By the time they take the pitch on Monday night in the MLS Western Conference semifinal against Minnesota, San Diego FC will have gone 15 days between matches. Major League Soccer had to take a break for international play at basically the worst time imaginable.
As they do with pretty much everything, SDFC is looking at the extended break as a positive.
“It’s an opportunity to get some guys recovered after a very physical first round playoff series,” says SDFC head coach Mikey Varas. “We also really believe in our training environment so we look at it as time to prepare for the game.”
While the rest is good for the body, it’s not necessarily good for the mind.
“I think it’s more like a mental thing to stay on top of your game,” says SDFC forward Amahl Pellegrino. “Sometimes you can feel like you’re not training for anything because it’s two weeks for a game.”
In a season full of firsts, the expansion team might be adding another to the list. In this round, and every round they survive from here on out, if a match is tied after the final whistle it does not go directly to penalty kicks. Instead, they play another 30 minutes of extra time, which changes the way team deploys its substitutes if the game is close down the stretch.
“You’ll always have to make the subs based on what the game is asking,” says Varas. “Life throws you curve balls all the time. Of course, if you can hold some (players for) later it’s always an advantage to have those cards to play in the overtime.”
Of course, Mikey is never one to worry about hypotheticals anyways.
“It’s not useful energy to be trying to force the perfect scenario. It’s better to just take a deep breath and be prepared for whatever happens.”
From a health perspective, SDFC is in pretty good shape. Leading scorer Anders Dreyer has recovered enough from an illness that he’ll be in the starting lineup. Fellow forward Hirving “Chucky” Lozano has been dealing with injuries all year but will be available off the bench if needed.
Kickoff is set for 7:10 p.m. and the match will air on Apple TV+ and MLS Season Pass (subscription required). If you really want to dream big, a win would put San Diego into uncharted waters, not just for them, but for all of Major League Soccer.
Over the last 25 years no expansion team has advanced through two playoff rounds in its inaugural season. Knocking off Minnesota would put SDFC in the Western Conference final on Saturday, November 29 at Snapdragon Stadium against Vancouver.
They’re not supposed to be here. But since they are, they might as well go ahead and stick around as long as possible.
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