SDFC Suffers a tough 3-1 loss to Minnesota United; Western Division race tightens
Credit: SDFC
San Diego FC hosted Minnesota United FC at Snapdragon Stadium this Saturday, September 13th in the 2025 MLS regular season match. Minnesota came into San Diego sitting second in the Western Division standings with 51 pts, four points behind SDFC.
SDFC were riding a six-game unbeaten streak during which they won four and tied two. Minnesota, showcasing a strong recent form, came in with three wins, one loss and one draw in their last five matches.
Head coach Mikey Varas tweaked the normal starting lineup just a little bit from what the fans are used to seeing. Anibal Godoy started on the bench due to recovery reasons after representing his home country of Panama. Replacing him in the right midfield slot was Onni Valakari, who Varas often plays in the centre-forward position. Tonight, that honor went to Amahl Pellegrino, who made the first start in the starting XI since being signed back in August.
It was Hispanic Heritage night as SDFC celebrated the strong Latin community of San Diego.
San Diego FC opened the match with energy, fueled by the roar of the Frontera supporters section. In the 11th minute, a lofted ball over the top picked out Anders Dreyer inside the box, leaving him one-on-one with Minnesota’s standout goalkeeper, Dayne St. Clair. However, St. Clair reacted quickly, closing the angle and pulling off a brilliant save to deny the early chance.
St. Clair was called into action two more times in the first 25 minutes of the match. Dreyer had another opportunity on goal with only St. Clair to beat but the Canadian international made another incredible stop from a short distance. Pellegrino found himself on the end of a cross in the six-yard box but his header was turned away by a diving save.
DSC IS STANDING ON GUARD FOR THEE 🫡🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/Be9p2rmoMj
— x – Minnesota United FC (@MNUFC) September 14, 2025
The first half ended with SDFC having six shots on target that were all saved by St. Clair. A dominating performance that saw a 70-30 possession tilt in favor of SDFC but a 0-0 scoreline. The back line of Minnesota did their job playing a low block, looking comfortable off the ball.
The second half picked up right where the first left off. Hirving Lozano delivered a long ball into the box for Anders Dreyer, who quickly squared it toward the onrushing Pellegrino. But once again, Dayne St. Clair came up big, producing another outstanding save to keep San Diego off the board.
The breakthrough came for the Loons in the 73rd minute when a corner kick got through to Anthony Markanich who finished the chance with a header into the low left corner of the net. Markanich, who just came on as a substitute 10 minutes earlier made his chance count.
Called to complain about an It’s So Over on our bill and got upgraded to We’re So Back pic.twitter.com/gqkfUPMAGA
— x – Minnesota United FC (@MNUFC) September 14, 2025
The goal seemed to stun SDFC, who have been dominant the entire match. Minnesota pounced on the opportunity to add on while riding the momentum. Only five minutes later, Minnesota defender Carlos Harvey collected the ball on the corner of San Diego’s penalty area, dribbled around SDFC defender Luca Bombino using his skill and placed a perfectly curled shot into the back of the net to make it 2-0.
A disappointed attendance of 27,158 who left before the final whistle missed the skillful shot from midfield by Nectarios Triantis who channeled his inner Dreyer and chipped SDFC goalkeeper CJ Dos Santos for what surely will be voted as the MLS goal of the week.
Nectar has arrived. pic.twitter.com/sTS9vbDGmC
— x – Minnesota United FC (@MNUFC) September 14, 2025
SDFC managed to pull one back in the 94th minute when captain Jeppe Tverskov got on the end of a cross for a perfectly placed header into the corner of the net. It was a little too late for comeback heroics as the game ended with a score of 3-1.
Heads up play by Jeppe. pic.twitter.com/257y94wwWY
— San Diego FC (@sandiegofc) September 14, 2025
Mikey Varas was asked on his thoughts about the game after the match. “The first half was quite extraordinary. It was probably the best football we’ve played against a really good team.” He was also asked about expecting anything different from Minnesota to which he replied, “It was the exact game picture that we were expecting. What we wanted to do was make them uncomfortable in their structure, make sure their defenders got turned towards their own goal a lot and the goalkeeper made a lot of good saves. I think we did that”.
Mikey Varas was asked on his thought about the game in general. “It’s probably the best football we’ve played against a really good team.” @EVT_News pic.twitter.com/Mwv1hOPqZ5
— SDFC Nation (@SDFC_Nation) September 14, 2025
In a match where SDFC dominated the total shots 28-6 and won the possession battle 66-34, it was not meant to be. That is soccer. Sometimes stats are not enough, and every now and again a team faces a goalkeeper who makes 12 saves to keep his team in the game.
Next, San Diego FC travels to Atlanta on September 20th to play in front of the largest average crowd in MLS.
Dmitry Anisimov is a San Diego native who played soccer up to the college level when he represented the SDSU Men’s Club Soccer team. Growing up in San Diego, Dmitry is a fan of all the home teams but he specifically couldn’t wait until San Diego got an MLS team. Once that dream became reality, Dmitry married his love for writing and the game of soccer to portray a voice of the San Diego soccer community. There is a deep-rooted love of soccer culture in San Diego and Dmitry hopes to bring it to light through his pre and post-game coverage of all things San Diego FC.