Saturday night was exciting for the Switchbacks, but they can’t afford to rest. 

Colorado Springs hops right back into the fray Wednesday, traveling to Phoenix Rising FC. 

Despite a euphoric come-from-behind win at home against Birmingham Legion FC last weekend, the Switchbacks (8-7-4) remain a game out of the playoffs in ninth place in the USL Championship Western Conference. 

Kickoff at Phoenix (5-7-7) is at 8 p.m. Wednesday.

The contest is the latest in a busy month for the club, which again has matches Wednesday and Saturday. The Switchbacks will return to Weidner Field after Phoenix to host El Paso Locomotive. 

Despite a slow scoring start to the month, Colorado Springs remains a top-five team in the league in goals scored with 31. The Switchbacks set a league record for most shots taken in a game with 46 against Birmingham last week.  

The previous record holder was Phoenix, which had 41 against Las Vegas in 2021. 

One question Wednesday will be which keeper will be in goal for Colorado Springs. 

While the Switchbacks have been dominant on offense, the Switchbacks are a bottom-10 team in terms of goals conceded with 28 and have just two shutouts in regular-season play, second fewest in the USL Championship.

Colorado Springs has been stingy in terms of the number of chances it allows opponents but of those, many have made their way into the back of the net. 

Switchbacks keeper Colin Shutler started Saturday but made a critical mistake that could have lost the match. In the 86th minute, the Switchbacks’ back line shut down a chance and passed it to Shutler, who attempted a pass through the middle, leading to an easy steal and score for Legion FC.    

Before the contest, Switchbacks coach Alan McCann made it clear that the person who best executes will receive minutes in the final stretch of the season. 

“We spoke to those two lads very, very clearly today, to (Christian Herrera) and to Colin,” McCann said prior to the Birmingham match. “It’s about execution. We can’t continue on this trend of limiting opponents with shots on goal and they’re converting. End of story. We need executors. So we’re going to have (Birmingham, Phoenix, El Paso) and that’ll give us a lot of answers as to who’s going to be the executor going forward and if we can’t stay consistent with it then we rely on both.”

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Scoring Leaders 

USL Championship regular-season stats only

Goals

COS: Khori Bennett (11, tied for second)

PHX: Ihsan Sacko (9)

Assists 

COS: Sadam Masereka, Sam Williams (3)

PHX: Ihsan Sacko (3)

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Trio of moves for Switchbacks 

Colorado Springs announced a trio of moves Tuesday. 

Switchbacks midfielder Sam Williams was recalled by Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire but his departure isn’t permanent. Williams will return to Colorado Springs on Monday. 

Through 27 appearances, he has five assists and 14 clearances. His three assists in regular-season play are tied for the team lead.  

The Switchbacks announced two new arrivals Tuesday, both on loan from the Colorado Rapids. 

Forward Bryce Jamison joins the Switchbacks after making 18 appearances for Colorado Rapids 2. He logged nearly 1,100 minutes and scored twice. 

In a club statement, McCann noted that Jamison would add to the Switchbacks’ firepower and make the team more devastating in the final third. 

After watching his team fail to score in the first two matches of August, McCann hinted at the move last week. 

“I’m pushing to bring more competition in for strikers,” he said. “We cannot go any more games where we do not score goals. It’s not acceptable.”

The Switchbacks also welcomed defender Jabari De Coteau who has also made 18 appearances for Rapids 2 with nearly 1,500 minutes of play logged. He comes to aid a defense that is down Isaiah Foster and Patrick Burner due to injury. Also, defender Garven Metusala figures to serve a one-game suspension following a red card against Birmingham.