It’s an Earth Day celebration at Weidner Field in downtown Colorado Springs as the Switchbacks host local rivals New Mexico United on Saturday evening. Tickets remain available HERE, with Underline Infrastructure Inc. sponsoring a reusable grocery bag giveaway when gates open at 5pm.
What the Switchbacks Say:
Switchbacks newest signing, Swedish defender Oskar Ågren, who is on loan from the San Jose Earthquakes: “It’s been great – the guys have been really good to me and welcoming to me, so I think that transition has been easy. Every day it feels better and I’m getting more and more used to it. First of all I’m looking forward [to us] bouncing back from last weekend – the score [in a 4-0 loss at Sacramento Republic] was not acceptable, so we’re looking to bounce back with a win at home in front of our home crowd. I’m really excited to be on the field and in front of the home crowd.”
Head Coach Stephen Hogan: “[Oskar] is fantastic with the group! He’s a great lad, he’s here to really push San Jose’s eye and help us compete and win games. He’s a very good ball-playing center back and we want him to break lines and we want him to create chances for us from deep positions and play into our forward players and he has the ability to do that. He just needs a run of games because of the jump from MLS Next Pro to our level is huge, so he needs three or four games in a rhythm to see his real ability.
“We go through [what happened in Sacramento]. We try and get on with it and move on to the next one, but we break it down and we’ve had a good film session with the guys. As we’ve said all along after the game – and even with people commenting on it or whatever – it wasn’t a 4-0 game. We played really well on the ball, and we understand we were late in our press, and dealing with [Sacramento’s] counter was discussed all week [before last Saturday].
“Even players from different teams say it – the crowds are massive here [at Weidner Field] in terms of the noise and atmosphere, and it makes players really interested to come here. If they can continue like they have been over the last two years and just like the Pitt game, I think it’ll be great.”
Look at New Mexico:
New Mexico United make the jaunt up I-25 after a stout 1-1 draw against San Diego Loyal last Saturday, with United’s goal scored by former Switchback Sam Hamilton. “They’re big rivals coming into town,” said Head Coach Hogan. “[New Mexico are] coming off a decent result against San Diego – a 1-1 draw – and it’s very hard to get anything out of San Diego because of how well they play the game. We have to get on the front foot immediately and you have to put them under a lot of pressure, especially around the back line. They do play a lot of long, diagonal balls and we’ve got to deal with that. If we start off fast like we have been starting off in terms of our movement and our press, hopefully [New Mexico] will feel it and the next step is obviously creating those chances and hopefully putting them in the net.”
Vargish’s View:
New Mexico’s roster is full of quality, but so far this season it hasn’t clicked. United have scored just four goals while they’ve conceded six times. It’s on long passes where New Mexico excel, with a 50.8% success rate. For comparison, league-leaders Sacramento Republic complete 44.3% of their long passes, while Colorado Springs connect on 41.5%. On Saturday the Switchbacks must be cognizant of New Mexico United’s ability and propensity to go long and over-the-top. The Switchbacks love to press opponents and that’s no secret to the league and to New Mexico. One of the most effective tools against a team that puts opponents under pressure in their own half is to effectively stretch the field with direct distribution that bypasses a crowded midfield and negates an in-your-face pressure defense. This is a great rivalry. New Mexico United’s fans always contribute to one of the best atmospheres of the season at Weidner Field and Saturday will be no different. The Switchbacks must channel the principles that saw them look so stout defensively against Loudoun United and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. This is going to be a good game – both on and off the pitch – between two teams that are looking for their first offensive breakout of 2023
