Swope Park Rangers tie Colorado Springs with dramatic goal

The Swope Park Rangers scored a dramatic goal late in stoppage time to come from behind and tie Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC. The 1-1 draw brings the Rangers to 9^th in the Western Conference, just one position and one point out of a playoff position.

The first half saw several chances created for both team, the home side has a little better possession but the Rangers were at least as dangerous with their opportunities. Neither team could break through despite the opportunities.

Both sides continued to trade chances in the second half but Colorado Springs were the first to find the back of the net in the 61^st minute.  Switchbacks' attacker Mike Seth was on the end of a long pass. Rangers' defender Amer Didic stepped up to intercept and prevent the turn but Seth slid past and went in on Alec Kann, sliding it past the Swope Park's keeper.

Swope Park turned up the pressure and withstood a few counters after Colorado Springs took the lead. The referee gave six minutes of added time and just as it was looking bleak for the visitors, a free kick was awarded when Ayrton was brought down outside the box. Both Aryton and Alex Molano stood over the ball and the wall setup. Molano took the kick and curled the shot over the wall. Colorado Springs keeper Devala Gorrick was just able to get his hands on the swerving shot but could not keep from crossing the line.

"It's a tough place, a very good team," Rangers head coach Marc Dos Santos stated after the match. "It's a team that has lots of experience, always fighting to be at the top of the standings of our division. We knew it would be a tough game, I think when they scored, they scored a little bit out of nothing."

"We didn't deserve to concede and when they scored we went after it," Dos Santos continued. "The guys kept a very good attitude, they always believed we could get at least a point here and when we went, we pushed, we tried. The guys that all came in tried to bring a plus and finally we got the goal. At the end of the day it was a deserved tie, we deserved at least one point out of this game."

When asked about Molano's tremendous free kick in stoppage time, Dos Santos replied, "He has an incredible technique, he has good quality, it will bring more confidence to him, it was a great free-kick, a great goal."

Swope Park Rangers vs. Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
July 20, 2016 - Switchbacks Stadium (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Swope Park Rangers 1, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 1

Scoring Summary:
COS - Mike Seth 5 (Miguel Gonzalez 2) 61'
SPR - Alex Molano 1 (Unassisted) 90+

Misconduct Summary:
SPR - Chance Myers (Yellow Card) 34'
COS - Josh Suggs (Yellow Card) 37'
SPR - Ever Alvarado (Yellow Card) 68'
COS - Miguel Gonzalez (Yellow Card) 70'
SPR - Kris Tyrpak (Yellow Card) 72'
SPR - Alex Molano (Yellow Card) 84'

Swope Park Rangers: Alec Kann; Chance Myers, Amer Didic, Kevin Ellis, Ever Alvarado (Johnny Grant 69'); Ualefi, Christian Duke © (Alex Molano 82'), Emmanuel Appiah (Ayrton 64'); Kris Tyrpak, Mark Anthony Gonzalez (Dane Kelly 60'), Tyler Pasher.

Substitutes Not Used: Adrian Zendejas, Tommy Meyer.

STATS: Shots 10, Shots on Goal 4, Corners 4, Fouls 8

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC: Devala Gorrick, Jordan Burt, Christian Ibeagha, Joe Greenspan, Josh Suggs; Rony Argueta, Mike Seth (Aaron King 83'), Luke Vercollone © (Taeseong Kim 90+); Conor Doyle, Saeed Robinson (Martin Maybin 89'), Miguel Gonzalez (David Armstrong 76').

Substitutes Not Used: William Thompson, JJ Greer, Taewoo Kim.

STATS: Shots 12, Shots on Goal 2, Corners 1, Fouls 8