Miguel Gonzalez, an ambitious and dangerous striker, doesn’t want to remain in Colorado Springs. He doesn’t want to continue playing soccer for the Switchbacks.

He wants more.

And that’s fine with Switchbacks coach Steve Trittschuh.

The ambition that flows through Gonzalez and every other player on the Switchbacks roster makes Trittschuh’s job easier.

At practice, Trittschuh seldom has to push his players to compete with more vigor. The Switchbacks want to win, yes, but they also want to take the next step in the soccer world to greater economic reward and bigger crowds and more glamour and .

Gonzalez is smiling on a cloudy morning a few minutes before joining his teammates at practice. The Switchbacks are preparing to travel to Oklahoma City on Sunday night to play in the USL Western Conference semifinals.

“It definitely helps,” Gonzalez says of ambition. “At practice every day and coming into a game you want to do something for the team and for yourself. Having that in mind, it helps you every day and helps you keep working.”

Over the summer and the early days of fall, Gonzalez and the Switchbacks have crafted an ideal season for a developmental team. The Switchbacks blend intense personal ambition with just-as-intense devotion to team. This combination has transformed a squad that didn’t exist a year ago into a contender for the USL title.

This blending of ambition for tomorrow and taking care of business today isn’t a given in a developmental league. The Sky Sox, the Switchbacks’ baseball neighbors, just stumbled to their ninth losing season in 11 years.

Gonzalez, who turns 25 Thursday, has served as the offensive centerpiece of the Switchbacks’ quick rise. He’s an imaginative goal scorer, but just as imaginative as a passer.

He is tied for seventh in total points (10 goals, seven assists) in the USL.

Trittschuh believes Gonzalez has a bright future in professional soccer.

“In the better leagues, speed is a big part of success,” Trittschuh says.

“Foot speed, quick speed, just flat-out speed. Miguel combines that speed with his ideas on the ball and his ideas off the ball. He’s one of those players who can get to the next level.”

Gonzalez was born in Mexico, but grew up in Yelm, a town of 8,200 in Washington state 60 miles from Seattle. (Don’t worry; Gonzalez is not a Seahawks fan.)

He starred at Seattle University and he’s worked in the Seattle Sounders developmental system.

He would love to go back home someday to play for the Sounders, who compete in front of home crowds of 40,000-plus in Major League Soccer competition.

“It would be big. It would be nice,” Gonzalez says of an eventual return to Washington. “It would definitely be something to look forward to.

“I’ve trained with the first team of the Sounders and I know what it’s like and I know I can keep up with those guys. I know I can get to the next level, but I know there’s work to be done and lot of things to be learned before I get there.”

Gonzalez made a strong case for his eventual leap to the Sounders on Friday at Sand Creek Stadium. The Switchbacks were facing Sounders II in the USL quarterfinals.

In the game’s 14th minute, Gonzalez ripped a shot into the left corner, giving the Switchbacks a lead they never would relinquish.

“It was nice,” Gonzalez says. “It was important for me.”

He pauses.

“And for the club.”

Gonzalez will travel to Oklahoma City with this ideal combination, the same combination that has propelled the Switchbacks to a surprising debut season.

He’s fueled by ambition for tomorrow and a desire to win today.