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More than that, City SC seemed more capable of taking its season back than it has in weeks. Well, as much as it can in just one match.

It still counts as one win. There are no multipliers that give the victory more weight in the standings. There’s no special designation for that match that sets it apart and above the previous 11 MLS matches when City SC couldn’t beg, borrow or steal its way into the win column.

Yet the match stands alone because of everything that preceded it, and the altered vibe coming away from it.

Saturday’s match against San Jose at Energizer Park provided the opportunity for something akin to a second Opening Day for City SC, minus the pomp and circumstance and clean slate in the standings.

There might not have been a franchise that needed a 2-1 win more than City SC did on Saturday.

It gave the organization, the team and the fan base a restart in the middle of the season, a moment, a change that people can point to as the beginning of a turnaround — hopefully.

This past week’s firing of head coach Olof Mellberg and the insertion of City2 coach David Critchley on an interim basis included the expectation, if not an implied promise, that the type of play that unfolded on the pitch would reflect the aggressive, attacking philosophy and pressing style touted by City SC leadership.

To be clear, that implied promise wasn’t that this change would instantly result in some monumental win streak.

However, the word “entertain� freely rolled off the lips of both City SC sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel and Critchley on Thursday afternoon.

As in a style that would entertain the fans, a brand of game that would be edge-of-your-seat as opposed to slump-in-your-seat.

Team president and general manager Diego Gigliani described the players as having “pressed that reset button� in training during the week amidst the coaching change.

“We can’t think how we have to make the playoffs right now,� Pfannenstiel said. “That would be not realistic. I think we’re thinking now from game to game. Get back into a flow. Get back into belief. Get some confidence back. I think David Critchley can do that. Diego said grab the bull by the horns, that was something (Wednesday) you really felt.�

All that begged the question: How much of a change would or could be felt in the stadium?

The players hadn’t been heard from since the coaching change, but their play figured to speak volumes.

From the start on Saturday, City SC clearly played with a higher level of aggression. Was it a whirlwind of difference? No, but it was noticeable.

City SC afforded San Jose less time and space when San Jose possessed the ball than had become commonplace in recent matches, particularly at home.

You saw tangible instances of this idea that City SC could force action when it didn’t have the ball, that not having the ball somehow allowed for more intensity and that intensity, in turn, could generate counterattacking opportunities.

City SC goalkeeper Roman Burki launched multiple long balls down field in effort to take advantage of the open space and gave players like Celio Pompeu and Xande Silva chances to outrace opponents to the ball and potentially wreak havoc.

There it was again in those moments — the aggression and a team on the attack. A team ready to use its opponent’s aggressiveness to spark it’s own.

It was hardly a non-stop onslaught from City SC that put San Jose on its heels. No, it wasn’t the relentless flurry that made you wonder if City SC players literally had fire in their shoes.

However, they applied enough pressure where it felt as though their first goal was a reward for their aggression.

Even on that first goal, Joao Klauss simply seemed to want it more than a pair of San Jose defenders who were in position to do something about it. Instead, Klauss beat both defenders to the ball and took advantage of a moment of indecision by San Jose goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. after Edwards came off his line and froze for a split second.

While that City SC pressure dipped in the second half, and San Jose became the aggressor for a period leading up to and following their lone goal, the City SC counter attack delivered again.

Simon Becher’s dogged pursuit of the ball and nose for the goal led to the decisive penalty kick after Edwards up-ended Becher in the box as regulation time concluded and extra time began.

Central midfielder Eduard Lowen, who scored the game-winning goal, reference getting a “new coach� and “new energy� during his on-field interview broadcast throughout the stadium.

At least for a day, City SC recaptured a bit of the spirit that had shaped the club. Certainly, there’s much more work to do in order to build on this one match, and it will only get more difficult.

For now though, City SC followers can feel like they still have a soccer season.