While San Diego has enjoyed great success against their Southern California foes, they have not yet figured out the San Jose Earthquakes. Holding an overall record of 1-0-2 against San Jose, including a 3-0 shutout in their last matchup, San Jose entered this contest as a tough opponent while San Diego looked to even the score. San Diego’s recent home form in league play had been strong, with four wins in five home matches, and they were eager to tack on another. As San Diego tries to position itself for the playoffs, picking up wins at home is crucial.
A couple of lineup changes were made for San Diego FC, with Dagur Dan Þórhallsson starting at left-back alongside Chris McVey at center-back. This marked Þórhallsson’s first start at left-back since joining SDFC and McVey’s first start in league play since facing Minnesota United. San Jose took advantage of the structural changes on the left side early, scoring in just the third minute of the match. As San Diego attacked down one flank, Þórhallsson sent a cross into the box with no teammates available to direct a shot, allowing San Jose to recover the ball easily. Vítor Costa recovered possession on the far side and sent a pass toward the midfield that was chested down by Luka Jovanović into the path of Beau Leroux. Gabriel Pirani was the closest SDFC player to close down the play, but Leroux bypassed Pirani and delivered a long pass to Niko Tsakiris at midfield. Unmarked and with plenty of open space ahead, Tsakiris drove forward. Chris McVey was the deepest defender tracking back, but Tsakiris cut inside in front of McVey and struck a shot from right outside the penalty area. The ball sailed past a diving CJ Dos Santos and into the back of the net. That marked Tsakiris’s fourth goal of the season and his third against San Diego FC. San Diego should have recognized that the Earthquakes are a dangerous transition team and stopped the sequence with Pirani on San Jose’s side of the pitch, but no defender halted the counterattack. San Jose took an early 1-0 lead, and the threat was far from over.
Just a minute or two later, San Jose went back to the vertical route. Vítor Costa sent a pass to midfield that was eventually recovered by Tsakiris, who then launched a long pass to Preston Judd. On the bounce, Þórhallsson attempted a poor header back to CJ Dos Santos, leaving the ball to be claimed by Judd outside the box. Dos Santos came out and tackled Judd after he dribbled into the penalty area, committing a foul. Dos Santos was initially shown a red card, but because the foul occurred inside the box and San Jose was awarded a penalty, double jeopardy rules applied, downgrading the punishment to a yellow card. Niko Tsakiris stepped up to take the penalty kick, aiming to his right, but CJ Dos Santos dove correctly and saved the attempt. It was a bright moment for San Diego FC, but it proved short-lived. As San Diego tried to move downfield, San Jose dispossessed them at midfield and played the ball back to goalkeeper Angus Gunn. Gunn passed to Jack Jasinski on the near side, who attempted to build up through Tsakiris before recycling possession back to Gunn. San Jose then shifted to the far side with a pass to Reid Roberts. After moving the ball around midfield, San Jose found space back on the near side, eventually finding Tsakiris. Covered by Pirani, Tsakiris again faced little pressure as Pirani failed to close down and tackle. Tsakiris dribbled central and slipped a pass to Preston Judd heading into the penalty area. Dos Santos awkwardly dove to his left expecting a quick shot, but Judd continued his dribble closer to the net and slotted a rolling shot into the back of the net to make it 2-0. This was Judd’s 12th goal of the season, capping off a major defensive breakdown in midfield and a lack of pressure from the backline.
