While every game of the regular season ended up holding significant weight, Brave SC’s biggest games of the season begin this weekend. Each game down the stretch felt like a playoff match, but the real playoffs begin now and, with them, an elevated sense of urgency, whether the Buffalo want to acknowledge it or not.

“We like the mentality to just play another game, but we also know the responsibility the playoffs bring to us,” midfielder Matheus Ferreira said. “Especially for an institution like Brave that, most of the time, competes for titles, we see every game from now on as a big challenge.”

The Buffalo (9-1-2) will commence the USL League Two Southern Conference Tournament Friday with a conference quarterfinal match against Sarasota Paradise (8-1-3) in Asheville, NC.

“Every game is a final,” center back Leo Andrade said. “You can’t not run because we have another game Sunday, because that game might not happen. How you play this game has to be the same way you’d play the national final. Giving 100% is the most important thing right now.”

As the defending conference champions, several of the Buffalo are familiar with the territory they’re now in. However, the roster is also laden with new talent, which is also new to the League Two playoffs, but Ferreira doesn’t see that inexperience as a deficit.

“I think most of our guys have that experience, if not here then at their colleges,” he said. “We have great players and all of them have been in those playoff situations before, but having returners here and knowing what we did last year and knowing what we want to do now is very important.”

The Buffalo experienced plenty of drama in the final weeks of the regular season after cruising through June, including the earliest conceded goal in team history and their lone loss of the season. They believe all of that, though, made them into a stronger playoff contender.

“We’ve been through everything, right?” Andrade laughed. “We’ve been through wins, we’ve been through draws in the first two games. We lost one game and learned that we don’t want to feel this feeling again. That prepared us for this moment now. We know how important this first game is.”

The matchup with Sarasota will be the first between the two clubs and the Buffalo are curious and eager to match up with the fellow Florida side.

“It’s a team that did very well in their division, so this is something to look at and respect,” Ferreira said, “but we know our job and what we need to do and, whoever comes our way, we’ll face them.”

Brave SC and Sarasota Paradise will kick off at 4 p.m. Friday on the Campus of UNC Asheville in Asheville, NC.

For more information on Brave SC, including the roster and complete schedule, visit BraveSC.com.