It’s $3 Margarita Night at Weidner Field as El Paso Locomotive FC make their first ever visit to Colorado Springs to face the Switchbacks FC on Saturday evening. Pikes Peak National Bank will be sponsoring a bucket hat giveaway for the first 1000 fans.

The Switchbacks have not played since falling to the Tulsa Roughnecks FC 2-0 on Wednesday, April 24th. On Tuesday morning the Switchbacks returned to practice – albeit indoors due to the spring snow that wafted through Colorado Springs on Monday night. “The days off help us just re-set the mind,” said center back Jamal Jack. “We’re back now and we have to come out this week and work hard every day and win our games at home.”

“The break was good for everybody,” said Switchbacks Head Coach Steve Trittschuh. “The players were able to get away mentally after a tough week with all the travel and a short turnaround. It was time for them to get a break and regenerate and now we’re here to get back at it.”

“We got away mentally and now we’ve got to come back focused,” said defender Kris Reaves. “We’ll take a look during the week at El Paso, but this week we’ll focus on our game and the details that make us better. We’ll get things right this week so we can get a good result on Saturday.”

El Paso notched their second ever win in USL Championship play last Saturday, as they defeated Reno 1868 FC 1-0 at Southwest University Park in the western tip of Texas. Argentine midfielder Sebastián Contreras won the match for the Locomotive with a 76th minute penalty kick after Jerome Kiesewetter was hauled down in the box. Contreras and Kiesewetter lead El Paso’s attacking line against Reno, with Irishman Richie Ryan and Scotsman Nick Ross patrolling the center of midfield.

Berlin born, United States international Kiesewetter spent his formative years in the Hertha Berlin, VfB Stuttgart, and Fortuna Düsseldorf organizations, before making his way stateside to sign with the El Paso Locomotive FC. Haitian defender Mechack Jérôme was named as a starter on the USL Championship Team of the Week after his performance for the Locomotive FC in helping keep Reno 1868 FC scoreless last Saturday.

“El Paso have good players and they’ve been able to put together a team with a lot of experience – they’re a dangerous team,” said Trittschuh on Tuesday morning. “We always play well at home and we need to win our games here. Later this week we’ll see who the Rapids will send us. We need all the guys this week to be ready and focused and we’ll need them to show up on Saturday and go for the win.”

Mexican striker Edson Partida and Maine native Derek Gebhard are tied on El Paso’s goal charts with two strikes apiece in 2019. Former Bradley University Brave Logan Ketterer has posted back-to-back clean sheets for the Locomotive FC, after holding Reno 1868 FC scoreless a week after doing the same to the Austin Bold FC. Ketterer is one of six Locomotive players to have appeared in all seven matches for El Paso in 2019.

“We’ll look at El Paso this week, but for me the focus right now is on what we do well,” said Switchbacks captain Jordan Burt. “We’ve put together some good games but just need that final piece. We are close to being a great team – we just need to put it together.”

Following Saturday’s match, the Switchbacks will head to Sin City to face the Las Vegas Lights FC on May 11th, before returning to Weidner Field on the 18th to host high-flying New Mexico United. General Dynamics will be sponsoring a vuvuzela giveaway for the first 500 fans through the gates for the match against New Mexico United, with the Switchbacks looking to post a vital win in the race for the inaugural Four Corners Cup.

The Switchbacks will visit the Lone Star State and the home of the Locomotive FC and the El Paso Chihuahuas, Southwest University Park, on Saturday, September 21st.