There was a whole lot of soccer this past weekend and that's just how we like it here at Box State Footy. Whether it was catching up with Azteca FC 5280 for their matchday preparation on Friday, the Switchbacks Home Opener on Saturday, or the frigid temperatures at the Rapids 2 game on Sunday: there was plenty to enjoy outside of the two road matches from the Division I teams. Soccer is out there at all levels in the Box State; you just have to find it!
ICYMI - Last Week's Newsletter:
Juan Fernandez
Topics:
🏆 Colorado Springs Advance in US Open Cup
2️⃣ Rapidos Claim First Point in Frigid Temperatures
🛣️ Road Woes For Top Division Teams
☀️ Switchbacks Home Opener Filled With VIBES
📦 Box State Footy Player of the Week
🏆Colorado Springs Switchbacks Advance to the Next Round of the US Open Cup
It was a valiant effort from Azteca FC 5280, but in the end, Switchbacks FC came away with the victory following a 3-0 home win on Tuesday in the U.S. Open Cup Colorado Clash.
Switchbacks scored early in the half thanks to a Jonas Fjeldberg free kick effort. The 'Backs then conceded a penalty and a Herrera-showdown between Springs keeper Christian Herrera and Azteca's talisman Jovanny Herrera ensued. Christian saved Jovanny's chance keeping this one 1-0 ahead of half time.
To Azteca's credit, they kept it a one-goal game for the better part of 76 minutes before Sadam Masereka doubled the lead in the 82nd minute and the final nail in the coffin was hammered in by Khori Bennett in the 86th minute.
Juan Fernandez
We caught up with Azteca's owner, Andy de la Rosa, the Friday before the Cup Clash at their scrimmage against Peak XI at Cornerstone Park in Littleton, CO. They had a dominant 2025 campaign and de la Rosa hopes to continue building on those accomplishments through hard work and doubling down on their approach. Despite being a lower-league team, and with all the other commitments they have going on in their lives, they increased their weekly practices from one-a-week to two-a-week in an effort to better compete in the Cup match.
Juan Fernandez
While the score line may not have been a flattering one, keeping level with the Switchbacks for as long as they did is worth acknowledgement and they'll be sure to fight for the chance again as they begin their CPL season this Sunday at Broomfield Commons Park.
2️⃣Rapidos Earn First Point Of the Season Following 2-2 Draw at Home
R2 have not had a great start to their 2026 campaign. They opened on the road twice to Texan teams Houston Dynamo 2 & North Texas SC– both losses in regulation. In their home opener, the team couldn't hold on to their 2-1 lead following an Ian Murphy red card and eventually drew 2-2 and lost the ensuing penalty shootout.
Juan Fernandez
Through three games, no player immediately stands out from an advanced analytics perspective. Collectively, the team is still shaking out the rust.
The one player that has stood out is Donovan Phillip who leads the Rapids in G+ above average with 0.62 through three games. The 2026 Superdraft pick picked up two goals in the home opener.
Phillip, 21, is one to follow this R2 season and his potential ascent into the first team could be a storyline later down the season if a certain prediction from the Rapids Season Preview manifests itself.
As for the rest of the squad, time will tell who rises to the occasion and picks up starting positions. At the MLSNP level, with the amount of roster turnover and changes, any one player could claim a starting role and ride that momentum into meaningful minutes beyond this level. Players who could fit this profile include Phillip, Jabari de Couteau (recently called up), Sydney Wathutha, and Quinn Bedwell.
🛣️Colorado Rapids and Denver Summit Suffer Road Losses on St. Patrick's Day
What was projected to be a top tier weekend of vibes over St. Paddy's Day Weekend quickly soured following two poor results on the road for both the Colorado Rapids and Denver Summit FC.
For the Summit, their Season Opener against Bay FC stood as a bit (a lot) more monumental than the Rapids' cross conference trip to Yankee Stadium. For one, it was the Summit's first ever competitive match – the culmination of all their offseason hype and that fresh new expansion sticker smell. Summit FC faced some initial adversity once they conceded eight minutes into the game after a tidy run from Alex Pfeiffer who scores after cutting in to the box. It wouldn't be long before Melissa Kössler scored the equalizer and in doing so made history as the team's first ever goalscorer.