Around the 30th minute, goalscorer Preston Judd was forced off due to an injury and replaced by Ousseni Bouda. A few minutes later, with San Diego possessing deep in their own territory on the near side, Elias Achouri sent a pass out toward Onni Valakari at midfield. Valakari could not control it, returning possession to San Jose. Managing their two-goal lead, San Jose slowed the tempo until Niko Tsakiris played a through ball to Beau Leroux at midfield. Leroux passed wide to Jasinski, who laid it back to Daniel Munie, and Munie immediately played a central ball back to Tsakiris. Granted a vast amount of time and space, Tsakiris whipped a pass toward the box to find Bouda, who powered a strong header into the upper right corner for his sixth goal of the year. It was an incredible pass by Tsakiris, giving him his second assist of the match and seventh of the season. Down 3-0 before halftime, San Diego FC found themselves in a scenario eerily similar to their previous match against San Jose. In that earlier meeting, San Jose scored via a Niko Tsakiris goal in the 13th minute, a Tsakiris penalty kick in the 34th minute, and a Preston Judd strike in first-half stoppage time.
This time, SDFC fought back and pulled one goal back before the break. After the ball was played to the feet of CJ Dos Santos, he passed off to Manu Duah, who dribbled to midfield and found Anders Dreyer centrally. Dreyer laid the ball back to Chris McVey, who spread play to the near side to Þórhallsson. Þórhallsson pushed into the final third and combined with Achouri on the wing, overlapping as Achouri played him through. Þórhallsson returned the pass to Achouri, who dribbled toward the near side of the penalty area and delivered a low cross. Valakari got a touch resulting in a bouncing ball and deflecting it into the path of Anders Dreyer, who struck a powerful shot into the back of the net. That marked Dreyer’s ninth goal of the season and his first goal from open play since May 13th against Austin FC. Achouri acted quickly and effectively to set up the cross, while Valakari was credited with his fourth assist of the season. At the half, San Diego held 53% possession with 3 shots (2 on target) and 9 touches in the opposition’s box, compared to San Jose’s 9 total shots (5 on target) and 12 touches in the box. Before the half concluded, Gabriel Pirani left the match with an apparent injury and was replaced by Amahl Pellegrino.
More moves occurred at the start of the second half, as Max Floriani and Eduard Löwen replaced Reid Roberts and Luka Jovanović for San Jose, while Kieran Sargeant and Alejandro Alvarado came on for Þórhallsson and Aníbal Godoy for SDFC. San Diego FC looked much sharper in the second half, generating more involvement from Achouri, who registered a shot attempt in the 55th minute and a header in the 59th minute, while Amahl Pellegrino had a shot saved by the keeper. Managing a two-goal lead, San Jose sat back in coverage and showed little desire to counterattack. In the 68th minute, SDFC introduced summer transfer window signing Cédric Bakambu for Onni Valakari, looking for an impact from the depth striker. Before Bakambu could make his mark, goalkeeper CJ Dos Santos received his second yellow card of the match for a tackle on Bouda outside the box. The ejection marked San Diego’s eighth red card of the season. Goalkeeper Duran Ferree was brought on, forcing Alvarado to be subbed off. Down a man, San Diego continued pushing for two goals to equalize. In the 88th minute, Anders Dreyer swung in a free kick, and Bakambu jostled for position to head the ball on target before being fouled inside the penalty area. Following a VAR review, the referee awarded a penalty kick to San Diego. Floriani, who committed the foul, received his second yellow card and was sent off, leaving San Jose with 10 players as well. Bakambu converted the penalty kick with a firm strike to his left to record his first goal for San Diego FC. San Diego improved significantly in the second half, finishing with 7 total shots (4 on target) and 16 touches in the opposition’s box, but it was not enough to complete the comeback, as San Jose held on for a 3-2 victory. The Earthquakes executed their game plan effectively behind a standout performance from Niko Tsakiris, while Elias Achouri led San Diego’s attack with 4 shots and 8 touches in the box.
Matchday Preview: Philadelphia Union
San Diego must quickly put the loss behind them as they prepare to host a high-stakes match against the Philadelphia Union. The Union have been the hottest team in the league since the World Cup break, earning 23 points with a 7-2-0 record and a +14 goal differential across their last nine league matches. Philadelphia is averaging 2.5 goals per match while conceding just 1 per match over that span, alongside three clean sheets. This side looks completely transformed from the squad that started 1-4-10 and fired head coach Bradley Carnell in May. Just last season, Philadelphia was the premier team in MLS, winning the Supporters’ Shield before experiencing an early-season slump this year.
