San Diego FC extinguish Leagues Cup hopes with 2-1 loss to Tigres UANL
Credit: Tigres UANL
San Diego FC played its second 2025 Leagues Cup match this Friday, August 1, against Tigres UANL at Snapdragon Stadium. SDFC suffered a 3-2 loss against Pachuca in their first game of the competition.
The game against Pachuca was a very frustrating one, where Anders Dreyer even came away with a red card.
Mikey Varas rested some key players in that game against Los Tuzos and did the same in the match against Tigres. Varas’ lineup was as follows: Pablo Sisniega, Aidan Harangi, Manu Duah, Ian Pilcher, Franco Negri, Jeppe Tverskov, Luca de la Torre, Onni Valakari, David Vazquez, Emmanuel Boateng, Tomas Angel
The visitors deployed a very strong lineup featuring players like Nahuel Guzman, Juan Brunetta, and World Cup champion Angel Correa. The first half was a very hard-fought and tense affair between the two sides at the Mission Valley Fortress.
The only goal of the half came in the 31st minute when the talented Angel Correa opened the scoring. Juan Brunetta fired a shot that goalkeeper Sisniega blocked, but Correa was right on the end of the rebound to score the goal.
Sisniega had some similar mishaps in the last game against Pachuca as his starting role has to be more in question after the last two games.
San Diego FC controlled possession in the opening 45 minutes, but really struggled to generate much offensive play. The absences of Hirving Lozano and Anders Dreyer were very notable in the final third of the pitch for San Diego.
San Diego was able to level the score in the 55th minute via a goal by Tomas Angel. The goal was the product of some sloppy defending by Tigres and a series of rebounds before striking at the net.
Tomás Ángel pounces on the loose ball to bring @sandiegofc level against Tigres. 💪
📺 #MLSSeasonPass: https://t.co/tG5VJvduvW pic.twitter.com/pVjdTKajMU
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 2, 2025
Both teams made some adjustments after the goal as Tigres brought on Liga MX legend Andre-Pierre Gignac for Ivan Lopez. In the 62nd minute, Mikey Varas brought on Anibal Godoy and Hirving Lozano for Emmanuel Boateng and David Vazquez.
A huge roar from the fans burst through Snapdragon Stadium as “Chucky” came onto the pitch. However, “Chucky” was not immediately effective, and Tigres struck again in the 67th minute.
Angel Correa scored his second goal of the night, coming off a very well-located shot after a perfect pass by Brunetta. The visitors were clearly more clinical and did much more with the ball offensively than San Diego.
¡El Ángel con garras de tigre! 🐯⚽️⚽️ @AngelCorrea32 retakes the lead para @TigresOficial engañando al goalkeeper! ¡Ya tiene cuatro en esta #LeaguesCup2025! pic.twitter.com/pEz10B3Oqh
— Leagues Cup (@LeaguesCup) August 2, 2025
Varas made more adjustments in the 78th minute, bringing on Alex Mighten, Christopher McVey, and Luca Bombino for Tomas Angel, Manu Duah, and Franco Negri. These substitutions would come at an unfortunate time as Jeppe Tverskov suffered an injury and was sidelined just a couple of minutes after they were made.
San Diego was out of substitutions and had to play the rest of the encounter with 10 men against Tigres UANL. SDFC was already struggling at full strength and failed to do much of anything with 10 men.
Tigres was much closer to a third goal than San Diego was to tying the game in the final moments of the clash. The visitors were the better team overall, and that was really showcased in the final third of the pitch. San Diego does not currently have a clinical striker like Angel Correa, who was the big difference maker in this match.
San Diego FC has now lost its first two games to open the Leagues Cup and will play a third and final match this Tuesday, August 5. SDFC will host Mazatlan, which has won its first two games in this Leagues Cup. San Diego has no hopes of advancing to the next round as Mikey Varas is very likely to just utilize an alternate starting 11 against the Mexican side.
Francisco, 28, Chula Vista/Tijuana. I have been a Padres fan all my life, did most of the series previews and recaps in the Padres’ 2016 season for EVT. Now I focus more on the local soccer scene. Tijuana Xolos, San Diego FC, San Diego Wave. I have covered Liga MX, MLS, Mexico National Team, USWNT, Copa América and European clubs like Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund.