San Diego FC went over to play the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday night, and SDFC still looked like themselves from before the break. If there were any changes or adjustments made over the break, they did not show on Wednesday night. SDFC lost the match 1-0 to the Rapids on a last-minute goal, which has been the story of their season. Hopefully, San Diego can wake up and shake off the loss as they play another match on Saturday night at home against FC Dallas.
The lineup put out by Head Coach Mikey Varas was a little uninspiring. Kieran Sargeant started for Luca Bombino, who was suspended due to a red card in the last match. Oscar Verhoeven was on the other side at right back. The midfield looked defensively stronger than an attack-minded group with Valakari, Tverskov, and Godoy. Alex Mighten started at left wing with Amahl Pellegrino out for the match—and potentially out for several months due to a procedure undergone during the World Cup break. Ian Murphy, one of the players acquired during the break, was on the bench, while midfielder Gabriel Pirani was out of the squad completely. This left a very young group on the bench, with Lewis Morgan as the lone veteran available to sub into the match.
Furthermore, there is not much to say about the first half, as San Diego had zeros all across the board : zero shots, zero shots on target, zero big chances, zero corners, and zero touches in the opposition’s box. The Rapids did slightly better with the ball, recording 3 shots (none on target), 5 touches in the opposition’s box, and 2 corners. It felt like two teams with similar styles feeling each other out, waiting to make halftime adjustments before the real match started in the second half.
The second half contained the real highlights, as evidenced by the stat sheet. In the first half, both teams seemed to share possession equally, but in the second half, possession leaned toward the Rapids at 56%. The Rapids had 6 total shots, 1 shot on target, and 14 touches in the opposition’s box. SDFC also had 6 total shots and 6 touches in the opposition’s box, but put 2 shots on target. One of those shots on target came from Onni Valakari in the 64th minute. Anders Dreyer delivered a long pass from the midfield out to Marcus Ingvartsen on the far side. Ingvartsen dribbled just outside the penalty box, cut back, and found a wide-open Onni Valakari running into the penalty area. Valakari took a touch and tried to lift the ball over a sliding goalkeeper, who managed to get a hand on it and deflect it over the crossbar.
The second opportunity came in the 69th minute when Aníbal Godoy intercepted the ball and passed it over to Anders Dreyer. Dreyer briefly lost control, but Oscar Verhoeven regained possession, passed back to Dreyer, and Dreyer pushed the ball forward to Verhoeven again. Verhoeven delivered a pass into the penalty area where Ingvartsen got a shot off, but it was deflected by goalkeeper Nicholas Hansen. Afterward, in the 70th minute, Ian Murphy and Alejandro Alvarado subbed into the match for Sargeant and Godoy. Murphy can move the ball forward, but he hasn’t seen much time at left back in his career. Subbing Alvarado in felt like resting a veteran’s tired legs, though Alvarado plays as a more defensive player. Bringing on David Vazquez might have been the better move in that moment. Other late substitutions included Lewis Morgan for Marcus Ingvartsen and Bryan Zamble for Alex Mighten.
The moment of truth arrived in the final minute of stoppage time. The Rapids were awarded a free kick on San Diego’s side of the pitch and fully took advantage by attacking the side where Ian Murphy had been subbed in. Paxten Aaronson went one-on-one against Murphy near the sideline. Aaronson was able to deliver a low cross into the penalty area, finding Loïc Williams, who kicked the ball toward the far post where it snuck into the back of the net. The ball was out of reach for CJ Dos Santos, and the other SDFC defenders near Williams were simply too slow to react. Loïc Williams was making his debut for the Rapids after being acquired from Spanish La Liga 2 side Granada during the winter transfer window. Their new acquisition made an immediate impact, while SDFC’s newer additions have not yet done so. For SDFC, this marks the 10th point dropped after the 75th minute, which leads the league. They must regroup and focus for a quick turnaround as they face FC Dallas on Saturday night at Snapdragon Stadium.
FC Dallas Preview
FC Dallas arrives at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday sitting in fifth place in the Western Conference with a 7-5-4 record and 26 points. Their form home and away is perfectly balanced, taking 13 points at home and 13 on the road. Statistically, San Diego and FC Dallas are very closely matched: FC Dallas has scored 32 goals on a 24.83 xG with 75 shots on target, while San Diego has scored 30 goals on a 24.98 xG with 72 shots on target. However, while San Diego prefers to control possession, FC Dallas likes to hunker down and counterattack. They achieve similar results through very different styles.
Because FC Dallas is so effective on the break, they have scored the second-most fast-break goals in the league with 7. However, that direct counterattacking style can lead to timing issues, leaving them with the third-most offside calls in the league at 40. FC Dallas also played on Wednesday night. In their matchup against the Portland Timbers in Portland, FC Dallas held 38% possession, took 11 shots (3 on target), and had 15 touches in the opposition’s box. Dallas took the lead in stoppage time at the end of the first half, but Portland answered back in the second half through a Kevin Kelsy goal. Petar Musa appeared to secure a late victory in the 88th minute for FC Dallas, but much like San Diego, Dallas surrendered a stoppage-time goal to the Timbers, leaving the final score at 2-2 with both teams sharing the points.
Petar Musa
Petar Musa is now the default league leader in goals with 13, following Hugo Cuypers’ departure from the league. Musa also played in the World Cup group stage, enjoying a standout moment for Croatia when he scored against England in Dallas. Fans may remember the last time FC Dallas played SDFC, which turned into the Petar Musa Show as he scored a hat-trick to help Dallas secure a point at home. However, San Diego fielded a B-team that day while prioritizing competition in the Champions Cup, resting several regular starters.
Musa simply continues to improve in MLS. In his first year in 2024, he recorded 19 goal contributions; in 2025, he tallied 24; and currently, he sits at 15. That translates to roughly 1.09 non-penalty goal contributions per 90 minutes. Musa remains a constant threat to score, meaning San Diego will need its best defensive lineup on the field to contain him. With Bombino returning from suspension, SDFC should be able to field its strongest starting backline to prevent a repeat performance from Musa
Leave a Reply