The Colorado Soccer Pyramid has Rivalries Brewing

For the second straight year, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC hosted Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. 

It was a cagy affair. Freezing temperatures. A few snow flakes. Switchbacks rotated their squad against a mostly first choice NoCo side, which beat them last year in a game that ended 10-v-10. It was physical. The home side got flustered. The small crowd (I heard 850 tickets sold at $9 each) gave it to the ref and the visitors. 

Hailstorm came out and pressed high, not letting the opponent get settled. They had a cross go off the keeper and bounce on the goal line. There were a bunch of chances on corners. They just couldn’t finish. Switchbacks improved in the second half. They gradually subbed on their usual starters. 

One of those subs scored to put the Springs up 1-0. Westminster native Trevor Amann scored in the 88th minute to send it to extra time. Hailstorm scored two goals in extra time including a solo counter attack Jonathan Lewis would have been proud of. 

For the second straight year, Northern Colorado went south and said Hail Yeah to a Cupset. 

Switchbacks manager Stephen Hogan admitted he couldn’t take the competition seriously given his roster size. He lamented the defensive mistakes that let Northern Colorado back into the game. He ended his presser saying “I’d say they’re rivals now, yeah.”

Colorado now has a proper soccer pyramid. Rapids in the first division. Switchbacks in the USL Championship. Hailstorm below that. MLS Next Pro is technically third division making R2 on their level. Then Flatiron Rush SC in USL League Two. That’s the top four tiers. Then there’s a healthy amateur culture with Harpos, FC Denver, and the lot. 

How many other states with less than 6 million people can say all that? Now all we’re missing is that NWSL team in Denver and a NISA team in Fort Collins or Grand Junction. 

And yet, this game was just the fourth matchup in the USOC I could find involving two professional teams from Colorado. 

The Rapids played Switchbacks in their inaugural year (2015), smashing them 4-1. 

They met again in 2016, with Dillon Serna scoring the only goal to send the Burgundy Boys through. Harpos lost in the Springs in an earlier round that year. 

Then there’s been these past two years of Colorado Springs Switchbacks hosting Hailstorm. 

Every time I’ve been to an Open Cup game or qualifier for Harpos or FC Denver, someone brings up wanting to get through to the first round with MLS teams and draw the Pids. EVERY CLUB in this state that plays in Open Cup wants to get to Commerce City. Covering a game between an in-state amateur side and the Rapids is on my bucket list.

The draws for the second round proper the last two years have had a lot of in-state matchups and plenty between teams from adjacent states. With the geographic makeup of the sport, hopefully we see this fixture regularly going forward. Hopefully the last lower division team left from Colorado draws the Rapids regularly in the years to come. 

Hailstorm Manager Éamon Zayed was buzzing after the game regardless of the snow and cold. He WANTED the Rapids in this round.

“We treat it like a cup final. Of course it’s a cup final. It’s a cup. You lose, you go home. It’s a rivalry to us. They’re in-state. They’re in the USL Championship. I hope we play against the Rapids. That’ll be another rivalry.”

Switchbacks relished those two games in 15 and 16. Getting to RailHawked their former big brother would go down in club history. Hailstorm already have a win over a first division team, beating RSL in the Open Cup last year. Sure they’d love to add the Rapids to that list and grow another front range soccer rivalry. 

Colorado Rapids host Hailstorm on Wednesday, April 27 at 7 PM MT. Visit burgundywave.com and follow us on social media for this momentous game.

Photo Credit: Matt Pollard