Head Coach Jesse Marsch is eagerly anticipating one of the biggest games of the New York Red Bulls season in their first game of the year on Wednesday night.

“I’ve always enjoyed the way this team and these players commit to who we are and how we do things. It’s helped us be successful,” Marsch said at media day on Monday. “It’s a little bit of a strange moment that we’re in right now because we have such a big match coming up and in many ways we don’t feel totally prepared.”

Despite a compressed preseason and sometimes without their full player pool, Marsch said the team’s familiarity and camaraderie will pay dividends in their early challenge.

“This group has been together for a good two years,” the head coach said. “There’s been small additions here and there, but overall, there’s a real sense of our identity and who we are and how we play. I think we’re continuing to try to build into that so that we become more sophisticated tactically, mentally. And that part has been fun.”

Marsch said that the team has been playing with “real energy and excitement” during preseason and knows the magnitude of playing in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals.

“I expect our team, in all ways, to go out on Wednesday night and give everything they have,” Marsch said