The Colorado Springs Switchbacks earned a hard-fought road result Saturday, with bench forward Jonas Fjeldberg once again delivering at a crucial moment to hand the club a 1-0 win over Lexington SC.
Fjeldberg, coming off the bench, struck a bouncing ball from well beyond the penalty area, sending it into the far corner past the Lexington goalkeeper to secure the three points for Colorado Springs. The goal arrived in the 74th minute — and it was far from the first time the Norwegian had stepped up as the Switchbacks' savior, with the club now sitting at 9-9-4.
Coach Alan McCann has identified Fjeldberg's knack for scoring decisive goals from the substitutes' bench as a genuine bright spot in an otherwise uneven 2026 campaign. Saturday's match was actually the third time this season the forward turned the tide after coming on as a substitute. On June 6, following a nearly three-hour weather delay at Weidner Field, he netted the winning goal against El Paso Locomotive FC to advance Colorado Springs in the Prinx Tires USL Cup. Then on July 25, a headed finish deep in second-half stoppage time eliminated the Charleston Battery in a result that stretched late into the night. Fjeldberg did not start any of those three contests, coming on in the 65th minute against El Paso, the 57th against Charleston, and the 59th against Lexington.
McCann has pointed throughout the year to roster depth as the explanation — building a squad in which every player carries starting-caliber ability regardless of whether they are in the opening lineup. "It's a different mentality this year too where you're not a bench player, you're the finisher and that's really something that has resonated with the team," Fjeldberg said in a previous interview.
Fjeldberg was not the lone standout on the night. Goalkeeper Christian Herrera turned in a commanding performance between the posts to preserve the shutout. In the 53rd minute, Herrera got down low to deny a shot from Lexington forward Marcus Epps — the hosts' first effort on target. Just two minutes later, he flung himself wide to turn away a close-range attempt from forward Phillip Goodrum, with midfielder Brennan Creek having tracked back into the defensive end to reduce Goodrum's options on the play. The clean sheet was Herrera's second of the regular season, and the victory was Colorado Springs' first away from home in the league since June 20.
The Switchbacks remain on the road, with a trip to Loudoun United scheduled before a Prinx Tires USL Cup semifinal visit to Hartford Athletic on Sept. 8.