The Summit would face more adversity after Janine Sonis, who assisted the Kössler goal and wore the armband, was sent off after a reckless challenge. First deemed to be yellow, the referee overturned the decision after a VAR Check. Bay FC reclaimed the lead before the end of the half and that was enough to take the steam out of the game.
For the Rapids, there's not much to say more about their loss. I implore you to read the match preview as the devils were in the details there. The only thing I didn't correctly predict was a red card.
Juan Fernandez
Overall a poor start to the weekend celebrations. It's always a much better vibe when your team wins. When both of them lose here; oof.
☀️ Day Game VIBES - Switchbacks FC Leave it Late in Home Opener Win Against Las Vegas Lights FC
Thankfully, there's a third team available for viewing if you're up for the drive. The Colorado Springs Switchbacks played their first home game of the season at Weidner Field – a 3-2 home win against Las Vegas Lights FC.
Juan Fernandez
Before the match began, and before we can really recount the vibes, both teams participated in an opening minute of protest. These displays of solidarity continued for another week in the row as USL Players continue their fight for professional standards and their collective bargaining agreement with USL. USLPA has authorized a strike but after two games and a slate of U.S. Open Cup games (not directly related to USLC, but still) one has to wonder if the strike is going to be acted upon and if the players plan on taking it a step further.
We spoke with some fans about their thoughts on the protest and the strike itself. Some fans had no idea about the strike and what was going on. The Switchbacks themselves didn't help either as during the minute long protest the played music through the first minute in what should have stood as a "silence is deafening" scenario. Instead they filled in the stadium dead air with music. Blegh, my least favorite moment of the weekend.
Before you click the video below, make sure to turn the volume down! Our audio peaked mostly due to user error (my bad on that). We promise this will be only bad audio the rest of the season.
To frame this back under a game perspective, the first half was rather balanced with both teams playing out of a similar 4-2-3-1. Las Vegas would shift their shape to a 3-4-3 after an initial flurry of chances from the Switchbacks. They did well to drag the game out and settled for a 0-0 at the break. The onus coming out of the half was all on the Switchbacks to deliver the goods to the fans in attendance.
They did just that after a strong inside run from Yosuke Hanya (man, what a player) who laid a great pass into a poaching Levonte Johnson taking an early second half lead. Yosuke Hanya would eventually sub out of the match with a non-contact injury. Head coach Alan McCann said it was mostly a precaution after some light tightness.
Hanya, 27, was electric in this one and hopefully this isn't a long term issue. It will be one to keep an eye on.
Switchbacks doubled their lead soon after thanks to a low driven curler from Jonas Fjeldberg who had subbed in earlier for Hanya. Las Vegas would have their say following two poor defensive lapses. First, a glancing header that caught the defense off guard and a poor giveaway from Talen Maples that was quickly punished by the Lights left many a fan wondering whether the Switchbacks were going to blow two points after a rather dominant display throughout the game.
In the end, it was Maples who ended up being the hero thanks to his game-winning header. A strong headed effort off a desperation cross into the box which flubbed the keeper enough to right the wrongs of his giveaway that resulted in the visitor's equalizer. A "calm before the storm" type of first half followed by a calamity of errors, tidy finishes, and peak USL-ball. It's a damn shame the league continues to eat it's own ass like an ouroboros the more they neglect the players here.
📦Box State Footy Player of the Week - Oliver Larraz
One player I had my eye on this week was Denver's own Oliver Larraz. The former Rapids Homegrown Player started in Vancouver's midweek CONCACAF Champions Cup match against Seattle Sounders. Despite the loss, the Whitecaps put up a strong performance and were bitten by the Sounders via their counter attack. On Sunday, Larraz finished out Vancouver's last 25 minutes allowing Sebastian Berhalter some rest.
Admittedly, I did just do an all-touches compilation (and will more than likely not be able to do it for every BSF POTW) for a player who just played 25 minutes in an already decided game, but man do I enjoy watching Larraz play!
