After a 2-1 comeback victory tonight, SDFC became the fourth team in MLS history to win at least six-consecutive games on the road in a single season
San Diego FC (SDFC) rallied with second-half goals from forwards Marcus Ingvartsen and Anders Dreyer to defeat the San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 in the first-ever meeting between the California clubs. The victory extends SDFC’s road win streak to six, making the club just the fourth team in MLS history to win at least six consecutive road matches in a single season (excluding the shootout era).
The result keeps SDFC atop the Western Conference standings and moves the club into first place in the Supporters’ Shield race with a 16-7-4 record (52 points). The comeback was fueled by a pair of late strikes from the Danish duo, capping a two-match road stretch in dramatic fashion.
San Jose struck first in the 72nd minute when Josef Martínez converted after a blocked clearance from CJ Dos Santos. But SDFC responded with two goals in three minutes to flip the match. Ingvartsen, making his return from injury, leveled the score with a header in the 81st minute before assisting Dreyer’s game-winning goal in the 84th.
SDFC returns to MLS action on Saturday, Aug. 23, hosting the Portland Timbers on Pride Night at Snapdragon Stadium (7:30 p.m. PT). Fans can join SDFC in celebrating the LGBTQ+ community and purchase their tickets here. The match will air live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, with English-language radio coverage on San Diego Sports 760 AM and Spanish-language coverage on TUDN 1700 AM.
Goal Scoring Plays:
SJ 1-0 – Josef Martinez (Noel Buck), 72nd Minute: Martínez opened the scoring with a right-footed strike that deflected off Manu Duah at the goal line and into the net. The play began when Buck intercepted an attempted clearance from CJ Dos Santos and slipped the ball forward to Martínez.
SD 1-1 – Marcus Ingvartsen (Franco Negri), 81st Minute: Ingvartsen, returning from injury, equalized with a powerful header from just outside the six-yard box. He connected on a pinpoint cross from Franco Negri, sending the ball past goalkeeper Daniel into the left side of the net.
SD 1-2 – Anders Dreyer (Marcus Ingvartsen) 84th minute: Dreyer completed the comeback three minutes later, racing onto a perfectly placed through ball from Ingvartsen near midfield. After breaking free of the final defender, Dreyer slotted a composed finish inside the lower-left corner to seal the 2-1 victory.
Postgame Notes:
- With tonight’s 2-1 come-from-behind win against San Jose Earthquakes, SDFC earned its 16th win in Club history.
- SDFC is now 16-7-4 with 52 points through 27 games this season and currently sits in first place in the Western Conference standings and also in first place in the Supporters’ Shield standings.
- With tonight’s win, SDFC became the fourth team in MLS history to win at least six-consecutive games on the road in a single season (excluding the shootout era).
- SDFC is 9-4-0 on the road this season.
- SDFC is 4-0 against teams from California this season.
- Dreyer scored his 13th goal of the season for a total of 30 goal contributions through 27 games.
- With his goal tonight, Dreyer (30) has the most goal contributions by a player in an expansion club’s first season. Previous leader, Carlos Vela (27 in 2018).
- Dreyer is SDFC’s scoring leader with 13 goals.
- Dreyer also leads the league with his 17 assists.
- Dreyer has started in all 27 SDFC MLS Regular Season matches this season.
- Forward Marcus Ingvartsen scored his second goal of the season tonight and had his first assist for SDFC in MLS play.
- Ingvartsen returned to action tonight from a leg injury when he came on as a substitute for Aníbal Godoy in the 64th minute.
- Ingvartsen was on the 18-man roster for the first time since June 14 when SDFC beat Minnesota United FC 4-2. Ingvartsen missed the last nine MLS matches. He also had missed 12 matches after also being injured in late March prior to his last appearance on June 14.
- Goalkeeper CJ Dos Santos made his second MLS appearance since July 5 against the Houston Dynamo, when he suffered a broken nose. He returned to MLS action last week at Sporting KC. He returned from that injury during a Leagues Cup match against Mazatlán FC on Aug. 5.
- SDFC dominated possession, holding 55% of the ball compared to San Jose’s 45%.
- SDFC had 492 passes completed compared to San Jose’s 372.
- Newcomer David Vazquez made his second MLS Regular Season start. He made his MLS debut with SDFC as a starter last week against Sporting KC. It was his fourth start for SDFC. He started in two Leagues Cup matches and made his Club debut with a start against Tigres UANL on Aug. 1 in Leagues Cup play. He was on the bench for the Club’s first Leagues Cup match after being officially acquired on July 28.
