It’s no secret that San Diego FC is going through some growing pains in the MLS having lost three straight matches while giving up nine goals during that span. The offense has also been lackluster scoring only three goals with one of those coming via a penalty kick from Chucky Lozano in the 3-1 loss to Real Salt Lake on April 26.

Despite this, SDFC still finds itself among the top seven teams in the Western Conference and would make the playoffs while avoiding the play-in game if the season ended today. San Diego has its best chance of the season to make some inroads and get back to where it was before its recent slide playing four of its next five matches at Snapdragon Stadium.

What does the team need to fix? If there is one game that sounded alarm bells it was the one against Austin FC on March 23. That match ended in a 2-1 loss but could have easily seen Austin score five or six as well as San Diego pulling out a draw, or even a win, late in the second half. In the losses to Colorado, Charlotte, and RSL, San Diego has struggled with being efficient by not putting its limited scoring opportunities in the back of the net. At the same time, goalkeeper CJ dos Santos has been put in impossible situations with the opponents not being as forgiving and much more clinical in the final third of the pitch.

The match versus FC Dallas will be a good test for head coach Mikey Varas and his staff to see how it can adapt to an opponent that just scored four goals and beat the team that Lionel Messi made famous in Inter Miami. Dallas has turned its season around by losing only one of its last six games and finds itself in sixth place just ahead of SDFC in the standings. Saturday could be the day that San Diego FC turns its fortunes around against a red-hot team.

Photo by David Frerker