COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — The Switchbacks advanced to the round of 16 in the U.S. Open Cup for the first time in club history after a dominant 3-0 win over Sporting Kansas City at Widner Field.
The victory marked the club's first-ever win against a Major League Soccer team.
The Switchbacks capitalized on an aggressive first-half attack, recording nine shots with four on target. Juan Tejada scored the first goal off an assist from Saddam Mazarika.
Mazarika then followed up with a left-footed shot into the net from inside the box. The performance carried extra significance for Mazarika, as Sporting Kansas City drafted him after he had already signed with the Switchbacks.
"It's really huge to play against my team that drafted me. I mean, for me it was a little bit of showing that I really am capable. I mean, I made the right choice to come at switchback," Mazarika said.
Defensively, the Switchbacks held Kansas City to seven total shots, with only two on target. The defensive effort resulted in the team's second clean sheet of the U.S. Open Cup. Kansas City has conceded 17 goals across its seven MLS games.
"At the end of the day, it's just a mentality from all, from all 11 guys to, to want to like defend the goal, to die for the goal, you know what I mean? And so yeah, I'm, I'm really happy with it. I think we're conceding very little chances and that's, that's a good sign," a Switchbacks player said.
The Switchbacks will head north on Interstate 25 to play the Colorado Rapids in the next round of the U.S. Open Cup. Before that, the team will host Monterey Bay for a home match on Saturday, which you can stream online or your favorite KOAA5 streaming platform at 3:00 p.m.
This story was reported by a on air jounralist and has been converted to this platform with the assitance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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