Behind a penalty kick goal by Chandler Hoffman in second half stoppage time, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC earned a 3-3 draw with OKC Energy FC in front of a franchise-best 6,847 fans in OKC’s regular season home finale Saturday night at Taft Stadium.
With OKC leading 3-2 in the final minutes of the match, Energy FC’s Christian Duke was whistled for a foul in the OKC box that resulted in a penalty kick for Colorado Springs. Hoffman, who previously knotted the match at two goals apiece in the 71st minute, converted the penalty kick to tie the match at its eventual final score of 3-3.
After Hoffman tied the match at two, Energy FC’s Sebastian Dalgaard gave OKC a 3-2 lead in the 79th minute, blasting a shot from nearly 35-yards out that Switchbacks FC keeper Devala Gorrick got a hand on, but couldn’t stop from reaching the back of the Colorado Springs net.
Energy FC got out to an early 1-0 lead when forward Danni König was hauled down in the Colorado Springs box in the third minute of play, awarding the OKC top scorer a penalty kick. On the ensuing kick, König netted his 21st goal of the season, giving him the second-highest total of goals in a season in USL history. König trails current league-leader and record-holder Matt Fondy of Louisville by one goal with one game to play.
OKC extended its lead to 2-0 in the 14th minute, when Casey Townsend took a long lead pass from Gareth Evans and, after having two shots stopped by Gorrick, tallied his first goal of the season from point-blank range with Gorrick struggling to make a third straight save.
Colorado Springs got on the board in the 35th minute when Charles Eloundou sprinted past the OKC defense on the left side and fired a shot past Energy FC goal keeper Evan Newton.
With the draw, Energy FC remains in third place of the Western Conference with 44 standings points and trails second-place Orange County by a single point and first-place Colorado Springs by another point. Seven points separate the top-seven teams in the Western Conference.
Energy FC next travels to Scottsdale, Ariz., where the club will play its final match of the 2015 regular season at 9:30 p.m. CT Wednesday, Sept. 16 against Arizona United SC.
Though OKC has clinched a berth in the 2015 USL Playoffs, dates have not been set due to potential changes in league standings.
Article by: Energy FC
