“It seems like LA are more of a rivalry than anyone else in the league. It’s always a good game versus LA where both teams want to play well and play quickly and win.” – Steve Trittschuh.
The 2018 USL regular season begins for the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC on Saturday evening at Weidner Field as they welcome the Los Angeles Galaxy II on St. Patrick’s Day. Gates will open at 5 pm with $1 green beer available for the first 30 minutes and a St. Paddy’s Day fireworks show to follow the match. Saturday will mark the first time in franchise history the Switchbacks have hosted a game on the opening weekend of the USL regular season.
Both teams will be desperate to start their season with a win after failing to qualify for the 2017 USL Cup Playoffs. The Galaxy II and Switchbacks traded 2-1 wins last season, with the Switchbacks coming out victorious on June 10th at the StubHub Center Track & Field Stadium behind a brace from Kevaughn Frater. Los Dos recorded a 2-1 win at Weidner Field on August 18th after an unfortunate own goal from Sean McFarlane sealed all three points for the visitors.
The Switchbacks possessed a much more potent attack during the 2017 season than Saturday’s opponents. Steve Trittschuh’s team finished the regular season in 9th place in the USL’s scoring charts with 52 goals, while the Galaxy II tied for 25th position with 32 goals scored. Ethan Zubak will most likely lead the attack for Los Dos on Saturday, although predicting a starting XI for the Galaxy II poses a challenge. Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy are currently in their early season bye-week and will not play again until they travel to British Columbia to face the Vancouver Whitecaps on March 24th.
“I don’t know who LA will play,” confirmed Switchbacks Head Coach Steve Trittschuh. “We won’t find out LA’s 23-man roster until Thursday – 48 hours before the game. This season it’s a 23-man roster so LA will have a lot of players to choose from. The main thing to focus on is how we’re preparing and how we’ll play at home. We’ll take the game to them and play the way we can; it doesn’t matter who LA bring.”
“We’re pumped and ready to go,” said Switchbacks veteran Luke Vercollone. “We don’t look at who they might bring – we’re focused on what we have to do on Saturday. The most important thing is to start the season well at home. It’s good that we have the pressure to get all three points and that we open the season at home in front of our fans.”
Beginning the 2018 Major League Soccer campaign with their opening three matches on the road, the Galaxy won their MLS opener in Portland against the Timbers by 2-1 on March 4th behind goals from Ola Kamara and Romain Alessandrini. On Sunday afternoon the Galaxy lost 2-1 at Yankee Stadium against New York City FC in a game that saw Giovani dos Santos score and Ashley Cole sent off.
“All we are focusing on is our game and we’ll bring it to LA,” said goalkeeper Steward Ceus when asked about LA’s potential lineup. “With the home advantage, we have to set the tone early and often on Saturday.”
“Any home opener and the season opener is big, but of course it’s great that we start here,” said defender Taylor Hunter. “What we’ve been preaching is how hard we work as a team – that’s what we can control, not who we will play against. Saturday will be a good culmination of all the work we’ve been doing.”
Cameroonian defender Jean Jospin Engola will miss the trip to Colorado Springs through suspension. Engola was sent off against the Real Monarchs at Rio Tinto Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah on October 14th of last year in the final match of the 2017 USL regular season. The Monarchs won the match 2-1 as Los Dos finished their Western Conference campaign in 13th place.
“Saturday is big. We didn’t have a good start last year and we have to change that,” said Trittschuh. “The first two games are very important for us. We’re almost set on our lineup and we’ll see how the rest of the week of training goes. There’s no doubt that we must come out and play fast and that up top we’ll cause them a lot of problems. We’ve got to put on a good showing to our fans and must be positive in what we do and come out ready to play fast.”
Saturday’s season-opening opponents will have to wait until September 1st for the reverse fixture, with the Switchbacks visiting the StubHub Center in Carson, California as the calendar turns to fall.
The Switchbacks will return to Weidner Field as they host the Portland Timbers 2 on March 24th, with Weidner Apartment Homes sponsoring a Beanie Giveaway.
