Six reds in last six games as San Diego FC falls to Minnesota United 2-1
Credit: Tammy Ryan/ EVT Sports
San Diego FC is growing painfully used to something that no team wants to be, and that’s playing down a man. The team entered its match against Minnesota on April 11 looking for a clean game back under the lights of Snapdragon Stadium.
SAN DIEGO — Already down Duah in the starting 11 from his red against the Earthquakes, it’s been a spoken goal of the club to clean things up.
The last three results for San Diego haven’t been ideal. A 4-0 loss against Toluca, a 3-3 draw against Dallas, who equalized in the 5th minute of extra time at the end of the game, and a 3-0 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes have put the team and fans in an unfamiliar position.
In SDFC’s short history, they have never gone winless in four straight games.
Developing some early pressure, Mikey Varas’ side did not want to set any records in the wrong direction. Lewis Morgan whipped his body back toward the Minnesota goal in response to a quick touch from Anders Dreyer and sent a floating cross to the opposite side. Wasting no time, Luca Bombino struck the cross out of midair and gave San Diego an early lead.
— San Diego FC (@sandiegofc) April 12, 2026
Momentum seemed to be building with another shot on goal in the 9th minute, but a yellow card shown to Christopher McVey right after slowed things down.
Five minutes of play passed, and a powerful header from Minnesota’s right wing, Kyle Duncan, equalized. Carrying huge momentum toward the net on a well-placed cross, there wasn’t much Bombino or Ferree could do to prevent it.
The trouble continues
Anders Dreyer and company did well to generate some crafty chances as the first half progressed. One ball nearly squeaked through off a Dreyer attack, but the Loons’ goalkeeper Drake Callender dove on the ball just as it was about to roll across the line.
Bombino continued his strong performance with a smooth sliding clear as Minnesota was pressing into the box. Unfortunately for San Diego FC, the reset would not be enough.
An inbound cross was delivered, headed straight down in front of the goal by Markanich, and buried by Kelvin Yeboah. Minnesota now leads 2-1.
In the first minute of extra time before the half, McVey picked up his second yellow and was disqualified. It’s the sixth red in as many games for SDFC.
They would enter the second half down a man, and they needed some of the magic they found against Toluca at home when this red card streak started.
Second-half chances
With the mixed factors of Minnesota’s defensive nature and San Diego’s experience playing with a hand tied behind its back, possession was still favorable to the home side.
But time kept on ticking, and none of the offensive pressure was amounting to the equalizer. Playing for the draw, Ferree made some spectacular saves to keep San Diego in striking distance.
After the 80th minute, chances seemed to be coming every time San Diego took possession. But nothing was materializing. Free kick after free kick, try after try, frustration was mounting. A possession call that went the way of Minnesota United turned into a Mikey Varas yellow card as he protested the call.
In the 96th, Dreyer tried to turn nothing into something, almost scoring on a beautiful ball that was punched out by Callender.
The whistle blows
As the final whistle blew, the frustration cemented, but the support remained strong. Claps, chants, and recognition were still exchanged between the players and supporters after the match. The moment was bittersweet for both parties. Jeppe Tverskov touched on it in his statement to the media.
“We love the support,” Tverskov said. “Kind of had a little bit of that feeling like last year against Vancouver here at home.”
One of the biggest challenges of dealing with constant red cards is that it prevents you from addressing the core improvements that need to be made as a full unit.
“[Last year] our passes, our combinations, our synergies up front were very good,” Tverskov said. “Now we are not as connected as we’ve been last year.”
The Dane said that the team has some work to do to get in sync, and the red cards have to be addressed as problem number one. This is the roughest stretch the team has endured so far, and as coach Mikey Varas put it, any successful team has to go through adversity.
“We’re in a tough moment,” Varas said. “We’re not afraid to pull our hands up and say we haven’t been good enough. That’s me first and foremost.”
Nate Tubbs is a recent graduate of Journalism at San Diego State University. In his time at SDSU, he wrote and photographed several different sports for Aztec Link, the school’s NIL collective. He also co-hosted a weekly podcast featuring Aztec athletes, sharing their stories and goals for the season. Tubbs is passionate about photography, storytelling, and most of all, San Diego sports.