Be yourself. 

That common phrase is at the forefront of Colorado Springs Switchbacks coach Alan McCann’s mind as the club hosts Las Vegas Lights FC in the home opener on Saturday. 

Kickoff at Weidner Field is at 3 p.m., and the formula for the Switchbacks (0-0-1) to be successful against their guests is to play to their identity, McCann said. 

“If we are ourselves and we execute on the details we know we can, the fans and the players can genuinely come closer. Now fans and players are coming closer well now this whole building’s coming closer. … It’s tough for opponents and that’s what we have to do,” he said. “We control the controllables. That’s what we need to focus on.”

Entering the season, McCann spoke at length about the importance of having players of great character on the roster. He believes that in the toughest moments, character will shine through beyond any analytics. 

The club’s season opener at El Paso Locomotive FC provided a solid blueprint of what character moments look like. 

Colorado Springs raced out to an early lead in the fifth minute on a goal from forward Khori Bennett. Then El Paso forward Rubio Rubin scored the next two goals of the match in the 21st and 50th minutes.  

“First 19 minutes (I was) really happy because we’ve managed the away. The first 10 minutes, we’ve managed that, we’ve managed field, we’ve managed crowd, energy, opening night for them and they bring a good atmosphere. But the challenge is always managing ourselves no matter what the externals are,” McCann said. “And then we concede and we don’t manage that well from that minute on to the back end of the half. We don’t manage that well. We don’t manage ourselves well. And there was a lot of when simple decisions were on, there was a lot of poor decisions made.”

Despite the sloppy end to the first half and another goal conceded in the second, the Switchbacks didn’t crumble when they were down a score. Instead, they took control of the game, executed the details and began making those simple decisions again. 

In the 67th minute, Colorado Springs equalized on a header from defender Isaiah Foster, who earned the assist on Bennett’s goal. 

“It was more just being in the right spot at the right time,” Foster said of the goal. “They had a dude that was 6-foot-5 so Talen (Maples) had him wrapped up pretty much the entire time so I knew I was free. So if Sam (Williams) could find me then, which he did, I could win my header and the rest is what it was.”

While Bennett, Maples and Williams are newcomers who immediately made an impact on the club, there are several returners McCann believes have more to offer the Switchbacks than perhaps they have shown previously. 

Foster is one. 

“We felt four or five from the roster last year that are returning, there’s more juice in the lemon. There’s definitely more that they are capable of,” McCann said. “I’d say (Yosuke Hanya), I’d say (Levonte Johnson), I’d say last year (Matt) Mahoney could have been better and last year (Christian Herrera) and then every single one of them you’re already, preseason and Game 1, you’re seeing so much more.”

Foster and Bennett lead the club in goals with one each. Foster and Williams lead in assists also with one. Las Vegas forward Nighte Pickering leads Lights FC in goals with one and Christian Pinzón leads the club in assists with one.