Allianz Field- St. Paul, Minnesota

In a western-division semi-final rematch from last season, San Diego FC traveled to play Minnesota United FC.

San Diego FC is looking to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Minnesota entered the weekend match 6-6-5 with 23 points. San Diego FC entered the contest 5-7-5 with 20 points in their second season. SDFC is three places below the Loons in the standings. Minnesota came into the game on Saturday, winless in its in last six matches.

San Diego enjoys their philosophy of keeping possession of the ball. That is their style of play.

Early on, SDFC surrendered an early goal on an uncharacteristic-like offensive turnover deep in their own box. It was a negative move for the team who looked to exercise the demons of their recent failures on the road. Tomas Chancalay scored to energize the home crowd as SDFC looked stunned.

San Diego won 19 games last season and 12 of them were on the road. This season, the team is struggling away from Snapdragon.

Three minutes in, Minnesota owned a 1-0 lead. The team suffered an early gut-check.

Anders Dreyer almost tied the game at the sixth minute, as a header just missed being online to even the match. It hit the crossbar and post as San Diego quickly showed the home team that they will not go quietly into the night.

San Diego FC fought back but struggled to hold possession. Minnesota adjusted their style of play.

CJ 🗣️🗣️🗣️ pic.twitter.com/MP8E9F5T7O

— San Diego FC (@sandiegofc) August 2, 2026

The Loons took several shots on goal, but San Diego FC was able to keep the match at 1-0 as the two sides headed to the half.

Each side traded punches as the second half opened.

A penalty kick in the 61st minute was awarded to SDFC. Anders Dreyer took the shot and evened the contest at 1-1 with a shot in the lower right area of the goal. After the goal, Dreyer was shoved down by the Minnesota goalie who received a yellow card for the incident.

Automatic from the spot 🎯

Anders Dreyer is 5-for-5 on penalties this season! pic.twitter.com/JAErcMXFng

— San Diego FC (@sandiegofc) August 2, 2026

The game remained tied as both teams fought hard to the very end.

San Diego FC did not earn the win, but remaining calm after the early deficit was pleasant to see.

SDFC will play Club America next on August 6 at 7:00 P.M.

James Clark

James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. James has written about the Padres and their prospects for over a decade. He also writes about San Diego State as well as other local sports. James is the Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.