Fans of the Colorado Springs Switchbacks needed some good news this week following Hadji Barry’s departure.

Wednesday night at El Paso Locomotive FC, the club delivered enough good news to fill a Sunday paper.

Forward Michee Ngalina snapped a scoring drought dating back to Aug. 6 in dramatic fashion, netting a hat trick, while midfielder Zach Zandi scored his first goal in over three months due to injury to give Colorado Springs a 4-1 win over El

Paso, a first for the club.

It all led to the best news for Switchbacks fans: Colorado Springs will begin its postseason at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs on Oct. 22.

The speedy Ngalina had gone cold for Colorado Springs for just shy of two months, but with no Barry and no Elvis Amoh, the team’s second-leading scorer after Barry, who serving a red card suspension, Ngalina had perhaps the best night of the season for Colorado Springs.

He struck first in the 22nd minute off a brilliant through ball from defender Michael Edward who threaded a pass between multiple defenders from the top of the Switchbacks own penalty area to just past midfield where Ngalina was outrunning the last El Paso defender. Ngalina’s speed created a one-on-one chance with El Paso goalkeeper Evan Newton who stepped out to stop the attack. The Switchbacks forward put the ball past Newton to give his team the early advantage.

El Paso’s top scorer Luis Solignac would answer, putting a header past Colorado Springs keeper Jeff Caldwell in the 27th minute.

Ngalina would set up Zandi in the 54th. He was dribbling the ball deep in the El Paso penalty area just outside the 6-yard box when he passed back to Zandi. The ball deflected off a defender, but the midfielder was still able to finish.

In the 58th minute, Ngalina was tripped up by defender Andrew Fox while sprinting toward the net for another scoring chance. Fox conceded a penalty kick as a result, which Ngalina converted.

The stellar forward would get his third goal of the evening in the 69th minute as he and midfielder Jairo Henriquez beat all three Locomotive defenders.