San Diego FC lost in humiliating fashion in front of the home crowd.

Despite controlling large stretches of possession early on, San Diego failed to capitalize on their territorial advantage, ultimately undone by clinical finishing from the visitors. The team looked flat and ill-prepared. 

This would be their 3rd straight loss as playoff hopes are quickly slipping away.

San Diego started the game dictating the tempo with a few solid chances at goal. The momentum shifted dramatically before the halftime whistle when young phenom Cavan Sullivan broke the deadlock, firing past the defense to make it 1-0 heading into halftime.

Down a goal coming into the second half, SDFC tried to press going forward, bringing on fresh legs off the bench in Cédric Bakambu and Aníbal Godoy. However, the Union looked sharp and well-organized in the back.

Cavan Sullivan struck again in the 62nd minute, doubling the lead with a composed finish that left the home defense scrambling. Just five minutes later, in the 67th minute, Bruno Damiani added his name to the scoresheet to make it 3-0 to the visitors.

An unfortunate own goal by Aníbal Godoy in the 87th minute added to the misery, before substitute Malik Jakupovic capped off the 5-0 rout with a stoppage-time goal in the 90+4th minute.

For San Diego FC, the match serves as a harsh lesson in defensive transition and timely finishing. With all the new faces settling in, the team has to start trying to find ways to stay in the game. It’s been a common theme for the team all season to simply look bland and uninspired after a defeat. 

As it stands, San Diego is sitting in 9th place, holding the last “play-in” playoff spot with 30 points, with SoCal rival LA Galaxy sitting right below them with the same number of points and only eight games remaining in the regular season. There is still time to figure it out, but only time will tell.

The team heads to Miami to face a strong Inter squad led by none other than Leo Messi next Sunday. 

Manuel Sanchez