Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC moves up standings with 5-2 win in Texas
Hadji Barry continues to be the engine that powers the Switchbacks FC express.
The man from Guinea scored two more goals on Saturday night, while three of his Colorado Springs teammates added a goal apiece, to power the club to a 5-2 victory over Rio Grande Valley FC at H-E-B Park in Edinburg, Texas.
Barry upped his USL Championship league-leading goal total to 18 as the Switchbacks scored a season high in goals.
RGV’s previous high in goals allowed was three.
Also finding the back of the net for Colorado Springs were Thomas Amang (his first of the season to go along with his first assist in his first start), Michee Ngalina (his sixth) and 16-year-old Darren Yapi (his second).
“Ruthless,” Switchbacks coach Brendan Burke said about Barry after the game. “There were probably four goals for him tonight.”
Barry deferred a penalty kick to teammate Deshane Beckford early in the match that Beckford was unsuccessful on. Later, Barry hit the crossbar on a hard shot.
With the victory, the Switchbacks (8-6-4) pulled even with the Toros (8-6-4) for second place in the Western Conference Mountain Division with 28 points each. The Switchbacks are technically ahead of RGV because of goal differential — 7 to 4.
The Switchbacks finished a run of five games in 14 days with three victories, one loss and one tie.
“We’re buzzing,” Burke said. “I can’t even wrap my head around the fact we just went 3-1-1 in 14 days.”
The Switchbacks trailed 1-0 in the 28th minute when Juan Carlos Azocar squeaked a shot past Switchbacks goalie Sean Melvin.
Nine minutes later, Barry powered a left-footed shot past Toros keeper Colin Miller. Amang, who joined the team last month and playing in only his fourth game with the Switchbacks, was credited with the assist.
Amang scored his goal in the 57th minute when he blasted a shot right to left past Miller from about 20 yards.
The Toros tied the score two minutes later, but Ngalina put the Switchbacks back on top in the 69th minute on a free kick around a four-man RGV wall. Ngalina followed his beautiful kick by doing his usual back flips to the joy of his teammates.
Barry put the Switchbacks up by two scores in the 73rd minute on a shot that found the back of the net from 21 yards.
Yapi put the icing on the cake in the 89th minute when he took a pass from Andre Lewis to make the score 5-2.
The Switchbacks return home Sunday to prepare for next Saturday’s match at Charlotte Independence. The club will fly to Charlotte on Thursday morning to train there for a couple of days.
Switchbacks FC forward Deshane Beckford fights for a ball with a Rio Grande Valley defender Saturday night