huge game for us!”
“We are going to look for guys in these next two days who want to step-up and play,” said Head Coach Steve Trittschuh immediately following Wednesday’s loss when asked about how his team will line up on Saturday evening at Weidner Field. “What we had from coming back against Reno wasn’t there for us tonight. I gave guys chances to step up and they didn’t. Guys didn’t show the quality or desire to win. We’re out of the Open Cup now so we’ll concentrate on the league.”
The good news for the Switchbacks ahead of Saturday is their depth of the squad. Midfielder’s Eddy Prugh and Luke Vercollone were both rested for the Open Cup tilt against the Energy FC, as was defender Diego Gutierrez and goalkeeper Moise Pouaty.
“We’ve just got to work hard Thursday and Friday to prepare,” said Switchbacks captain Rony Argueta. “We’ve got to come out with more energy and intensity on Saturday because at times during the game that was not there. OKC are going to have several different players for Saturday’s game – and we might too. Their style won’t change. We’ll come prepared for Saturday and with even more fight.”
Initially rested from the starting XI, defender Sean McFarlane was called upon as a replacement for Pascal Eboussi in the heart of the Switchbacks’ defense on Wednesday. Slotting seamlessly next to stalwart Josh Phillips, McFarlane showed his defensive prowess and ability to start the Switchbacks’ attack from his center back position during his time against the Energy. “It was a rough game coming off a great tie against Reno,” said McFarlane after walking off the Weidner Field surface on Wednesday. “Our main focus is Saturday. Tonight was an unfortunate result and now we have to bounce back this weekend. I don’t want to take anything away from the game tonight – we wanted to win and played to go to the next round. But the league matters most to us.”
The Switchbacks will travel to Taft Stadium in Oklahoma’s capital city on July 22nd to round out the 2017 USL regular season three-game series between the burgeoning Western Conference rivals.
Without any further U.S. Open Cup action to occupy their thoughts and squad, attention for the Switchbacks in the remainder of the 2017 season lies squarely on Western Conference USL play and making sure Steve Trittschuh’s team secures their third-consecutive playoff berth. “Putting the Open Cup out the way now is disappointing because we made the next round against the Rapids the last two seasons but we’ll put all our focus on the league,” said Trittschuh. “We’ve got four league games in June – two of them are at home. There are no excuses now to not add points and win our home games. That starts Saturday.”
Masta Kacher made certain after his post-match interview on Wednesday night that his prediction for this weekend’s match be included in this article: “Remember I said this: on Saturday, we will win!”
Tickets for Galactic Night start at just $12 and are available here!
