San Diego FC traveled east to face Atlanta United on Saturday, September 20.

The final score ended in a 1-1 tie, after San Diego scored first to take the lead but gave it up when Miguel Almiron converted a penalty kick in the 61st minute.

If there are positives to take away from the tie against Atlanta, it’s San Diego’s ability to NOT lose on the road. SDFC extended its unbeaten streak on the road to eight matches.

In a highly anticipated match, where a win would mean SDFC would break the record for most points ever by an MLS expansion team, it was not to be. However, the 1-1 tie meant that San Diego FC tied the record with the 2018 LAFC team (57 pts).

Dominant First Half

San Diego FC faced an Atlanta side with little left to play for this season, but the home team still presented a familiar challenge. Much like Minnesota in the previous match, Atlanta dropped deep into their own half, content to absorb pressure and wait for mistakes to spark counterattacks.

San Diego, however, arrived ready for the test. Staying true to their identity, SDFC controlled the tempo and dictated play, holding a commanding 65-35 edge in possession through the first half.

Despite the clear advantage to San Diego in the first half, the visitors were outshot 5-to-2, and goalkeeper CJ Dos Santos had to make two solid saves.

The breakthrough for San Diego FC came in the 32nd minute when the high pressure paid off. SDFC looked like their old selves when they pressed high with numbers for the first 30 minutes.

3️⃣ 3️⃣ Goal Contributions
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El Paletero 🍦 pic.twitter.com/2sFFqVvaYx

— San Diego FC (@sandiegofc) September 20, 2025

Atlanta midfielder Steven Alzate collected a pass from a free kick, and Hirving Lozano was there to pressure him, resulting in a dangerous giveaway at the top of the penalty box. Lozano dribbled across the box in his signature style and laid off a beautiful pass into the oncoming run of Anders Dreyer. The Dane put away his 15th goal of the season with a one-time touch into the back of the net.

A Fruitless Second Half

Atlanta United showed some brilliance in the second half and reminded folks who they can really be. The red and black came out firing on all cylinders, pressing the ball and sending long passes into the San Diego defensive third. In what became a high-stakes second half, both teams played aggressively, taking risks to get the ball into the opponent’s penalty box.

San Diego FC looked a bit off in their link-up play in the final third. Chucky, clearly frustrated with Amahl Pellegrino’s runs off the ball, could not connect with SDFC’s temporary number nine. Dreyer faced similar frustrations as he and Pellegrino were not on the same page in terms of how they utilized the high-pressure pressure on the Atlanta defense.

SDFC once again dominated possession 63-37 but were outshot 12-5 in the second half.

“I think we lost the possession too easy. And I think the final pass was not, was not good enough. And that’s something we know inside the dressing room”, said Dreyer on what the difference was between the first and the second half.

Dos Santos Makes Mistake, Atlanta Capitalizes

SDFC goalkeeper CJ Dos Santos had an exceptional start to the season. The hard work and tremendous ability to keep SDFC in games earned him a contract extension.

However, throughout the lengthy season, he faced a lot of criticism from fans and MLS writers around the country. Dos Santos arguably lost the starting job after suffering an injury, giving way to backup keeper Pablo Sisniega, who made the most of his chance and earned the role.

Despite making four good saves in the game against Atlanta, Dos Santos made a big mistake when he clumsily clipped striker Jamal Thiare in the box, earning Atlanta a penalty kick, which would be the reason for the eventual tie.

After the game, head coach Mikey Varas was asked if the coaching staff would reconsider giving the starting role back to Pablo Sisniega, who played a half in the friendly against Xolos and looked like every bit of his old self.

“We don’t make decisions on the next games, starting lineup right after a match. So, we’ll get into training. All these guys know, though, they have to compete for their spot”, Varas said.

The Striker Dilemma

The number nine woes continue for San Diego as Pellegrino once again failed to impress, and Baird couldn’t produce much as a substitute in the 61st minute.

It’s been some time since SDFC and Milan Iloski failed to reach a deal resulting in the San Diego phenom moving to Philadelphia, where he’s helped the Union stay atop of the Supporter’s Shield standings.

The unavailability of Marcus Ingvartsen presents a tough situation for SDFC, who relied on hisservicesd as the primary number nine. Clearly, Pellegrino and Baird need more time to learn the system and the team in general, to be regular contributors on the field. With only three regular-season matches left, the problem is that me is running out.

Many anticipate Ingvartsen’s return from injury in time for the playoffs, where his presence could provide the spark Lozano and Dreyer need. Until then, San Diego will be counting on their short-term solutions to start delivering results.

Point Earned, Lessons Learned

Defensively, San Diego FC remains soa lid.  unitMaybe the artificial turf had something to do with the misplaced passes up front, but the defensive side of things got the job done again. Sure, there were times of clear miscommunication between the defenders b, ut that’s expected. Manu Duah continues to be a force in the center-back position, and Chris McVey earned himself Man of the Match honors for his efforts.

Mikey Varas was asked about his overall thoughts about the match.

“Overall thoughts is we will take the point. It’s an important point at the end of the season, but we’re disappointed with the point. Feels like two points dropped because I think we started pretty decent, good first half, not excellent, but good. And then the second half, we weren’t good. We didn’t have a good second half, and I think we’re fortunate to come out with a point. But we take it. That’s part of the learning process. And we’ll take the learning lessons from this”, Varas said.

San Diego will look to break the most points by an expansion team record in front of their home fans next Saturday and stay undefeated against California teams when they take on San Jose in the final regular-season home match of the season.

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Dmitry Anisimov

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.