The gauntlet continues for Colorado Springs.

Friday night, the Switchbacks play the third of four games in just over a week dating back to June 24. Luckily for them, it’s at home in Weidner Field.

Perhaps not so lucky for the Switchbacks is that their opponent is a red-hot Sacramento Republic FC that hasn’t tasted defeat since May. Following a May 18 loss to El Paso Locomotive FC, Sacramento drew with Oakland ten days later and has since rattled off four straight wins in the USL Championship. They notched a fifth victory June 22 in the Lamar Hunt Open Cup, beating MLS side LA Galaxy. They advanced to the semifinals of the Open Cup while netting $25,000 for being the Division II club with the best result in the tournament.

Sacramento is 8-3-4 on the year and in fifth place in the USL Championship western conference. The Republic dropped to fifth Wednesday as El Paso gained a point due with a draw against Rio Grande Valley FC.

The Switchbacks remain in second place in the western conference at 11-4 but they need a win after dropping backto-back matches. A key aspect for the Switchbacks will be if they get midfielders Zach Zandi and Cam Lindley back. The two were listed on an injury report released by Hartford Athletic and did not play in the club’s 2-0 loss Tuesday. Zandi has four goals for the club this season, fourth-most on the team. Forward Michee Ngalina leads in goals scored with seven. Lindley has five assists on the year, which is second most behind forward Hadji Barry who has six.

Forwards Maalique Foster and Douglas Martinez lead the team in goals with three. Martinez, forward Luther Archimede and midfielder Rodrigo Lopez are tied for most assists at 2 apiece.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m.