The Union have scored 41 goals this season against an expected goals (xG) total of 45.40, which ranks 4th in the league. Philadelphia shoots frequently, ranking second in MLS with 393 total shots. Milan Iloski ranks second in the league with 90 shots, while Bruno Damiani sits second on the team with 50 shots. The Union are particularly lethal on set pieces, leading the league with 12.56 xG and 10 goals from set-piece situations. They also rank 7th in MLS with 7 header goals and hold the second-highest total header count in the league, relying on aerial dominance where they win 56.5% of their duels (4th best in MLS). In possession, the Union are not a high-percentage passing team, ranking 29th in passing accuracy at 76.2% and 29th in final-third passing accuracy at 65.7%. Similar to San Jose, Philadelphia relies heavily on crossing to create chaos, leading the league with 396 total crosses and 92 successful crosses.
Defensively, no team presses more aggressively than the Union. Philadelphia leads MLS with 365 press sequences and boasts the second-lowest passes per defensive action (PPDA) in the league at 10.1. This relentless pressing limits opponents to the second-fewest shots (213) and second-fewest shots on target (84) in MLS. However, when opponents manage to bypass the press, Philadelphia surrenders the highest goal conversion rate from shots on target in the league at 18.31%. They remain a disruptive defensive side, ranking near the top of the league in tackles (406), interceptions (300), and recoveries (1,247). Furthermore, the Union frequently disrupt opponent rhythm with fouls, committing a league-high 366 fouls and picking up the 5th most yellow cards (56).
The central focal point of this matchup is former San Diego FC player Milan Iloski. Iloski appeared in 14 matches and made three starts for SDFC last season, scoring 10 goals and adding one assist while on loan from FC Nordsjælland. When his loan expired at the end of July, Iloski was controversially recalled to Denmark. While supporters hoped a permanent deal could be finalized between SDFC, Iloski, and FCN, the Danish club sought to sell high on an asset they had acquired cheaply, and Iloski sought a contract reflecting his MLS success. San Diego Sporting Director Tyler Heaps was caught in the middle of these negotiations. Upon returning to Nordsjælland, the club agreed to transfer Iloski to the Philadelphia Union for a reported $1.15 million fee. Iloski secured a substantial pay raise, with his 2026 compensation reaching approximately $628k. Combined with his amortized transfer fee, Iloski became a Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) player for Philadelphia—a category San Diego FC could not accommodate due to budget constraints. Navigating MLS salary cap mechanics can be confusing for fans, especially without publicly disclosed TAM budgets. This requires dedicated fans to do manual calculations of TAM based on overage of maximum salary charges and transfer fee amortization. Regardless of roster complexities, Iloski has thrived in Philadelphia, logging over 40 appearances with 16 goals and 7 assists. Coming off a 25-minute stint featuring a penalty-kick goal against FC Cincinnati on Wednesday, Iloski likely carries a chip on his shoulder as he returns to Snapdragon Stadium on Sunday night.
Another player to keep an eye on Sunday is 16-year-old phenom Cavan Sullivan. Sullivan signed with the Union’s first team two seasons ago at age 14 while simultaneously agreeing to a future transfer to Manchester City when he turns 18. This season marks Sullivan’s first earning regular starting minutes, having locked down a starting role in late April and coming off the bench only once since. Sullivan has recorded 4 goals and 5 assists this season, ranking in the 90th percentile among midfielders in chances created, crosses, and successful dribbles. He is a dynamic, attacking midfielder who actively seeks the ball, compiling 50 final-third take-ons, 79 touches in the penalty box, and 46 shots on the year. Seeing such a talented young player live at Snapdragon Stadium will be a treat before his eventual move to Etihad Stadium.
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