Front Row Seat: Snapdragon Stadium gets new sod for the MLS Western Conference final
Hopefully, the conditions are better with the new sod than they were on Monday.
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John Gennaro
John Gennaro
San Diego FC
‘We want more’: SDFC returns to training ahead of Saturday’s Western Conference final - San Diego Union-Tribune
Monday’s 1-0 win over Minnesota United in a Major League Soccer Western Conference semifinal moved SDFC even closer to making league history. San Diego will host the Vancouver Whitecaps in Saturday’s Western Conference final, with the winner moving on to the MLS Cup championship game. No expansion club has won the MLS Cup since 1998, when the Chicago Fire brought home a title in their first year.
SDFC returned to training on Wednesday looking to stay both focused and fresh during a short week of preparation.
Visiting Vancouver played its conference semifinal on Saturday night, giving the club nearly 48 extra hours of downtime. The longer break may be mitigated by the fact that the Whitecaps played 30 minutes of overtime and went to penalty kicks before dispatching LAFC, and they will have to fly 2,200 miles to San Diego from Canada.
San Diego FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps: Five Key Battles That Could Decide MLS Western Conference Final - Sports Illustrated
Both teams are defined by their gamebreakers, in both German legend Thomas Müller and MLS Newcomer of the Year Anders Dreyer. While they won’t battle on the pitch–Müller will play centrally to Dreyer’s wide role–their leadership and ability to change the game are similar.
Dreyer has enjoyed an exceptional season, scoring 23 goals and 21 assists in 38 games in MLS play and he’s coming off notching the deciding goal against Minnesota. Meanwhile, Müller has eight goals and three assists in his 10 MLS games since arriving in August, but was far from the deciding factor against LAFC and did not play extra time.
In this match, Dreyer has the advantage. Given Vancouver’s injuries, they could be fragile out wide, while San Diego’s midfield of Jeppe Tverskov and Aníbal Godoy could handle Müller.
Tom Krasovic: Bumpy pitch put SDFC at a homefield disadvantage. Here’s hoping it doesn’t last. - San Diego Union-Tribune
A pitch made very bumpy by San Diego State’s recent football game became a drag on San Diego FC as it tried to advance to a Western Conference final that’ll come Saturday night – on a resodded field – in Mission Valley before another full house.
The old saw about “both teams playing on the same field” didn’t negate the reality that, by making the ball roll slower and knocking it off line, the beaten-up San Diego pitch harmed San Diego FC far more than it did Minnesota United.
Pass-happy San Diego is the league’s top team in ball possession, per stats covering the season’s 34 games. SDFC has attempted more passes, and completed more passes, than anyone else. Many of those are rollers. A fast, smooth surface accentuates SDFC’s foremost strength.
