San Diego FC falls 3-0 to Charlotte FC in third consecutive road defeat
Credit: Charlotte FC
San Diego FC faced one of its toughest tasks of the season on Matchday 9, when it played Charlotte FC away from home.
Before the initial whistle, several questions and concerns about Mikey Varas’ lineup were present.
Christopher McVey started the game at left back, Andres Reyes was making his season debut, and both Luca de la Torre and Anibal Godoy were on the bench. The heavily offensive midfield consisted of Onni Valakari and Alejandro Alvarado Jr. in place of the regular starters.
This was a dumbfounding decision by Mikey Varas, considering how limited Alvarado has looked in previous games. The front three consisted of Anders Dreyer, Tomas Angel, and Hirving Lozano.
SDFC was coming off a 3-2 away loss to Colorado, and this was expected to be another tough away bout. San Diego was able to control possession in the first half but failed to do much with the ball.
Defensive disasterclass by San Diego on that first goal. #SDFC pic.twitter.com/SRfmZT5TlS
— Francisco Velasco (@FranciscoEfV) April 20, 2025
Charlotte was much more effective, and Liel Abada opened the scoring in the 11th minute. Pep Biel seemingly accidentally glided past the San Diego backline with ease and somehow passed the ball to Liel Abada. The defensive coverage for San Diego on the opening scoring play was woeful, to say the least.
Towards the end of the half, things went from bad to disastrous for the visitors, with Andres Reyes receiving a red card. The Colombian defender knocked down Charlotte striker Patrick Agyemang inside the box, and a penalty was awarded.
VAR checked the foul, but the only change was that Reyes was given a second yellow card rather than a direct red card. Agyemang scored the penalty with ease, and SDFC was now down 2-0 and down to 10 men on the pitch.
Patrick Agyemang doubles the Charlotte lead from the spot! pic.twitter.com/eyBdp6Y4AE
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 20, 2025
Reyes’s debut could not have been any worse as Varas’ experimental lineup was not working at all. Hamady Diop came on for Tomas Angel just before the end of the first half.
Varas made another pair of changes to start the second half as Luca de la Torre and Alex Mighten came on for Alejandro Alvarado and Onni Valakari.
San Diego did not improve in the second half, as Charlotte almost extended the lead in the 53rd minute. Liel Abada was able to surpass goalkeeper CJ dos Santos and get a shot on target, but Hamady Diop had an amazing goalline clearance. This was probably the best moment for San Diego in what was a very bleak game for the visitors.
Charlotte extended its lead in the 57th minute via a goal off a set piece. Ashley Westwood crossed the ball into the box off a free kick and found Andrew Privett, who headed the ball into the back of the net.
Andrew Privett extends Charlotte’s lead to three off the free kick!
pic.twitter.com/dmbxAbQjHi
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 20, 2025
The home team controlled possession in the second half as SDFC was virtually shut down offensively with 10 men. Milan Iloski came on for Andres Dreyer, and Anibal Godoy replaced Jeppe Tverskov, but none of the changes made any impact.
This was the first time Tverskov had been taken off the pitch all season, as he had played all possible minutes before this.
This was clearly San Diego’s worst showing all season, and the questionable starting lineup has to be discussed after this match. Mikey Varas tried to make some squad rotations, but none of those changes really worked out.
Andres Reyes’s tenure at SDFC started out nightmarish, with a red card and a penalty conceded. This loss marks San Diego FC’s third consecutive road loss. They will be back home on April 26 to face Real Salt Lake.
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.