Opponent: Oakland Roots SC
Match Date: June 1
Location: Weidner Field
Doors Open: 6pm MT on Soccer For All Night. Limited tickets remain available HERE!
Last Meeting with Opponent: Oakland Roots 0, Switchbacks 2. April 27th , 2024, Pioneer Stadium in Oakland, California. Goals by Juan Tejada (71’) and Aidan Rocha (84’).
How to Listen: XTRA Sports 1300am with the Voices of the Switchbacks, Ryan Kaufman and Roland Vargish – coverage starts at 6:30pm MT.
Coach Chamber’s Comments: “[It’s] certainly a different Oakland [from the match on April 27th ]. I think [Interim Head Coach Gavin Glinton] has done a terrific job since he’s gone in there – they’ve got two [wins] on the bounce [and they have] done really well in both games. [Oakland] changed a couple of things here and there and they’re a little bit more aggressive, so we know that what happened a month ago is irrelevant, and Oakland will be coming here to continue on the streak that they’re on. “It obviously wasn’t the ideal timing [to have a weekend off] but we were able to get some work in and look, we’re just excited to get back on the field with a meaningful game this weekend. [As a coaching staff] we’ll do our due diligence and keep an eye on what [Oakland Roots have] changed and give that to the players before the weekend. The focus is obviously the game. “The last two home games [here at Weidner Field] have been terrific [and] we’d like to continue that. It works both ways [with] having everybody in the building and [getting] results, but we know that we have to play our part, so we’re really focused on that. We have to keep momentum going, but we know that it’s a completely different Oakland that we’re facing, and we have to be up to the challenge. “[The Roots are now] a little bit more aggressive without the ball and then [they’re] probably more of a direct threat at times. They’ve got more pace than what they had in the previous game we played out there with [Baboucarr] Njie on one side and [Trayvone] Reid on the other, so they’ve got some good players. And [Miche-Naider] Chéry who’s come in and scored last weekend has made a difference to them. Most definitely we know it’s a completely different opponent [and a] completely different game – what happened [on April 27th ] is nowhere near what’s going to happen this coming weekend, but we just want to make sure that we put on a performance.”
Vargish’s View: The Roots were so disappointed by their season – and the aforementioned loss to the Switchbacks – in late April that the club told then Head Coach Noah Delgado to please seek employment elsewhere. Since the interim hiring of former Turks and Caicos international striker Gavin Glinton, Oakland have gone 2-1-1 with back-to-back victories heading into this weekend’s match in Colorado Springs. The three points in the East Bay on April 27th against the Roots was the turning point in the Switchbacks’ season, with Colorado Springs currently on a four-match winning run and the
biggest disappointment being the timing of the week off following the Switchbacks’ terrific 3-1 victory over Rhode Island FC at Weidner Field on May 17th. Much like the Switchbacks, the Roots have moved past an early-season malaise and are playing enjoyable, entertaining, and offensive soccer. Saturday night is another match in Southern Colorado that promises goals, with the fans at Weidner Field the winners of a contest that promises to be end-to-end and played with that pinch of extra spice that inevitably comes with the second meeting in just five weeks.
