This week’s gloomy San Diego weather mirrored the SDFC players’ mood during training. “This week, the training was good,” Mikey Varas said.

It needs to be if this team is going to start winning games. After the tough home loss last weekend, there was no shortage of issues to address this week.

Varas mentioned that each training session has to improve the team. “We can’t let comfort set in,” Varas said. Veteran player Anibal Godoy told the media that the team knows exactly what they need to do after the coaches put together a game plan. It’s a matter of going out and performing for 90 minutes, this time against a undefeated team on the road. As always, let’s get into it.

FC Dallas comes into San Diego sitting in sixth place in the Western Conference standings with a 4-3-3 record.

Right below them, in seventh place, is San Diego FC, which only trails by one point. In fact, the disparity between the teams in third place and ninth place is three points. While SDFC lost three in a row, they did not slip far from the standings and have the ability to shoot up to the top of the table with a couple of wins.

The time to win is now.

Injuries are nothing new to Dallas, which looks to be without its top scorer and assist leader, Petar Musa.

An ankle injury during the game against Seattle will keep him out of the starting lineup. So, how have they adjusted and remained undefeated on the road? One major reason is Luciano Acosta. The Argentine veteran striker’s strengths are finishing, playmaking, and speed, and he gives the opposing teams a hard time trying to defend him in transition.

Like RSL’s Diego Luna, who caused San Diego problems all game and was arguably the reason RSL won, Acosta will garner respect from the defense as Dallas’s premier playmaker.

FC Dallas is coming off a terrific three-goal come-from-behind win, and they put their unbeaten road streak on the line in San Diego.

It is safe to say Dallas enjoys being the villain on the road while playing in a loud atmosphere. Snapdragon Stadium promises to bring all of that and more this weekend. Mikey Varas praised the supporter groups and fans alike after the loss last weekend, referring to the unwavering, loud support they gave to the team despite losing the match.

One of the consistent messages from the SDFC camp this week was the importance of staying true to their identity. Players and coaches alike emphasized the need to maintain the team’s trademark style of play, despite the recent setback. In the post-match conference, Mikey Varas mentioned he was upset in the locker room.”We played like eleven individuals and not a team,” Varas said. 

The team’s depth increased slightly as Luca Bombino returned from injury, and Ema Boateng was seen in practice this week.

It remains to be seen who Mikey Varas gives the starting wing-back positions a nod to in the upcoming game. One thing is clear from the fan perspective—they want to see a bit more consistency in the starting lineup. The only way a team can get stronger and more cohesive as a unit is by playing match minutes with each other. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the starting lineup looks a little more like it did at the beginning of the season.

Dallas seemed to struggle quite a bit with crosses into the penalty box in the last game.

The players looked panicked and scrambled without purposeful defending, and Miami took advantage, scoring a pair of goals in a similar fashion. SDFC will need to get back to using its strengths and what worked in the first place when it was winning games. Dreyer and Chucky excel at distributing the ball into the box, setting the stage for Valakari and Tverskov to use their size and physicality to win crucial headers, particularly in set-piece situations.

Recently, teams found a way to stretch SDFC’s shape by playing the ball out wide and across. This limits San Diego’s ability to stay compact in order to press high and win the ball back quickly after losing it. A few of the keys to winning this game for San Diego will be to get back to that tight formation when they are without the ball. Just as important, though, will be the team’s ability to recognize moments to spread the field in possession, using width to stretch Dallas’s defensive lines and open space for penetrating runs behind the backline. Balancing discipline off the ball with tactical awareness on it could be the difference-maker.

So, on a night dedicated to honoring military veterans, San Diego FC will be counting on its own seasoned leaders to rise to the occasion and guide the team toward a much-needed victory. Saturday promises to be a hard-fought game with a lot on the line for both teams.

Dmitry Anisimov

Dmitry Anisimov is a San Diego native who played soccer up to the college level when he represented the SDSU Men’s Club Soccer team. Growing up in San Diego, Dmitry is a fan of all the home teams but he specifically couldn’t wait until San Diego got an MLS team. Once that dream became reality, Dmitry married his love for writing and the game of soccer to portray a voice of the San Diego soccer community. There is a deep-rooted love of soccer culture in San Diego and Dmitry hopes to bring it to light through his pre and post-game coverage of all things San Diego FC.