Greetings!
Sorry it has taken a while for me to recap this Austin match. I’ll get to that in a second, but I am getting ready for a much-needed vacation. I will probably be able to write recaps on FC Cincinnati and the Vancouver Whitecaps. I’ll be on a couple of long flights and certainly have some downtime to write. I’m not sure if I’ll have time to do a preview of the Whitecaps, but we’ll play that one by ear. This will be a much shorter recap than most.
Overall thoughts on this match are that San Diego FC dominated Austin FC. Not only by the score of 5-0, but by every single statistical category. San Diego had 58% possession of the match and an xG of 2.51, 22 total shots, 10 shots on target, 36 touches in the opposition’s box, over 688 passes, and a completion rate of 93%. The list could go on, but the point is clear that this was an amazing match for San Diego. In a midweek match, both lineups were heavily rotated with another match upcoming. San Diego just wanted the win more than Austin. Mikey Varas opted to play the younger guys on the roster and for veterans Amahl Pellegrino and Aníbal Godoy to take some rest on the bench. The oldest player on the starting eleven was striker Marcus Ingvartsen, who wore the captain’s armband for the first time for SDFC. But in the under-25 category, San Diego had Alex Mighten, Kieran Sargeant, Manu Duah, Pedro Soma, Luca Bombino, and Duran Ferree.
Young Guy Energy
The young guys delivered early on as David Vazquez was able to turn an Onni Valakari assist into a goal in the 8th minute. It wasn’t the prettiest of finishes, as he was sliding into the near post and the ball was deflected by an Austin FC player for the goal. But what was pretty was a dummy play in the final third by Onni Valakari to let the ball through to Marcus Ingvartsen so that Ingvartsen could pass the ball forward to Valakari. An underrated move that was key for the goal. Another young guy that was heavily involved in the attack was Pedro Soma. Soma had a very nice touch on a pass to Anders Dreyer on the fast break, which helped Dreyer get to the penalty area, cut back, and shoot to make the score 2-0. Soma might not be the biggest or the best defender for his position, but playing to his passing ability makes him an excellent player on the roster.
It did feel by halftime that this was still a competitive match. The only problem for Austin was that Pedro Soma delivered the final blow in the 54th minute to make the match 3-0. It was a great goal from outside the box. The key to that play was a long pass from Manu Duah to Anders Dreyer. Dreyer drove into the penalty area and stuck with the ball even with two defenders around him. Dreyer was able to keep the play alive. Then it was a pass to Mighten, who was able to dribble the ball and send a pass to Soma, who delivered a shot for the goal. After the hour mark, both teams made substitutions and Austin played a little more relaxed, which made Austin susceptible to SDFC’s relentless attack. Another goal from Marcus Ingvartsen came in the 79th minute, assisted by Luca Bombino, and another in stoppage time by David Vazquez, who made a great run and really showed his 1v1 skills. The final score was 5-0, and San Diego looked like their former selves again.
Danish Duo
A few things to mention in this match are that Anders Dreyer scored his 6th goal of the season and Marcus Ingvartsen scored his ninth. Combined, Dreyer and Ingvartsen have 22 goal contributions, tied for the most by any team’s duo in MLS. Ingvartsen is now third in the league in goals, and just ahead of him are the likes of Hugo Cuypers, Lionel Messi, Petar Musa, Mico Fernandez, and Julian Hall. This was Ingvartsen’s fourth goal in three matches. As for Dreyer, his 5 assists this season are good for 4th in the league. Dreyer has 5 goal contributions in the last 6 matches. Both players are heating up with two more matches to go before the World Cup break. San Diego will need both players to be at the top of their game if they plan on defeating FC Cincinnati and the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Preview FC Cincinnati
Speaking of FC Cincinnati, San Diego will play against them on Saturday night. Cincinnati has a record of 4-4-5 with 16 points, sitting 8th in the Eastern Conference. Cincinnati is 4th in goals this season with 27 and has the fifth-highest xG at 23.32, but they have allowed the third-most goals with 32 this season. That makes a goal differential of -5. On the road this season, FC Cincinnati has a record of 1-3-3 for 6 points and a goal differential of -7. This is another good set-piece team, having the 5th-highest xG at 6.08 for set pieces and scoring 6 goals. Cincinnati is not the best passing team, as they have completed 83.6% of their overall passes and only 70.1% of passes going into the final third. Defensively, they are known for taking away the ball. They play around 50% possession and are 7th in interceptions and 11th in recoveries. Cincinnati will try to use their defenders to get in the way of shots and passes, as they have 61 blocks this season, which is third-best in the league, and the 7th-most clearances with 342. What San Diego should consider doing is winning the ground duel battle, as Cincinnati has the 27th-worst ground duel win rate in the league at 47.7%. Cincinnati will make mistakes on the pitch, as they have 5 errors that have led to goals this season. Cincinnati also tends to foul a lot and currently has 160 foul calls against them, and they are tied with Houston for the most red cards with 5 this season.
A couple of players to spotlight for FC Cincinnati are Kevin Denkey and Evander. Denkey came to MLS last season from Cercle Brugge in the Belgian Pro League A. While at Cercle Brugge, Denkey had a total of 57 goals and 11 assists across all competitions. Denkey is your prototypical striker who just wants to get in the box and score goals. Last season for FC Cincinnati, Denkey had 17 goals and 2 assists across all competitions. Denkey’s 15 league goals had him tied with Philip Zinkernagel for 16th place in the league. The other player in the spotlight is the Brazilian Evander. Evander came over to MLS after spending 5 seasons at Midtjylland in the Danish Superliga. He was teammates with Anders Dreyer, and they won the league together in Dreyer’s first season with the club in the 2019-2020 season. Over at Midtjylland, Evander had 42 goals and 32 assists across all competitions. Evander would then come over to MLS in 2023 via a transfer to the Portland Timbers as their Designated Player. In two seasons, Evander had 26 goals and 22 assists. Evander was then traded to FC Cincinnati prior to the 2025 season in a cash-for-player deal. The deal was valued at 12 million dollars, and Evander became a Designated Player for FC Cincinnati. Evander had a really good 2025, as he scored 20 goals and had 16 assists across all competitions. FC Cincinnati is a high-scoring threat, and the reason why is that Denkey and Evander are two players with their eyes always toward the goal. Keeping both players in check will be needed for SDFC to succeed in this upcoming match.
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