San Diego FC did not exactly tiptoe into the international break. It staggered into it, still standing.<\/p>\n
That might be the most meaningful takeaway from the madness of March\u2019s schedule.<\/p>\n
SDFC didn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the kind of repetition that exposes a team\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Now comes the next test: Saturday night against the revitalized San Jose Earthquakes.<\/p>\n
The matchup offers a useful contrast. San Diego wants to control the game with the ball and make opponents defend for long stretches.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s team has become.<\/p>\n
SDFC enters the weekend averaging a league-best 64.8% possession and 645.4 passes per match, numbers that underline how completely Mikey Varas\u2019 team wants to dictate tempo.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s most disciplined defensive units.<\/p>\n
SDFC coach Mikey Varas didn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe experience of the mental fatigue is going to be a really good one for us the next time we go through it,\u201d Varas said. \u201cUltimately, 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\u2019s a really good learning lesson. At the end of the day, I think the boys did a great job navigating that.\u201d<\/p>\n
March showcased San Diego\u2019s ceiling, but it also exposed its margins. The possession remained. The attacking structure remained. What slipped, at times, was game management.<\/p>\n
SDFC led 3-1 at Dallas on March 14 and still settled for a 3-3 draw after Petar Musa scored a hat trick<\/a>, including a penalty and a stoppage-time equalizer. Eight days later, they led Real Salt Lake 2-1 before allowing Victor Olatunji\u2019s 85th-minute equalizer<\/a>.<\/p>\n San Diego\u2019s style still worked. Its concentration occasionally did not. Fatigue does not always show up in the legs first.<\/p>\n Back in the Bay<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s most effective attacks. He scored in the 5-0 season-opening demolition of Montr\u00e9al, then assisted Anders Dreyer\u2019s goal against Real Salt Lake.<\/p>\n Varas explained: \u201cHe\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Arena\u2019s team has been compact, disciplined and far less chaotic than the team San Diego split last season\u2019s two meetings with, with the away side winning both.<\/p>\n SDFC\u2019s wingers, especially Pellegrino, will have to be sharp without the ball as much as with it.<\/p>\n S\u00f8e steps in for McVey<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The logical replacement is Osvald S\u00f8e. He came on late against RSL, made his MLS debut earlier in March against Dallas, and has now appeared in San Diego\u2019s last four matches across league and Concacaf competition.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an opportunity for someone else to step up,\u201d he said. \u201cOssie will play in the back line with Manu (Duah), and he\u2019s ready to go. I think he\u2019s already had some pretty bright performances. I think it\u2019s another reason why it\u2019s important that we have these rotations early in the season, because it\u2019s not his first exposure now, right?<\/p>\n \u201cNow, this is his second or third game coming in, and it\u2019s going to be a great moment for him to show who he is.\u201d<\/p>\n S\u00f8e will be tested immediately by a San Jose side that has defended well enough to keep matches tight and opportunistic enough to punish mistakes.<\/p>\n Against a team that has conceded only once in five matches, it\u2019s unlikely San Diego gets away with the kind of late looseness it showed against Dallas and Salt Lake.<\/p>\n Dos Santos is ready to compete<\/p>\n CJ dos Santos is healthy enough to rejoin the conversation in goal. Healthy, however, is not the same thing as getting his job back.<\/p>\n Varas made that point plainly this week.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s at the point now where he\u2019s starting to compete for playing time,\u201d he said. \u201cI think he\u2019s pretty much, he\u2019s healthy now. In regards to playing or not, that\u2019s going to be up to the performance of the team.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Duran (Ferree) has been playing really, really well. It\u2019s important that he just stay patient, work hard, show what he\u2019s got, and then when his chance comes, to take it.\u201d<\/p>\n Dos Santos\u2019 return is significant because it deepens a position that already also includes Pablo Sisniega.<\/p>\n This type of depth is the sort of problem most teams dream of.<\/p>\n \u201cCJ was hurt. It opened the door a little bit for Pablo because it happened a couple times last year,\u201d Varas said. \u201cThen Pablo\u2019s red card opened the door for Duran, and now we\u2019ve left ourselves with three very capable goalkeepers, which is a great place to be.\u201d<\/p>\n As for Saturday, the Earthquakes will test the patience, spacing and poise of a team that wants to own the ball.<\/p>\n If SDFC passes that test, March will start to look less like a grind and more like a foundation.<\/p>\n San Diego FC at San Jose Earthquakes<\/p>\n When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday<\/p>\n Streaming: AppleTV<\/p>\n Radio: 760-AM, 1700-AM (Spanish)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"San Diego FC did not exactly tiptoe into the international break. It staggered into it, still standing. 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