SOCCER: San Diego looking for winning formula against recently trending Austin

San Diego FC will look to end a nine-match winless run in league play on Wednesday when they host Austin FC, who are facing a second challenging away assignment in just four days.

San Diego (3-5-4, 13 points) has shown signs of a potential breakthrough in recent weeks, earning a 2-2 draw at home against LAFC on May 2 and a 1-1 result against the Seattle Sounders last Saturday.

In the Seattle match, manager Mikey Varas' squad was just 10 minutes away from claiming a road victory at one of the league’s toughest venues. Marcus Ingvartsen scored his team-leading eighth goal in the 18th minute, and San Diego dominated possession and shots on target for much of the match.

However, a late push from the Sounders led to Danny Musovski’s equalizer in the 80th minute, highlighting that Varas’ side is not a team designed to give up control easily.

“The learning lesson against Seattle is we renounced the ball at the end a little bit, and they start to gain momentum and we get pushed back,” Varas said. “We also are a team that defends well because we have the ball so much. We just need to remember that we've got to stay brave and we've got to keep playing our game.”

Austin FC (3-4-5, 14 points) comes into the match unbeaten in its last three games. The Verde showed resilience in securing a 2-2 draw against Minnesota on Sunday, after the Loons scored twice in nine minutes to take a second-half lead, assisted by James Rodriguez.

Christian Ramirez responded just two minutes after the second Minnesota goal, scoring his fourth goal of the season in the 79th minute. Since joining Austin in the second week of the season, the 35-year-old veteran striker’s goals have either tied matches or given the Verde the lead.

“This is why we brought him,” manager Nico Estevez said of Ramirez. “We felt like he could help the team throughout the season, and we believe in his qualities and how he is as a person. I think he's doing exactly what we expected.”

—Field Level Media/Reuters