March 4, 2023 – United Soccer League Championship (USL) – Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC News Release
Colorado Springs, COLO – The Colorado Springs Switchbacks played their penultimate preseason match Saturday afternoon as southern rivals New Mexico United visited Weidner Field.
Colorado Springs began pressure early as they had several chances in the opening twenty minutes of play, but found New Mexico was stingy on the defensive front. United keeper Alex Tambakis was busy in the twelfth minute as a flurry of Switchbacks shots found the frame, however the United backline stood strong once again and kept the black and blue off the board.
Discipline was a continued topic as both teams were cautioned before the halftime break, with more warnings being handed out to both sides. Though cautions were frequent, no ejections were earned by either team.
The match remained scoreless into the half, with the home team having the upper hand in the possession category, having controlling the run of play for most of the first 45.
At the start of the second half, the physicality picked up right away as Switchbacks forward Romario Williams was sent to the turf in the first minute of resumption. Williams was able to stay in the game after a brief stoppage, however. The physical play continued throughout the second half as both teams battled to get on the board.
The second 45 came and went without any real scoring threats from either side, but the start of stoppage time delivered the best opportunity of the game.
Just after the clock hit 90, a tactical touch off the back foot of Drew Skundrich found a cutting Aaron Wheeler, who was unable to keep his footing as he made his way into the keeper’s area. The pass rolled harmlessly out of play on the far side of the pitch, but still went into the books as the best chance of the match.
The Switchbacks will play their final match of the preseason on Wednesday as they take on CSU-Pueblo, as they gear up to open the regular season in El Paso on March 15th.
Tickets are available for the Switchbacks March 18th home opener as well as the rest of the regular season.
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