Colorado Springs were at the bottom of the Western Conference standings with 4 losses & 2 draws. Then a trip to the Oakland Roots on April 27th sparked an eight game unbeaten run (6 wins and 2 draws), and the Switchbacks found their mojo.

Over in the Eastern Conference, debutantes Rhode Island FC fared even worse. Four draws, a clobbering loss and single win had them facing a long climb back up the table. Five more draws and three losses over the next eight games had most pundits writing them off. After all, who recovers from a single win in their first 14 games?

That strong mid-season run gave Colorado Springs a strong foundation to sit on. Their final 20 games were a mixed bag: 8 wins, 7 losses and 5 draws. Although they grabbed the second seed in the West, this pundit didn’t fancy them moving on past the initial round. Their game wasn’t consistent enough, with a haphazard attack and a defense that could be unexpectedly porous. But somewhere in those ups and downs of the autumn, Colorado found a rhythm up front and solidified their back line.

Rhode Island FC recovered from their early stumble and went on to only lose three more games the rest of season, while winning eleven and drawing six more. The thing with draws is you still earn that all-important point, and it shows grit and determination (and sometimes spectacular collapse, but let’s stay positive). Rhode Island had a league high total of 15 ties, and claimed the 5th seed. Only Louisville City FC, who finished with the top points in the league, had a better closing run of games.

Colorado Springs were the epitome of strong, stifling defense and calculating counter-attacking offense in their 2-0 rout of Oakland. They continued that formula in their subsequent matches, shocking Orange County with an extra time strike from midfielder Zach Zandi and putting in a workmanlike show to take down Las Vegas. Their high seed has ensured them home-field advantage, and they have rewarded their fans.

Rhode Island had their Eastern Conference opponents spinning with their confident build-out play orchestrated by goalkeeper Koke Vegas. Short, tactical passing between the backs transforms into quick attacks in the blink of an eye (they average an astounding 10.0 yards per pass in the midfield), and they rely on striker JJ Williams to seal the deal (he had a hat-trick in their 3-2 victory over Indy Eleven, and brace in their 3-0 demolition of Louisville City).

I want to see Rhode Island win this one, but my gut tells me Colorado Springs will pull it out. Extra time will be needed, and there will be at least five yellow cards shown. Regardless of who wins, there will be a new team hoisting the trophy for the first time, and that’s good all around.