There’s something of a timer in the Switchbacks locker room.

With seven games left in the Switchbacks’ regular season and a grand total of 16 points separating the current first seed and the eight seed in the USL Championship’s Western Conference playoff picture, there’s not a lot of room for mistakes in pursuit of a top four playoff spot and a home postseason match. 

Unfortunately for Colorado Springs, there were too many mistakes in the Switchbacks 3-2 loss to Louisville City FC on Saturday. It’s the club’s second-straight loss and fourth home loss all season and drops the Switchbacks to 11-13-3 overall. 

“We wrote it on the board like “eight playoff games” before we came out. It’s seven now,” head coach Stephen Hogan said.

Defending against set pieces has been a weakness for Switchbacks teams of the past couple seasons. In 2023, it’s largely been a non-issue until Saturday night.

Colorado Springs conceded two goals off corner kicks Saturday. The first opened the scoring in the match as Louisville Forward Jorge Gonzalez put a header, off of teammate Carlos Moguel’s corner, past Switchbacks goalkeeper Joe Kuzminsky in the 22nd minute. 

Then in the 49th minute with the score level at one, midfielder Elijah Wynder scored with his header again assisted by Moguel. 

In the 88th minute, forward Maarten Pouwels capitalized on a Switchbacks turnover near the Colorado Springs penalty area and scored the game winner for the visitors. 

It was a bittersweet night for Colorado Springs forward Romario Williams, who scored both goals for the club. 

In the 41st minute midfielder Jay Chapman found forward Juan Tejada streaking down the right side and hit him with a pass. Tejada delivered a centering pass to Williams who buried the low strike into the back of the net. The goal marks Williams’ ninth on the year and his 50th goal in USL Championship play. 

Facing a 3-1 deficit, Colorado Springs was awarded a penalty in the 89th minute, which Williams converted. 

“It’s an incredible milestone. It’s a testament to the hard work, the body of work that I’ve put in over the years to put myself in situations to be successful and obviously coaching staffs, teams, teammates that I’ve had over the years that have helped me achieve this milestone,” Williams said. “It’s a good milestone, but I’m always going to remember that game being a loss and that’s not the memory that I wanted.  

“We shot ourselves in the foot tonight. Obviously, giving up two goals from set pieces, something that we pride ourselves on all year that we don’t want to give up goals. We don’t want to give up opportunities. We gotta watch the tape and obviously make the necessary adjustments going into next week. This one is very disappointing. You score two goals at home, you’re expecting to win. Giving up three goals at home is unacceptable.”

The Switchbacks return to Weidner Field on Saturday to host San Antonio FC. 

Deshane Beckford dribbles against Louisville City FC (Photo by Isaiah Downing, Special to the Gazette)

Photo by Isaiah Downing, Special to the Gazette