San Diego FC did not exactly tiptoe into the international break. It staggered into it, still standing.

That might be the most meaningful takeaway from the madness of March’s schedule.

SDFC didn’t just survive a brutal run of matches. Across six games in 22 days in all competitions, from March 1 through March 22, San Diego went 3-1-2.

It pushed its style through tired legs and rotating lineups, and entered the break as one of only three unbeaten teams left in Major League Soccer.

It’s the kind of repetition that exposes a team’s weaknesses. And yet SDFC reached the break sitting on 11 points through five league matches, outscoring MLS opponents 13-5, while still leading the league in passes completed and possession percentage.

Now comes the next test: Saturday night against the revitalized San Jose Earthquakes.

The matchup offers a useful contrast. San Diego wants to control the game with the ball and make opponents defend for long stretches.

San Jose (4-1-0) has allowed just one goal through five matches and recorded four clean sheets, both marks that underline how much sharper Bruce Arena’s team has become.

SDFC enters the weekend averaging a league-best 64.8% possession and 645.4 passes per match, numbers that underline how completely Mikey Varas’ team wants to dictate tempo.

This is not empty possession, either. Only Vancouver has scored more goals (14) this season. The challenge now is whether San Diego can keep imposing its will against one of the league’s most disciplined defensive units.

SDFC coach Mikey Varas didn’t sound interested in romanticizing March. He emphasized it was the first time SDFC had experienced such a grueling stretch as a group, and it reinforced how important it was to have a big squad.

“The experience of the mental fatigue is going to be a really good one for us the next time we go through it,” Varas said. “Ultimately, from a mental perspective, so many games and being tired and having to repeat it over and over again could have led a little bit to some sloppy moments, but it’s a really good learning lesson. At the end of the day, I think the boys did a great job navigating that.”

March showcased San Diego’s ceiling, but it also exposed its margins. The possession remained. The attacking structure remained. What slipped, at times, was game management.

SDFC led 3-1 at Dallas on March 14 and still settled for a 3-3 draw after Petar Musa scored a hat trick, including a penalty and a stoppage-time equalizer. Eight days later, they led Real Salt Lake 2-1 before allowing Victor Olatunji’s 85th-minute equalizer.

San Diego’s style still worked. Its concentration occasionally did not. Fatigue does not always show up in the legs first.

Back in the Bay

For Amahl Pellegrino, this is not just another road game. It is his first match at PayPal Park since being acquired by SDFC last August, which gives an already spicy California matchup a little more bite.

It also arrives at a useful time for San Diego, because Pellegrino has quietly remained one of the connective pieces in one of the league’s most effective attacks. He scored in the 5-0 season-opening demolition of Montréal, then assisted Anders Dreyer’s goal against Real Salt Lake.

Varas explained: “He’s just very consistent in all the actions that he does in terms of running in behind, getting good 1-v.-1 situations, combining with his teammates, getting in good goal scoring positions, also taking his chances very well.”

Arena’s team has been compact, disciplined and far less chaotic than the team San Diego split last season’s two meetings with, with the away side winning both.

SDFC’s wingers, especially Pellegrino, will have to be sharp without the ball as much as with it.

Søe steps in for McVey

Christopher McVey was sent off late against Real Salt Lake after a second yellow card, which rules him out for Saturday and forces a lineup shuffle.

The logical replacement is Osvald Søe. He came on late against RSL, made his MLS debut earlier in March against Dallas, and has now appeared in San Diego’s last four matches across league and Concacaf competition.

“It’s an opportunity for someone else to step up,” he said. “Ossie will play in the back line with Manu (Duah), and he’s ready to go. I think he’s already had some pretty bright performances. I think it’s another reason why it’s important that we have these rotations early in the season, because it’s not his first exposure now, right?

“Now, this is his second or third game coming in, and it’s going to be a great moment for him to show who he is.”

Søe will be tested immediately by a San Jose side that has defended well enough to keep matches tight and opportunistic enough to punish mistakes.

Against a team that has conceded only once in five matches, it’s unlikely San Diego gets away with the kind of late looseness it showed against Dallas and Salt Lake.

Dos Santos is ready to compete

CJ dos Santos is healthy enough to rejoin the conversation in goal. Healthy, however, is not the same thing as getting his job back.

Varas made that point plainly this week.

“He’s at the point now where he’s starting to compete for playing time,” he said. “I think he’s pretty much, he’s healthy now. In regards to playing or not, that’s going to be up to the performance of the team.

“I think Duran (Ferree) has been playing really, really well. It’s important that he just stay patient, work hard, show what he’s got, and then when his chance comes, to take it.”

Dos Santos’ return is significant because it deepens a position that already also includes Pablo Sisniega.

This type of depth is the sort of problem most teams dream of.

“CJ was hurt. It opened the door a little bit for Pablo because it happened a couple times last year,” Varas said. “Then Pablo’s red card opened the door for Duran, and now we’ve left ourselves with three very capable goalkeepers, which is a great place to be.”

As for Saturday, the Earthquakes will test the patience, spacing and poise of a team that wants to own the ball.

If SDFC passes that test, March will start to look less like a grind and more like a foundation.

San Diego FC at San Jose Earthquakes

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday

Streaming: AppleTV

Radio: 760-AM, 1700-AM (Spanish)