Switchbacks coach James Chambers had the perfect analogy for the 2025 season which has seen the defending USL Championship title winners play eight games away to just four at home.

“I feel like it’s a long-distance relationship at this point. And we’re getting really excited to see everybody on Saturday,” he said.

After three weeks on the road, the Switchbacks are finally back in downtown Colorado Springs, hosting Oakland Roots SC at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

The reunion, however, isn’t the only thing on Chambers’ mind, as evidenced by his comments immediately following the humor.

“But we also know that we have a job to do. We gotta go and try and win the game against Oakland, which will be a really difficult opponent,” he said.

‘Win’ is the operative word. Colorado Springs has just two victories in league play to go alongside four losses and a league-high six draws. With 12 points on the season, the defending champs sit in 10th of 12 places in the Western Conference.

Saturday offers an opportunity for the Switchbacks to earn a much-needed win and three points toward the standings as Oakland (3-7-2) sits in 11th place.

But the urgency of victory cuts both ways. Roots SC coach Benny Feilhaber was named the club’s interim coach through the remainder of the 2025 season on June 2 after Oakland relieved former coach Gavin Glinton of his duties. The club responded with a scoreless draw against fourth-ranked El Paso Locomotive FC at home last weekend.

As Roots looks to build off its draw last week, the Switchbacks will look to build off theirs, which came at top-ranked rival New Mexico United.

Chambers is never one to panic, and this week is no different. He believes the Switchbacks are close to finding a form that will allow them to win with more regularity. In the mean time, he praises his players for finding ways to earn points through draws despite multiple red-card suspensions, injuries and international call-ups this season.

“We’re not panicking at all. We’re not losing games, you know what I mean, he said. “It’s a case of, we’re close, but we know, obviously, we can’t give ourselves too much to do so we remain calm, we stick to the process and just try and turn draws into wins, which is easier said than done.”

Turning draws into wins could hinge on being able to score more goals. Colorado Springs has scored one or fewer goals in each of its last seven outings — including matches outside league play.

To that end, the Switchbacks has a pair of returning players who may be able to help. In his third-consecutive start last week, defender Isaiah Foster sent in a cross that led to a New Mexico own goal. Forward Levonte Johnson also made his return last week after being out since March.

“(Foster has) missed a lot of football over the last, I’d say, 10-12 months. And it’s good to see him just getting back. I still think he’s finding his feet again, but his performance last week was another step in the right direction,” Chambers said.

“I thought (Johnson) offered real pop and pace, a threat. Again, he was only on the field for a number of minutes but you can see the quality that he has. He’s been out for 10 weeks along with Charlie (Adams) so it’s been a long time.”

Oakland midfielder Wolfgang Prentice leads the club in goals with four. Forward Peter Wilson paces the club in assists with three.

Colorado Springs forward Justin Dhillon leads the team in goals with five. Midfielder Yosuke Hanya has a team-high two assists.