SDFC Defeats St. Louis City, Remains Undefeated at Home
It was a picture-perfect Sunday night at Snapdragon Stadium as San Diego FC faced off against St. Louis City SC. St. Louis entered the match with a newly retooled roster, a fresh philosophy, and a new head coach. Meanwhile, San Diego was determined to maintain their winning ways at home. Exactly one year ago, these two teams fought to a 0-0 draw, and a year later, fans were eager to finally see some scoring.
Lineup Continuity
Surprisingly, San Diego’s starting lineup remained unchanged from the previous week. This meant 18-year-old Duran Ferree earned his second consecutive start at goalkeeper. Ferree initially stepped in last week due to Sisniega’s red card at the end of last season and CJ Dos Santos not being at 100%. While Ferree wasn’t heavily challenged by CF Montreal in his first start, making two saves on six total shots, he remained in the net this week as Sisniega appeared to be sidelined by illness. Ferree received a boost before kickoff because St. Louis City’s star player, Marcel Hartel, was absent from the roster due to paternity leave. As City SC’s best player and a goal-scorer the previous week, Hartel’s absence heavily favored San Diego.
A Fast Start
The scoring began almost immediately when San Diego scored just three minutes into the match. After St. Louis lost possession in the midfield, the ball moved through Chris McVey, Jeppe Tverskov, and Anders Dreyer. Following a deflection off Anibal Godoy, Tverskov found an unmarked Onni Valakari at midfield. As Valakari drove downfield, the St. Louis defense focused on marking passing lanes rather than challenging him directly. Valakari eventually found Marcus Ingvartsen, who flicked the ball to Dreyer for a clinical volley into the net. This marked Ingvartsen’s second assist of the season, and with this goal, Dreyer became the second-fastest player in league history to reach 20 goals and 20 assists, achieving the feat in just 36 matches. He trails only Lionel Messi, who did it in 26 games, and surpassed Carlos Vela, who reached the milestone in 41 matches.
On BlueSky, @stlsoccernew.com had a great breakdown of the first goal. See below:
San Diego continued to press, but St. Louis goalkeeper Roman Bürki kept the match competitive. The former Borussia Dortmund standout made several impressive saves, including a 10th-minute header from Valakari and an 11th-minute left-footed strike from Ingvartsen. St. Louis struggled offensively, with their best chance coming in the 23rd minute when Simon Becher missed a tap-in off a Miguel Perez pass. This was likely the only moment the San Diego FC backline appeared vulnerable. By halftime, San Diego held 59% possession and a 3-0 advantage in shots on target.
Securing the Result
The second half mirrored the first, with Bürki forced into action early to save a Chris McVey header following an Amahl Pellegrino free kick. In the 54th minute, SDFC doubled their lead through a sequence that began with the backline playing out to the midfielders and eventually to Anders Dreyer. Dreyer exchanged passes with McVey and Tverskov before feeding Valakari. Dreyer regained possession, shrugged off two different challenges from St. Louis defenders, and slipped a pass to Ingvartsen. Ingvartsen finished the play to score in his second consecutive match. St. Louis’s failure to foul Dreyer to stop his momentum was a significant tactical lapse, as other teams often take the foul to set up a free kick rather than allowing him to reach the penalty area.
Back to @stlsoccernew.com on BlueSky, who also did a breakdown of the second goal below:
Closing it Out
With the game under control, the rest of the match was about letting the kids play. In the 64th minute, Pedro Soma replaced Anibal Godoy. Later, in the 79th minute, Alex Mighten replaced Ingvartsen while newcomer Bryce Duke made his San Diego FC debut coming in for Onni Valakari. Finally, in the 89th minute, Ian Pilcher and Bryan Zamble entered for Manu Duah and Amahl Pellegrino. The match ended in a 2-0 victory for San Diego, who dominated the statistics with 65% possession and 6 shots on target. Ingvartsen led the team with 7 touches in the opposition box and 2 key passes, while Manu Duah and Jeppe Tverskov anchored the defense with 9 recoveries each.
Looking Ahead
San Diego has gotten off to a great start to the 2026 season. In two regular-season matches, they have two clean sheets and have outscored their opponents 7-0. Across three home matches this year, they have outscored opponents 11-1. As the team prepares for its first away match against Sporting KC this Saturday, the Danish connection of Dreyer and Ingvartsen looks like it will be a major storyline for the season
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