In a game that will go down as in San Diego sports lore, San Diego FC pulled off a monumental 2-0 upset over the reigning Major League Soccer champion LA Galaxy on Sunday, Feb. 23, at Dignity Health Sports Park.
What made the victory even more satisfying was not only that it came against its northern rival, but it was the inaugural regular-season match for the club in MLS.
The first-half was very uneventful when it came to scoring chances by either side with the best one coming in the 45th minute when LA Galaxy got a free-kick from just outside the box by forward Marco Reus that went wide.
The second half saw the match open up dramatically starting in the 52nd minute when Chucky Lozano took advantage of a Galaxy turnover and gave a quick pass to teammate Anders Dreyer who slotted the shot past goalkeeper Novak Micovic.
SDFC had a chance to extend the lead in the 59th minute when defender Franco Negri stole the ball and passed it to Dreyer who shot the ball from six yards out, but Micovic was able to block it out of danger. Lozano had another clear chance when he had a one versus one opportunity in front of goal, but Micovic came up big again with a left-handed save to keep it a one-score game.
LA Galaxy made some substitutions including bringing on striker Miguel Berry who almost tied the game in the 79th minute, but goalkeeper CJ dos Santos used his body to block the point-blank shot by the former San Diego Loyal and University of San Diego standout. The home team created another opportunity just a minute later on a right-footed shot from 10 yards out by Ruben Ramos who also came in as a substitute, but dos Santos was in the proper position to corral the attempt.
SDFC ended up putting the match away three minutes into second-half added time when Tomas Angel sent a perfect pass back to Dreyer on the counterattack who placed a left-footed shot that deflected just under the crossbar and into the back of the net.
The victory, which was witnessed by a large contingent of San Diego FC supporters who made the trip to Carson, gives the club its first three points of the season with the home opener coming on Saturday at Snapdragon Stadium versus St. Louis City SC.
“The most important thing is that the boys showed conviction for what we’ve been working on all pre-season,” said San Diego FC head coach Mikey Varas. “They showed the quality that they have. They made the football come to life on the field and I’m so proud of the conviction that they showed
GRADES
Goalkeeping: A-
CJ dos Santos was not called upon much other than those two chances late in the game for Galaxy when they were pressuring for the tying goal.
Attack: B
SDFC could have put the game on ice by the middle of the second half with the chance from Dreyer and Lozano, but the final touch failed them. I guess they wanted a dramatic Hollywood ending considering the game was in LA.
Midfield: B+
Even though possession was split fairly evenly by both teams, it never looked like San Diego was on its back foot much when it came to controlling the tempo of the match other than a brief two-minute stint.
Defense: A-
There was great spacing and positioning by the backline with only one real mistake late in the first half that turned into a free-kick chance from just outside the box.
Refereeing: B
There were a couple of fouls that should have been yellow cards especially when the match started getting chippy and considering how tight he was calling the match, but all things considered, it did not affect the flow of the match.
Photos courtesy: San Diego FC