San Diego FC coach Mikey Varas has put the postseason math on hold, but knows when his club hosts the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday, there is little margin for error.
“We’ve been talking about every game being a final and it’s about accumulating points right now,” Varas said. “When you start counting the points is a little down the road, but we are very close to it.”
As that moment nears, San Diego (8-9-6, 30 points) is clinging to the last playoff spot in the Western Conference, with a one-point lead on three teams.
A 1-0 setback at Orlando City on Saturday brought San Diego back to its pursuers after consecutive home wins over the Colorado Rapids and Los Angeles Galaxy.
The sixth-place Earthquakes (10-8-5, 35 points) settled for a 1-1 tie with Austin FC on Saturday.
Beau Leroux opened the scoring in the eighth minute, but San Jose conceded the equalizer to Guilherme Biro in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time.
With the quick turnaround, the Quakes don’t have time to dwell on the disappointment of missing out on three points. San Jose has tied its last two matches and is 0-5-3 since play resumed after the World Cup break.
“We’ve wasted too many games this year at the end,” Quakes coach Bruce Arena said. “The lesson to learn is how to close a game.”
Niko Tsakiris registered his team-leading eighth assist. The midfielder is still getting in sync with his teammates. Tsakiris had groin surgery May 12 and returned to the Earthquakes lineup Aug. 15.
“Game by game, that connection is going to continue to grow,” Tsakiris said.
Preston Judd leads San Jose with 11 goals to go along with three assists.
Despite having its two-match winning streak snapped against the Lions, San Diego remains in control of its postseason fate. Marcus Ingvartsen leads the club with 11 goals and has chipped in five assists.
“I want to be calm for these guys,” Varas said. “Because everything is within our grasp.”
–Field Level Media
