When the dust finally settled at the end of the regular season, and spots for both conferences in the 2016 USL Cup Playoffs were definitively set, many were surprised with just where certain clubs were seeded. Before the start of the season, you would be hard-pressed to find someone outside of the Rio Grande Valley FC organization who would have proclaimed the expansion club as not only a playoff team, but one of the best clubs in the league, while you would have easily found many USL fans who likely would have penciled in OKC Energy FC as a club that would likely lock down a top-three seed entering the playoffs.

Those preseason expectations did not exactly hold firm. Rio Grande Valley was one of the breakout stories of the season, going on a league-record shutout streak en route to the No. 2 seed in the West. Energy FC, on the other hand, struggled to find similar offensive form to last season and stumbled toward season’s end to finish seventh.

But heading into the postseason, both clubs enter with a clean slate as they fight for the right to lift the USL Cup.

“Playoffs is a completely different season,” Energy FC center back Cyprian Hedrick said this week. “You can’t have the same mindset that you had, and you can’t take anyone lightly. Every game is win or go home and that brings a little bit extra to it. I feel like this is going to be one of those games where both teams are going to come out firing, because neither one of us wants to lose. We want our seasons to keep going, so I think people are going to see the best version of both teams, and it’s going to be a dogfight.”

With everything at stake, everyone from the players to the game day staff are excited for the matchup.

“We feel pretty good,” said Rio Grande Valley captain Kevin Garcia. “It’s tough finishing one point behind Sacramento, because we feel like maybe we should’ve picked up a point here or there during the season. We finished the year in a good spot, and we’re looking forward to OKC. Everyone’s in good spirits right now, we’re on a good roll, and we feel good.”

Saturday’s game at Toro Stadium is Rio Grande Valley’s inaugural foray into postseason play, and marks OKC’s return to the playoffs after last year’s run to the Western Conference Final. That may mean little when it comes to postseason play, and this particular matchup.

In three regular-season meetings, each game was a battle. Even though the Toros took the season series with a 3-0 victory in the first meeting in early June, the last two matchups ended deadlocked at 0-0. If those two matchups offer any indication of what Saturday will bring, then players and fans alike are in for quite a heated encounter.

“When we went to their place, it was just a hard-fought battle,” said Garcia. “[Goalkeeper] Callum [Irving] came up big for us and saved two PKs. He forced one to miss and the other he saved it, so big credit to Callum. He pulled us out of that one. When they came to visit us, we couldn’t break them down and couldn’t find the back of the net.

“We don’t feel any pressure. We know they’re a tough, physical team with some big bodies up top, so they’re going to be somewhat direct. We’ve played them before, so we’ve done our homework and Coach Wilmer [Cabrera’s] preparing the team this week with the game plan. I think we just stick to what our philosophy is, and that’s keeping possession, working on the flanks, and just wearing teams down. If we can’t do it, then our subs are going to come in and they’re going to continue to wear them down until they give up a goal.”

Energy FC is approaching the match just as even-keeled as the Toros.

“Just because someone won the last eight games doesn’t mean they won’t lose their first game in the playoffs,” said Hedrick. “We’re keeping that in mind. It’s a game at a time, so, like I said, we’re preparing, getting ourselves ready, and focusing on what we need to do. The focus is more on us than them.

“Obviously, we know what they bring. We’ve played them quite a few times, and we’ve kept track of how they’ve been doing and have done our homework on them. We’re going to go out there and give it our best, and hopefully on the day we’re the better team.”

While the playoffs put the focus on acquiring silverware, OKC and RGVFC enter the matchup having experienced very different second halves of the season. After having their 10-game unbeaten run end in a 1-0 loss to the Portland Timbers 2 on September 10, which was compounded by a loss to the LA Galaxy II four days later, the Toros rebounded to win their last two games of the regular season against Orange County Blues FC and San Antonio FC to enter the playoffs on a high note.

• USL Cup Playoffs Preview: Rio Grande Valley FC vs. OKC Energy FC

As RGV rolled, Energy FC found wins harder to come by and struggled to find consistency on a weekly basis. Despite the club’s up-and-down second half, the playoffs offer OKC a chance to prove it is the same team that came within a game of the 2015 USL Cup Final.

That contrast, and what is likely to be an energetic crowd, makes the game between the regional rivals one of the more interesting of the Conference Quarterfinal Weekend.

“We’re feeling pretty confident,” said Garcia. “I mean, we don’t have expectations, we just take it game by game. We don’t pay attention to anything that’s going on outside the club. We’re going to care about the little things on Saturday. They guys are confident. It’s the first step to the USL Championship. That’s what the main goal is. That’s what every team’s goal is in the playoffs.”