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Powell Excited for SAFC’s Busy Stretch of Games

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 08/22/18, 2:03AM EDT

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San Antonio visits Phoenix in USL Game of the Week to open five games in 17 days

SAN ANTONIO – The stretch run of the regular season can be a stressful time for players and coaches alike as they fight to ensure a place in the USL Cup Playoffs in October, but for San Antonio FC Head Coach Darren Powell there’s also a major level of excitement that comes with the territory.

With his side set to kick off a sequence of five games in 17 days on Wednesday night with a trip to face Phoenix Rising FC in the USL Game of the Week (10 p.m. ET | Match Center | ESPN3), the raised level of stakes for all the sides around the playoff line in the Western Conference brings an added energy to the way Powell approaches each contest.

“It’s great to have games come at us quickly during this time of the year,” said Powell. “We’re excited to play so many games over the course of the next month because we know how important each match is in terms of the points available and the competition we’re up against. For us, having games on the road and at home in a short span of time is fun and it’s going to test our squad to the fullest, so we want to make sure we’re prepared.”

SAFC has had a week to prepare for its trip to Phoenix, time that has been spent working to get back on track after back-to-back defeats left the side in the eighth and final playoff position going into this week’s action. Coming after a four-game winning streak that propelled San Antonio into the top eight in the Western Conference, the defeats to Seattle Sounders FC 2 and the Portland Timbers 2 brought the club back to earth a little.


Defender Cyprian Hedrick and goalkeeper Diego Restrepo will try to help their side rebound as it visits Phoenix Rising FC on Wednesday. | Photo courtesy Darren Abate / San Antonio FC

With Rising FC having had ups and downs in its recent form, though, SAFC is hoping it can put in a similar shift to that which saw earn a 1-0 victory in the equivalent meeting a season ago at the Phoenix Rising Soccer Complex.

“The mentality is that we need to go there and get three points to get back on the right track,” said SAFC defender Cyprian Hedrick. “We’ve been working hard over the past week to make sure we’re ready to take on Phoenix, they’re going to be a quality side, so we want to be ready from the beginning.”

With another key contest coming on Saturday night against the Swope Park Rangers – who sit level on points with San Antonio in ninth place going into Wednesday’s action – Hedrick is hoping the side can bring back victory and energize the club’s fanbase ahead of its return to Toyota Field.

“There are different elements that we can’t control when we travel to other places, and when we’re at home there’s a bit more of a routine,” said Hedrick. “That’s what makes playing on the road challenging, but it will be good for us to go play on the road and hopefully earn three points and give our fans something to be excited about.”

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