Copyright San Diego Union-Tribune
It was the stuff of dreams. Goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega was summoned from the bench in the first half of San Diego FC’s playoff game against the Portland Timbers last week and, for about 70 minutes, looked to be leading the team to its biggest win yet. It was the stuff of nightmares. Portland’s Gage Guerra scored on Sisniega in the dying seconds of stoppage time, sending SDFC and the Timbers to a penalty shootout. Sisniega stopped two penalty kicks but allowed three to get past him, and SDFC headed home from Portland with an opportunity squandered. If anybody on SDFC’s roster can handle the ups and downs of the Major League Soccer playoffs, it’s Sisniega. The 30-year-old backup has experienced highs and lows throughout his soccer career. A good night turned bad in Portland seems to be a fleeting moment — not a defining one. “I think that I’ve been in enough situations throughout my career where I’m not phased by the moment,” he said. “I know that I can come in, and I’ve had situations where I play in front of a lot of fans, hostile fans, so … you’ve just got to go in and focus on your job.” SDFC will take on Portland at 6 p.m. Sunday in the winner-take-all Game 3 of the MLS Cup’s first-round playoff series, and Sisniega is expected to be back in goal and unfazed by last week’s loss. It’s why San Diego FC plucked Sisniega from San Antonio of USL Championship prior to the season, and why coaches were comfortable with him in goal for a month earlier this season after CJ dos Santos suffered a deviated spectrum during a collision in the goal box. Dos Santos’ latest injury, a fractured cheekbone suffered early in last week’s loss to the Timbers, could be a season-ender. Sisniega’s life and soccer career have taken him throughout the globe. Born in Mexico City, Sisniega moved to Guadalajara as a young boy before relocating to Philadelphia at age 14. After three years in Pennsylvania, he headed to Spain to begin his pro career. From 2014 to 2019, Sisniega played for Real Sociedad de Futbol B in San Sebastian, the heart of Basque Country. From there, it was off to MLS’ LAFC for three seasons and Charlotte FC for two. Playing time was hard to come by. “I think I played six first-team games (with Charlotte) in two years,” he said. “I knew I was in a position where I could either try to find a team in MLS and probably not play a lot, or go down to USL and get 30 games.” Sisniega bet on himself, signing with San Antonio FC last year. He started 22 of the team’s 34 matches, stopping more than 70% of opponents’ shots while allowing 1.32 goals per 90 minutes. SDFC signed Sisniega to its roster in December. The move down “helped me to find my form, find my confidence, find my love of football again,” he said. “And I think it’s one of the best decisions I’ve made because, one, it developed me into a keeper to be better and to be more confident in my ability, and it just really helped me get the feel for the game back. I think that’s why this year, when I’ve come in, I’ve been able to play at a higher level.“ If Sisniega sounds self-actualized, consider his background. His parents, Ivar Sisniega and Cristina Fink, combined to make four appearances for Mexico in the Olympics. The elder Sisniega competed in modern pentathlon and was a flag bearer at the 1984 Olympics held in Los Angeles. Fink was a high jumper. After retiring from competition, she became a sports psychologist, working at one time for MLS’s Philadelphia Union. Their son inherited not only his parents’ physical gifts — at 6-foot-3, Sisniega looks as if he’d be just as comfortable catching footballs or shooting 3-pointers — but their collective wisdom as well. The SDFC goalie competes intensely in training sessions and uses visualization techniques to build up mental reps. “If you imagine yourself in certain scenarios in the game,” he said, “then when they happen in the game, you’re not surprised by them.” As for his mom? “It’s been like having a very elite sports psychologist at my disposal for my entire life,” he said. “Having that has prepared me for so many different scenarios, and we’ve worked on it so much. But now that I’m a more mature, better goalkeeper, these situations I don’t think phase me as much as when I was younger.” Which is good. Saturday’s match against Portland figures to be another tense affair. Top-seeded SDFC, which set MLS records for wins and points by an expansion team in the regular season, must win to keep its historic season going. Portland, the No. 8 seed in the West, seemingly has little to lose. Sisniega said he’ll be happy to have Snapdragon Stadium’s crowd behind him, though he’d probably be just as comfortable in another hostile road environment. “You can’t let the outside circumstances affect you,” he said. “So that’s the way I mentalize and the way I prepare.” MLS Cup playoffs, first round: No. 1 San Diego FC vs. No. 8 Portland Timbers (Best-of-three series is tied 1-1) When: 6 p.m. Sunday Where: Snapdragon Stadium Streaming: AppleTV+ Radio: 760-AM, 1700-AM (Spanish)
