Matchday 33 of the MLS season was an eventful one, with a record-tying 57 total goals scored in a single day. Four players—Diego Rossi of the Columbus Crew, Idan Markovich of Charlotte FC, Denis Bouanga of LAFC, and newly acquired Thomas Müller of Vancouver—all scored hat tricks. Vancouver’s 7-0 victory over Philadelphia Union was a significant result that could have helped San Diego FC (SDFC) in the Supporters’ Shield race, but only if SDFC defeated Minnesota United.

First Half: SDFC Dominates but Fails to Score

Before the match, San Diego’s offense had been struggling, being outshot 100 to 67 in their previous eight matches. The preview for this match highlighted two key points: Minnesota United’s tendency to sit back and play defensively, and the need for San Diego to create and take shots on goal.

In the first half, SDFC appeared to have a strong offensive strategy, getting multiple shots on goal. Early on, Chucky Lozano and Anders Dreyer both had shots saved by Minnesota’s goalkeeper, Dayne St. Clair. A series of passes in the 19th minute led to another blocked shot by St. Clair. St. Clair continued to be a wall, saving a header from Amahl Pellegrino and two consecutive shots from Anders Dreyer just before halftime.

The stats from the first half underscored San Diego’s dominance: they had 69% of the possession, 12 total shots (7 on target), and 7 corner kicks, compared to Minnesota’s single shot. St. Clair made 6 saves in the first half alone. San Diego’s expected goals (xG) was 1.62 to Minnesota’s 0.07, demonstrating that they were generating high-quality scoring opportunities, but simply couldn’t convert them into goals.

Second Half: Minnesota United Capitalizes on Set Pieces

The second half started with substitutions for both teams, including a triple substitution by Minnesota that brought in Dominik Fitz, Nectarios Triantis, and Anthony Markanich.

Minnesota’s changes quickly paid off. In the 73rd minute, they were awarded a free kick. The initial kick was taken by Joaquin Pereyra, which resulted in a corner kick after hitting the chest of SDFC’s goalkeeper, CJ Dos Santos. On the ensuing corner kick, Anthony Markanich headed the ball into the net for his seventh goal of the season, putting Minnesota up 1-0. This goal was characteristic of Minnesota United, as they led the league in set-piece goals prior to this match.

The SDFC defense on this play was similar to one in a previous home match against the Portland Timbers. In both situations, SDFC players were positioned closer to the far post, leaving the near post vulnerable. While Dos Santos was in a better position against Minnesota, Markanich was left unmarked, allowing him to score the goal.

It was more bad news for SDFC a few minutes later. After winning a tackle on Anders Dreyer, Anthony Markanich took the ball away and passed it to Kelvin Yeboah at midfield. Yeboah made a pretty wild pass out to the far side but was stopped by Triantis and picked up by Carlos Harvey. Harvey was able to take the ball into the penalty area, cut back, and get around Luca Bombino before taking his shot and scoring. The score was now 2-0. To cap off the match for Minnesota, Nectarios Triantis scored from midfield. San Diego’s Jeppe Tverskov scored in the final seconds to make the final score 3-1.

Despite the final score, San Diego had a final expected goals (xG) of 2.2 compared to Minnesota’s 0.7. San Diego also had 28 total shots, with 13 on target, while Minnesota had 6 total shots, with 5 on target. Goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair ended the game with an impressive 12 saves.

Looking ahead, SDFC will play in the Baja Cup, a friendly against Tijuana Xolos on Tuesday night. The team will then travel to Atlanta to face Atlanta United. San Diego will have the next 3 out of 4 matches on the road. Their final home game of the season will be against San Jose on September 27th.