San Diego FC defeated Austin FC 5-0, which snapped a 10-game winless streak that lasted over two months. SDFC will now host FC Cincinnati for a game in the 2026 MLS regular season this Saturday, May 16.

The Azul and Chrome side endured its worst stretch in franchise history and will look to keep the positive momentum before the World Cup break.

Mikey Varas took a very aggressive approach in the midfield, starting David Vazquez, Pedro Soma, and Onni Valakari. There was no conventional defensive midfielder in the starting 1,1 with Jeppe Tverskov out with an injury, and Anibal Godoy sat out.

Alex Mighten also received a rare opportunity to start and made the most of it, providing a goal contribution. All three of the midfielders also provided at least a goal contribution, as this aggressive approach really paid off for Varas.

David Vazquez scored two goals, Pedro Soma scored and provided an assist, and Onni Valkari also provided an assist. SDFC certainly gained dynamism going forward, and it will be interesting to see if Varas repeats this lineup against Cincinnati.

Marcus Ingvartsen scored his ninth goal of the season to keep his momentum going. Ingvartsen suffered inconsistencies and injury problems last year and has been one of the most surprising players this season for the Southern California club.

While this past result was an immense one for San Diego FC, the team is still coming off a very rough slump. There were plenty of things not working for San Diego that all seemed to work this past Wednesday.

Austin FC also did not provide much of a fight against San Diego FC. Cincinnati has been struggling this season, and this is another great opportunity for SDFC to gain points.

The team from the Queen City is coming off a rough 5-3 loss to Inter Miami and has only won three games this season. Cincinnati has only won two of its last eight games in MLS and has not been very sharp defensively.

Offensively, Cincinnati has some very intriguing players like Kevin Denkey and Evander, who have combined for 15 goals scored this season. Denkey leads the Orange and Blue with 10 goal contributions and provided a goal and an assist against Miami.

San Diego has been inconsistent defensively all season, and Cincinnati has the weapons offensively to generate some problems for the Azul and Chrome team.

Pat Noonan’s team also has some very physical defenders in Miles Robinson and Matt Miazga, but all have been inconsistent. This has the potential to be a high-scoring game as fans may be in for quite an exciting clash at Snapdragon Stadium.

SDFC started the MLS season with a 5-0 thrashing against Montreal and then went on to win three consecutive league games. If San Diego can find its footing after the 5-0 result against Austin, this has the potential to really turn the season around just before the World Cup break.

Francisco Velasco

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.