San Diego FC returns to the pitch Wednesday night for the first time in nearly two months, opening the second half of the MLS season on the road against the Colorado Rapids.
After a strong start to the season, SDFC hit a rough stretch defined by injuries, mistakes, red cards, and bad luck, resulting in losses in all 5 of their April matches. May brought more encouraging results — a win, a loss, and three draws — but the club continued to let points slip away by conceding a series of late goals.
Head coach Mikey Varas said the break came at an ideal time for the club.
"The break came at a perfect time for us, in terms of injuries, tough games that we had, tough run of results, short break we had before, short preseason we had before, and ultimately it was good for the players, it was good for the staff, it was good for the team," Varas said after training on Monday.
Midfielder Pedro Soma said the team used the time off to refocus.
"That was the goal for this break, to reset everybody, especially our mindsets, and to come back here with the same objective but a different way to approach these games," Soma said.
With 19 MLS matches remaining, SDFC currently sits in 10th place — just one spot outside of playoff position. The stakes are high from the start, as Colorado sits just one point behind SDFC in the standings.
Captain and midfielder Jeppe Tverskov said the team is ready to hit the ground running.
"It's been awhile since we were in the rhythm we like and love to be in, so I think everybody has this feeling and mentality that we want to go full-throttle from the first game," Tverskov said.
Tverskov also expressed excitement about returning to Snapdragon Stadium, which will happen Saturday night when SDFC hosts FC Dallas.
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