San Diego FC defeats Los Angeles FC 3-2, earning first ever home win
Credit: Cedric Joens/ EVT Sports
Snapdragon Stadium- San Diego, California
San Diego FC gets its first-ever home win, defeating Los Angeles FC 3-2 in a memorable first meeting between the Southern California clubs.
San Diego (3-2-1) jumped out to a three-goal lead in the first half, but LAFC (3-0-3) battled back before the break, scoring twice. The remainder of the game saw zero goals.
“When you play against a top team with top players, these things can happen,” San Diego FC head coach Mikey Varas said. “The first 38-40 minutes of that half were unbelievable. I hope everyone takes notice in San Diego of the effort and quality of the guys.”
The “Beat LA” chants began an hour before kickoff, signaling the emergence of a new San Diego-Los Angeles sports rivalry. The Chrome & Azul had already triumphed over one of their Los Angeles rivals, shutting out the reigning MLS champions, LA Galaxy, thanks to an Anders Dreyer brace in their inaugural game.
San Diego already defeated one of their rivals from Los Angeles, shutting out the LA Galaxy behind an Anders Dreyer brace in their inaugural game. A new rivalry was born tonight against LAFC. San Diego FC CEO Tom Penn was the LAFC’s first president. He stepped away from the club in 2020.
San Diego was forced to insert a young lineup with five players unavailable last week against Austin FC—10 players under the age of 25 saw action. Three of those players returned tonight: midfielder Aníbal Godoy (Panama) and defender Paddy McNair (Northern Ireland) returned to the starting lineup, while Hirving “Chucky Lozano (hamstring) was a reserve.
Young forwards Alex Mighten and Onni Valakari got the start alongside Anders Dreyer. Godoy returns to the midfield, joining Jeppe Tverskov (captain) and Luca de la Torre. The defense consists of Franco Negri, McNair, Chris McVey, and Jasper Löffelsend, with CJ dos Santos in the goal.
Los Angeles was without French forward, Olivier Giroud. Star forward Denis Bouanga, who has 46 goals in the past two seasons, headlines the attack alongside 22-year-old Cengiz Ünder and 19-year-old David Martínez. World Cup-winning goalkeeper Hugo Lloris guarded the net.
San Diego began the game with confidence and redemption on their mind. They were very active in the attacking third and had their first polarizing opportunity nine minutes in. Godoy had a strike from outside the box, but Lloris stopped the strong strike.
20 minutes into the match, San Diego was awarded a free kick, and Dreyer stepped up to take it. Right before the kick, McVey swiftly moved in front of an LAFC defender, and the picture-perfect pass from Dreyer found him in the center of the box. McVey headed the ball to the top right corner, giving Lloris no chance to react.
Christopher McVey opens the scoring for San Diego!
#MLSSeasonPass or Apple TV+: https://t.co/xmA9DNsk7z pic.twitter.com/WSuL5ZbyBe
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 30, 2025
SDFC had another set piece from a similar position on the field. This time, Dreyer’s ball went straight to Lloris, who made a blatant error by dropping the ball. Valakari seized the opportunity and easily scored in the 33rd minute.
Perhaps the best play SDFC has executed since its inception began with a fast break. Their elite passing skills were displayed as they moved the ball to the right wing. Löffelsend rolled a pass across the box, and Valakari smartly tapped it to Mighten, who lightly shot the ball into the net for the third goal of the night.
San Diego again!
Alex Mighten extends San Diego’s lead to three. pic.twitter.com/auoDkWyqKG
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 30, 2025
For 40 minutes, San Diego appeared unstoppable, leading by three scores. However, just three minutes later, LAFC’s Artem Smoliakov silenced the crowd with a stunning long-range strike from his left foot that hit the top of the goalpost and rebounded into the net.
That goal provided LAFC with the spark they desperately needed. Moments before halftime, they added another goal, cutting San Diego’s lead to just one. The right winger received the ball with plenty of space, crossed it to Mark Delgado, and Ünder was open because the San Diego defenders were slow to react.
Varas said LAFC started pressing them, and the team lost their composure for a few minutes.
Despite conceding two late goals in the half, San Diego maintained 61.1% possession but had only one more shot attempt than Los Angeles.
Both defenses tightened up in the second half. Igor Jesus picked up his second yellow card and exited the game in the 53rd minute. Martinez climbed up the right sideline, and had a good scoring opportunity, but dos Santos blocked the attempt.
The crowd erupted when Lozano entered the game in the 73rd minute. Mikey Varas substituted fresh legs, hoping to get an insurance goal: Hamady Diop, William Kumado, Tomas Angel, and Alejandro Alvarado Jr.
“I felt great physically on the field and it was great for me to watch the game from the outside,” Lozano said. Fans outside the press conference began changting his name, and he acknowledged them. He also mentioned that he’s 100% healthy, it’s just the matter of getting back into form.
San Diego dominated possession for the entire game (63-37) and had three more shot attempts (15-12). An impressive win against a proven MLS team. The attendance at Snapdragon Stadium was 32,502.
San Diego will host the Seattle Sounders (1-3-2) on Saturday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m. PST.
