Daily Five: Switchbacks Take Aim At First
Colorado Springs eyes the top of the standings after Energy FC takes a big victory. Here are five things to know in the USL today.
1. SWITCHBACKS TAKE AIM AT FIRST: Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC can regain first place in the USL’s Western Conference on Wednesday night as it hosts Tulsa Roughnecks FC at Sand Creek Stadium. The Switchbacks are 8-1-1 at home this season, and are well aware how important a bye to the conference semifinals and home-field advantage could be when the playoffs arrive.
“A top-two finish would be very important for us,” Switchbacks Coach Steve Trittschuh told the Colorado Springs Gazette’s Joe Paisley. “That is our focus as we enter these final nine games.”
Tulsa, meanwhile, is hoping to simply earn a place in the postseason. After a 6-3 win against Arizona on Sunday night, Tulsa sits in seventh place in the conference standings, two points back of Orange County. David Irving’s side will be hoping to replicate its performance in the first meeting between the teams, when the Roughnecks took a 3-1 win at ONEOK Field.
2. ENERGY FC JUMPS INTO TOP FOUR: Colorado Springs has the chance to move to the top of the Western Conference standings tonight thanks to OKC Energy FC, which took a 2-0 win against the LA Galaxy II on Tuesday night at Taft Stadium. Energy FC is now in fourth position, as the race for first place became even tighter after first-half goals by Peter Toth and Sebastian Dalgaard proved enough for victory.
“The last two games are two huge wins for the team,” Energy FC Coach Jimmy Nielsen said. “It’s been hard work, there’s been some very beautiful soccer, I think we’ve had a little bit of everything over the last two games, and I’m very proud of the guys. They’ve got a well-deserved day off tomorrow.”
3. DACRES SHINING FOR LOUISVILLE: Louisville City FC will try to extend its winning streak to seven games tonight, and close the Rochester Rhinos’ lead at the top of the Eastern Conference to just two points, when the side hosts FC Montreal at Slugger Field. One of the key players in Louisville’s success this season has been winger Kadeem Dacres, whose speed and creativity has been important for an attack that has scored 38 goals in 19 games this season.
Dacres had a solid rookie season for Arizona United SC last year, but his performance has been boosted this summer by a strong offseason, which saw him return to his alma mater UMBC to up his fitness levels.
“During the offseason, I really worked on my strength back at UMBC, where I played collegiately,” Dacres told the Louisville Courier-Journal’s Jonathan Lintner. “That was my main focus coming in - that I was as strong as possible for the season.”
4. CHARLOTTE LOOKS TO CONTINUE CLIMB: After an impressive 4-2 victory against the Rochester Rhinos on Saturday, the Charlotte Independence face another key game on Wednesday night as theyhost the New York Red Bulls II at Ramblewood Soccer Stadium. The Independence hold games in hand on the teams above them in the Eastern Conference standings, but with an eight-point gap separating them from the fifth-place Red Bulls II, another win tonight will be key to their playoff hopes.
The Red Bulls II are coming off a big win of their own, however, after Franklin Castellanos’ stoppage-time goal earned a 2-1 victory against Saint Louis FC on Sunday evening. New York would jump past the Richmond Kickers and into fourth place in the Eastern Conference should it earn a result on the road, but the Independence have been strong at home, going 6-2-2 overall and having lost just once at Ramblewood.
5. OLYMPICS QUALIFYING CALL-UPS: A number of USL players will be headed to Olympic Qualifying next week, with Arizona United SC’s Jonathan Top joining Orange County Blues FC’s Jefrey Payeras in Guatemala’s U23 squad for Central American qualifying, and Seattle Sounders FC 2’s Damion Lowe and Oalax Anderson also selected by Jamaica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, respectively.
Guatemala will face Honduras (Aug. 13) and Belize (Aug. 15) in Group B of Central American qualifying, with the winner of the three-team group that will take place in Guatemala City guaranteed a berth in the final stage of qualifying in October. Meanwhile, Lowe and Jamaica will face Cuba, and Anderson and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines will face Haiti on August 14 in the semifinals of Caribbean qualifying. The two semifinals winners in Port-au-Prince, Haiti will book their place in the final stage.First-Half Goals Lead Energy FC Past Galaxy II
OKLAHOMA CITY - Peter Toth scored the first USL goal of his career and Sebastian Dalgaard added his fourth goal of the season as OKC Energy FC took a 2-0 victory against the LA Galaxy II on Tuesday night at Taft Stadium. OKC keeper Evan Newton recorded a third consecutive shutout, his seventh of the season, as Energy FC took its second consecutive victory.
The win moved Energy FC (9-5-7, 34pts) into sole possession of fourth place in the USL’s Western Conference, one point ahead of fifth-place Sacramento and one point behind third-place Colorado Springs. OKC is unbeaten in its last six games.
Energy FC took an early lead, scoring a first-half goal for the first time in four games. After OKC’s Danni König took a shot from 12 yards out that LA goalkeeper Clement Diop made a sliding block on, Toth grabbed the rebound near the penalty spot and drove a shot over the Galaxy II goalkeeper for a 1-0 Energy FC advantage in the 19th minute.
In the 35th minute, OKC extended its lead when Daniel Gonzalez moved the ball from the right side to the top of the penalty area, where Dalgaard slid across and hit a first-time shot that bent into the top-right corner of the LA net, past a diving Diop.
Newton made saves on all three shots he faced, including a diving stop on a one-on-one chance for LA’s Jack McBean from 15 yards out in the 17th minute. The Galaxy II (11-7-3, 36pts) pressed for much of the second half to try and find a way back into the game, but were unable to find a way through an organized Energy FC defense.
The match marked the first time since June 5 that König did not tally a goal in a match Energy FC scored in. The OKC forward and USL co-leader in goals scored did register an assist in the match, giving him 20 points in OKC’s last 12 games.
Energy FC next travels to Portland, Ore., where it will face Portland Timbers 2 in a 9 p.m. CT start on Saturday night at Merlo Field.
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