Preseason is a time for players to get match fit, learn each other’s tendencies, and start focusing on the long regular season ahead. And your preseason is only as good as the players you play alongside and the teams you play against.

For me and my teammates, the 2018 preseason not only prepared us to be our best for the regular season; it prepared us to challenge for being the best in all of USL.

Our trip to Ecuador was just the cap to a great preseason, but the build-up began in the weeks leading up to our trip, when we played five MLS clubs over the course of a month. We were playing clubs that had been training and playing together for nearly a month while we had just been together for a couple of weeks.

The results on the scoresheet showed. We went 1-4 in those matches. But those matches meant a lot more than what the final score was. They helped us grow as a team and helped us to prepare for the challenges we’ll face over a long USL season.

And they prepared us for what we would face in Ecuador.

This trip was important to the team in more ways than just helping us improve on the pitch. Road trips are an excellent way for a club to bond and we hadn’t played a road match at all during preseason. Sometimes stepping outside of your normal routine at home, like bus trips, plane rides, and hotel stays, help you to get to know your teammates better and forge stronger relationships.

When you know you teammates better off the pitch, you can play better with them on it!

My favorite moment was the bonding that we did on the last day of the trip. New players had to get up in front of the whole group and sing. Even the coaching staff had to sing. And then at the end, a legend like Didier Drogba ended up singing and everyone joined in.

It was a beautiful moment.

The traveling part of the trip was also important. Just like with our preseason matches leading up to the trip, the team we were going to play was also going to make us better.

LDU Quito has been one of the best clubs in the history of Ecuador’s first division. They’ve won 10 titles and finished runner-up four times. In 2008, they were the first Ecuadorian club to win Copa Libertadores (think Champions League for South America) and they played in the FIFA Club World Cup final against Manchester United that same year (they lost 1-0).

They also won a Copa Sudamericana in 2009 (think Europa League) and won two Recopa Sudamericana titles (think UEFA Super Cup).

This club has some HISTORY.

And we felt the passion for soccer in Ecuador the moment we arrived. South America has a well-deserved reputation for being soccer mad, but I believe the passion for the game in the U.S. isn’t that far from what I saw in Ecuador. I’ve seen it in San Antonio and in Phoenix, the love and passion fans have for the game here. In just my short amount of time in Phoenix, I’ve been very impressed with the passion I’ve seen from the fans.

Especially on match day.

The match itself was incredible and the atmosphere was something I won’t forget. This was just a friendly match between clubs and the fans still cheered, danced and sung in the same way you would expect from a derby day match. It was incredible and really helped us realize how special the moment was. We already saw it the moment we arrived, but to feel it while we were on the pitch was unforgettable.

For me as a player, when I step out on the field, I’ll enjoy the fans and atmosphere around me. I’ll take a moment to look around and soak it all in a little bit.

But when the whistle blows, it’s all business and all the extra stuff just kind of fades away. When it did come time to walk out though, I was a little surprised with the amount of noise the fans made. Even with all the attention we had been getting off the field, it was surprising to feel that type of energy from the fans.

And I think we surprised our opponents, and their fans, with the quality of our play.

Us going down 2-0 may have been expected by them, but we fought so hard to get back into the match and I don’t think they were ready for that. Especially considering we were playing at altitude. They were probably expecting us to wilt as the match went on, but we remained strong and eventually equalized.

For us to go down two goals and fight back for a draw showed us that no matter who we're playing, we can play with the best. That gave us a lot of confidence. And the trip showed LDU Quito’s fans that Phoenix Rising can be one of the best clubs in the U.S.

And I think we’re already seeing the benefits of the trip in our first few matches of the season. Just this past weekend, we went down a goal to Fresno and managed to come back and earn a draw. It’s tough to get a regular-season atmosphere and intensity for a friendly match, but I think the trip we had the opportunity to participate in really provided us with that and helped us realize just how dangerous we could be in 2018.

Photos and video courtesy Billy Forbes and Phoenix Rising FC