“It seems like LA are more of a rivalry than anyone else in the league. It’s always a good game versus LA where both teams want to play well and play quickly and win.” – Steve Trittschuh.
The 2018 USL regular season begins for the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC on Saturday evening at Weidner Field as they welcome the Los Angeles Galaxy II on St. Patrick’s Day. Gates will open at 5 pm with $1 green beer available for the first 30 minutes and a St. Paddy’s Day fireworks show to follow the match. Saturday will mark the first time in franchise history the Switchbacks have hosted a game on the opening weekend of the USL regular season.
Both teams will be desperate to start their season with a win after failing to qualify for the 2017 USL Cup Playoffs. The Galaxy II and Switchbacks traded 2-1 wins last season, with the Switchbacks coming out victorious on June 10th at the StubHub Center Track & Field Stadium behind a brace from Kevaughn Frater. Los Dos recorded a 2-1 win at Weidner Field on August 18th after an unfortunate own goal from Sean McFarlane sealed all three points for the visitors.
The Switchbacks possessed a much more potent attack during the 2017 season than Saturday’s opponents. Steve Trittschuh’s team finished the regular season in 9th place in the USL’s scoring charts with 52 goals, while the Galaxy II tied for 25th position with 32 goals scored. Ethan Zubak will most likely lead the attack for Los Dos on Saturday, although predicting a starting XI for the Galaxy II poses a challenge. Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy are currently in their early season bye-week and will not play again until they travel to British Columbia to face the Vancouver Whitecaps on March 24th.
“I don’t know who LA will play,” confirmed Switchbacks Head Coach Steve Trittschuh. “We won’t find out LA’s 23-man roster until Thursday – 48 hours before the game. This season it’s a 23-man roster so LA will have a lot of players to choose from. The main thing to focus on is how we’re preparing and how we’ll play at home. We’ll take the game to them and play the way we can; it doesn’t matter who LA bring.”
“We’re pumped and ready to go,” said Switchbacks veteran Luke Vercollone. “We don’t look at who they might bring – we’re focused on what we have to do on Saturday. The most important thing is to start the season well at home. It’s good that we have the pressure to get all three points and that we open the season at home in front of our fans.”
Beginning the 2018 Major League Soccer campaign with their opening three matches on the road, the Galaxy won their MLS opener in Portland against the Timbers by 2-1 on March 4th behind goals from Ola Kamara and Romain Alessandrini. On Sunday afternoon the Galaxy lost 2-1 at Yankee Stadium against New York City FC in a game that saw Giovani dos Santos score and Ashley Cole sent off.
“All we are focusing on is our game and we’ll bring it to LA,” said goalkeeper Steward Ceus when asked about LA’s potential lineup. “With the home advantage, we have to set the tone early and often on Saturday.”
“Any home opener and the season opener is big, but of course it’s great that we start here,” said defender Taylor Hunter. “What we’ve been preaching is how hard we work as a team – that’s what we can control, not who we will play against. Saturday will be a good culmination of all the work we’ve been doing.”
Cameroonian defender Jean Jospin Engola will miss the trip to Colorado Springs through suspension. Engola was sent off against the Real Monarchs at Rio Tinto Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah on October 14th of last year in the final match of the 2017 USL regular season. The Monarchs won the match 2-1 as Los Dos finished their Western Conference campaign in 13th place.
“Saturday is big. We didn’t have a good start last year and we have to change that,” said Trittschuh. “The first two games are very important for us. We’re almost set on our lineup and we’ll see how the rest of the week of training goes. There’s no doubt that we must come out and play fast and that up top we’ll cause them a lot of problems. We’ve got to put on a good showing to our fans and must be positive in what we do and come out ready to play fast.”
Saturday’s season-opening opponents will have to wait until September 1st for the reverse fixture, with the Switchbacks visiting the StubHub Center in Carson, California as the calendar turns to fall.
The Switchbacks will return to Weidner Field as they host the Portland Timbers 2 on March 24th, with Weidner Apartment Homes sponsoring a Beanie Giveaway.
