First and foremost, thanks for reading ChromaticFC.com. Between last year’s Substack into this year’s posts on ChromaticFC, this is now post #100. I’ll continue writing 100 more of these, maybe 1000, maybe 10,000. Who knows! But thanks for reading and appreciate all the support.
San Diego went to Seattle trying to do what no team has done as an away team: beat the Sounders. An already daunting task was in front of them, but SDFC had also gone winless in eight straight games and looked to be turning things around after a draw against LAFC. San Diego is also battered with injuries, as Jeppe Tverskov may not return until after the World Cup, two goalkeepers are out in Pablo Sisniega and CJ Dos Santos, and San Diego’s big acquisition from over the summer, Lewis Morgan, was listed as out. Not to mention, there are also players in the starting XI dealing with their own injuries, such as Amahl Pellegrino and Luca Bombino. San Diego was trying to make this a competitive matchup with the players they have active on the roster.
I Did It My Way
To get to the meat on the bone, San Diego FC scored in the 18th minute all due to their play style. The buildup starting from the back was phenomenal and exactly how San Diego wants to build from the back. It all started with goalkeeper Duran Ferree retrieving a loose ball in the penalty area. He then passed the ball centrally to Onni Valakari. There were a few passes among the center backs, Anibal Godoy, and the goalkeeper. Ferree would then pass the ball again to Valakari, this time with a lot of space in front of him. Valakari passed centrally to David Vazquez in the midfield, who was able to get another pass off to the far side to Luca Bombino. Bombino dribbled the ball into the final third and gave a pass off to Amahl Pellegrino. Pellegrino sent a short pass centrally to Vazquez near the penalty area. Vazquez then sent a pass to the near side to Oscar Verhoeven. Verhoeven passed the ball back to Chris McVey, who delivered a short pass to Onni Valakari. Valakari dribbled towards the center of the pitch and dumped the ball off to Manu Duah. When Duah passed the ball forward to Anibal Godoy, Onni Valakari was creeping behind a couple of Sounders players in the middle of the pitch. It appeared that the Sounders completely lost track of Valakari as the ball went back to him while he was as wide open in the middle of the field as you can be. Valakari quickly sent a through ball into the penalty area, where Marcus Ingvartsen was able to deliver the final blow of this incredible buildup play and put San Diego on top 1-0. San Diego was able to take advantage of the space given to them in the final third by Seattle, but SDFC also had participation by all 11 players that made that play possible. San Diego had about 20 total passes completed in that run. There was also great patience and hold-up play by the midfielders that really made it a great build-from-the-back play. If it were up to SDFC, San Diego would want every goal to be scored this way.
Ingvartsen Appreciation Post
Marcus Ingvartsen scored his eighth goal on Saturday in Seattle and now has 10 goal contributions in league play. Last season, San Diego had four players in double-digit goal contributions in league play: Anders Dreyer (36), Hirving Lozano (17), Onni Valakari (11), and Milan Iloski (11). Anders Dreyer currently has 10 goal contributions himself, with the league leader being Lionel Messi with 12. Right now, you can’t find another pairing that has more contributions than Dreyer and Ingvartsen with 20. The second most is Messi and Telasco Segovia, who combined for 19 goal contributions for Inter Miami. But back to Ingvartsen; he is currently at a pace of getting a goal contribution (disregarding penalty kicks) at a rate of 0.96 per 90 minutes. That is just under one per match. In this category, Dreyer ranked 32nd at 0.70. It is fair to say that this was the player SDFC, Tyler Heaps, and Mikey Varas were expecting last season. Ingvartsen can now be relied on to be the striker that is needed to contribute and could possibly bring in a goal per match. The biggest thing for Ingvartsen is health and being able to stay on the pitch. Saturday was the fourth time this year that Ingvartsen was able to play a full match. It is possible that fans may see more full 90 minute matches out of Ingvartsen after the World Cup break. Pairing him with Dreyer has created a great duo for SDFC. Could it turn into a great trio after the summer break?
Back to the First Half
San Diego played a really good half. SDFC had the possession (57%), but the Sounders had more shots (8) and more touches in the opposition’s box (19). The Sounders did not put any shots on target, often shooting wide, with goalkeeper Ferree not having to do much to get in front of the ball. The San Diego defense was also doing its part in the first half with two blocks and 14 clearances. Manu Duah had the most clearances of the half with five. There was a key moment for the Sounders after a through ball in the midfield found Jordan Morris on a fast break. Morris shot and scored, but the goal was ruled offside. San Diego just needed 45 more minutes to put this one away.
