After pulling out a 3-0 victory against Puerto Rico on Saturday, the Deltas welcome Miami FC to San Francisco at Boxer Stadium at 2 pm on Wednesday. Here are three thoughts to chew on before their match:

1) SF Deltas want either a win or a loss against Miami FC

A few weeks ago San Francisco started a tough stretch of three away games in 7 days. Two of the games were against Miami FC, who were running away with the Fall Season title. But after defeating Edmonton away, the Deltas tied and won in South Florida to vault them into contention for the title.

Both teams enter the game with 26 points, and that is where things get interesting. A win would guarantee San Francisco a semifinal home match at Kezar Stadium, most likely on Saturday, November 4th, and an excellent chance to claim the Fall Season title.

Even more interesting is if Miami wins the game that would also guarantee San Francisco home field advantage for the playoffs because there would be no possible way for North Carolina FC to catch up with them for the Fall Season title.

Only a draw would keep North Carolina FC alive with a chance to win the Fall Season title.

2) Bryan Burke has been a lift off the bench

Every week it seems a new player steps up to help the Deltas succeed. For most of the season, Burke did not feature in San Francisco’s lineup. But with the heavy schedule, the Deltas played in October, the converted defender has found a significant role playing an attacking winger in coach Marc Dos Santos 3-5-2 formation.

Burke has either provided a goal or an assist in three of his past five matches. Last weekend against Puerto Rico, he had two first-half goals which earned him NASL player of the week honors. It’s just one more example of the team play that has propelled San Francisco’s success all season.



3) Dagoberto plays the setup man

After scoring the game-winning goal against Indy Eleven last Wednesday it looks like Dagoberto is finally finding his footing with the Deltas. His excellent play continued on Saturday. He provided the corner kick to Burke in the 7th minute for the opening goal. His second assist on a well-placed pass to Pablo Dyego early in the second half sprung the forward into space to score.

The timing couldn’t be more perfect for a San Francisco team that appears to be peaking at the right moment, just before the NASL postseason.