Second Half
The second half for San Diego was very different from the first. Both teams shared possession, but the Sounders were the dominant force on the pitch with 18 total shots, five on target, and 31 touches in the opposition’s box. San Diego only had 10 total shots, two shots on target, and 19 touches in the opposition’s box. Early on, San Diego had most of the shots, with five shots in the first 20 minutes of the second half, one of which was on target. But after the 67th minute, there was a complete shift where the Sounders were peppering the goal with shots, recording 16 to San Diego’s five. Danny Musovski entered after the 63rd minute and may have had more to do with fresh legs heading toward the final third. It felt as though the Sounders were close to equalizing, and they eventually would. However, it wasn’t without more controversy on the pitch. As the Sounders were heading toward the penalty area, Jesus Ferreira put a through ball into the box for Musovski, who immediately took a shot that was saved by goalkeeper Ferree. When the pass was delivered by Ferreira, it appeared that Musovski was in an offside position. Chris McVey was demanding that the flag for offside should have been up. The Sounders were awarded a corner kick and scored off a heel pass from Cristian Roldan to the feet of Musovski, who scored the equalizer. The play for offside should have been thoroughly reviewed, and the Sounders should never have been given a corner kick. But for the Sounders, this was their fourth set-piece goal. San Diego has given up five set-piece goals this season. Worse yet, San Diego has lost a total of nine points after the 75th minute, which is the worst in the league. In comparison, the Chicago Fire are second worst in the league with five points lost after the 75th minute. San Diego really tried to regain those points in the last minute on a great effort by Alex Mighten taking on a defender on the near side of the box. Mighten was able to deliver a pass to Anders Dreyer, but Dreyer’s shot was saved by goalkeeper Andrew Thomas. The deflection of the save went toward Marcus Ingvartsen, who had a tough angle and delivered a shot high and way off the mark. The final score was 1-1 and the points were shared.
Final Thoughts on this Match
A point was going to be a tough thing to get in Lumen Field, and SDFC was able to accomplish that. In 2026, San Diego FC was the first team to get a point in Lumen Field after the Sounders had won five matches at home in all competitions. San Diego is the first team to earn a point in Lumen Field since the Vancouver Whitecaps did it back on September 27th of last season. The Sounders haven’t lost since June 1st of last season against Minnesota United. Big picture, San Diego continues to build and has received a point in back-to-back matches. This is a big accomplishment considering all the injuries the team is dealing with right now. San Diego does not have the healthiest squad, and getting to the World Cup break is going to be key to finishing out the rest of the 19 matches that remain on schedule after the break. The wins will come eventually, but for now, this squad is surviving with what they have. Something that needs fixing is closing out matches, as losing points late is starting to be a concerning trend. Another thing San Diego can do is try to score late in matches to try and gain back points. This season after the 75th minute, it hasn’t happened yet.
Austin FC Preview
San Diego will face Austin FC on Wednesday night for a midweek showdown. Austin FC is currently 10th in the Western Conference with a record of 3-5-4 (14 points). Away from home, Austin has zero wins, three draws, and three losses with a goal differential of -7. Overall this season, Austin has scored 18 goals with the second-lowest xG in the league at 13. Yet, this is a really good set-piece team; Austin has scored eight set-piece goals, which is tied for the most in the league with Inter Miami. In open play, Austin has trouble connecting in the final third as they are ranked 27th in the league in final third passing percentage at 66.7%. On the defensive side, Austin has allowed the seventh-most goals in the league with 21 and are third-most in xG allowed at 26.06. Austin has allowed the second-most shots (218) and shots on target (83). San Diego should absolutely view this as a chance to take as many shots as possible, hopefully finding the back of the net. Austin’s goalkeeper Brad Stuver has prevented six goals, which is the second highest in the league, but he is being peppered with about seven shots on target per match. This is a heavy dose for a goalkeeper, which San Diego will try to take advantage of to get a couple of goals.
Austin’s Key Players
Back in February, toward the end of the roster crunch for MLS, the LA Galaxy had to make a tough decision on a player due to not having enough GAM to keep him on the roster for a second straight year. The LA Galaxy waived Christian Ramirez back in February, and he was immediately picked up by Austin FC. So far with Austin, Ramirez has four goals and one assist in 2026. That includes the 79th-minute equalizer in Austin’s last match against Minnesota United for a 2-2 draw. Ramirez is 35 years old and is now with his seventh MLS club. In MLS, Ramirez has scored 59 goals and has 17 assists. Austin is trying to get the last bit of a good footballer left in Ramirez. He has already matched last year’s goal contributions and hasn’t had double-digit goal contributions since 2024 with the Columbus Crew. Ramirez has started the last three matches and could be a man off the bench, which is a good option to have if trying to score a late goal.
Another player up top at striker San Diego needs to be aware of is Myrto Uzuni. Uzuni made his MLS debut last season after coming over from the La Liga 2 side Granada. Last season, across all competitions, Uzuni had nine goals and three assists. This season, Uzuni has started all 11 matches for Austin and has five goals. Uzuni can play as an attacking midfielder or on the left wing. It all depends on how Austin wants to rotate their players for a midweek match. Uzuni will take shots from distance, as he’s currently tied for sixth in the league with 15 shots outside the box and has scored two goals from those shots. Uzuni has just under three shots per 90 and about one shot on target per 90. This is a guy who loves to shoot the ball and will do it from anywhere. San Diego will need to keep a compact shape inside the penalty area to prevent any shots from getting through to the net by Uzuni.
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