- Goalkeeper Duran Ferree appeared on the 18-man roster for the fourth-straight match tonight after returning from loan with sister club FC Nordsjælland in Denmark. It was Ferree’s second time on the SDFC 18-man roster for an MLS match.
- Defender Christopher McVey made his second-straight start for SDFC tonight in MLS Regular Season play after missing the Club’s two previous MLS matches.
- Defender Aiden Harangi made his second-straight start for SDFC and MLS. He made his MLS debut as a starter last week during the Club’s 2-0 win at Sporting KC.
- Harangi also made his fifth appearance for SDFC. He played in all three Leagues Cup matches for the Club. He left the match tonight in the 38th minute due to an injury.
- Defender Franco Negri came on for Harangi and finished with an assist in Ingvartsen’s goal.
- Negri’s assist was his first for SDFC and his second MLS career assist.
- Defender Manu Duah made his fifth MLS start and seventh appearance for SDFC. He has a total of 10 appearances with the Club across all competitions. He played in three Leagues Club matches heading into tonight’s match.
- Defender Pedro Soma made his MLS debut when he came on as a substitute in the 75th minute for Onni Valakari. Soma made his SDFC debut on Aug. 5 coming on as a substitute in a Leagues Cup match against Mazatlán F.C.
Next Game
SDFC will next host Portland Timbers on Pride Night on Aug. 23 at Snapdragon Stadium in MLS Regular Season action. Kickoff for the match is set for 7:30 p.m. PT., with live coverage on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV, as well as English and Spanish radio broadcasts on San Diego Sports 760 AM and TUDN 1700 AM.
Match Information
2025 MLS Regular Season
San Diego FC (16-7-4, 52 pts) vs. SJ Earthquakes (8-11-8, 32 pts)
Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025 – PayPal Park (San Jose, Calif.)
Scoring Summary:
SJ (1-0) – Josef Martinez (Assisted by Noel Buck), 72’
SD (1-1) - Marcus Ingvartsen (Assisted by Franco Negri), 81’
SD (1-2) - Anders Dryer (Assisted by Marcus Ingvartsen), 84’
Misconduct Summary:
SJ –Daniel De Sousa Britto (caution, 80’)
SD – Manu Duah (caution, 83’)
SD – Anders Dreyer (caution, 84’)
SD – Emmanuel Boateng (caution, 86’)
SD – Preston Judd (caution, 89’’)
Lineups:
SAN DIEGO FC: GK CJ Dos Santos; D Aiden Harangi (Franco Negri, 38’), D Christopher McVey, D Manu Duah, D Luca Bombino; M Aníbal Godoy (Marcus Ingvartsen, 64’), M Jeppe Tverskov -C-, M Onni Valakari (Pedro Soma, 75’); F Tomás Ángel (Luca De La Torre, 46’), M David Vazquez (Emmanuel Boateng, 75’) F Anders Dreyer
Substitutes Not Used: GK Duran Ferree, D Ian Pilcher, D Paddy McNair, F Corey Baird,
TOTAL SHOTS: 5; SHOTS ON GOAL: 3; FOULS: 14; OFFSIDES: 4; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES; 4
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: GK Daniel De Sousa Brutto; D Bruno Wison, D Daniel Munie, D Dave Romney; M De Juan Jones, M Beau Leroux (Noel Buck, 71’), M Mark-Anthony Kaye (Ian Harkes, 71’), M Vitor Costa (Jamar Ricketts, 87’); F Cristian Espinoza, F Josef Martinez (Preston Judd, 82’), F Cristian Arango (Ousseni Bouda, 82’)
Substitutes Not Used: D Nick Lima, GK Earl Edwards Jr., D Reid Roberts, D Max Floriani
TOTAL SHOTS: 18; SHOTS ON GOAL: 5; FOULS: 11; OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 1
Referee: Joe Dickerson
Assistant Referees: Corey Rockwell, Jeffrey Swartzel
Fourth Official: Ricardo Fierro
VAR: Edvin Jurisevic
AVAR: Tom Supple
Weather: 68-degrees, clear
Attendance: 17,546
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
SDFC HEAD COACH MIKEY VARAS
On tonight’s win and breaking down San Jose:
“Yeah, man marking, a lot of intensity, good athletic profiles, team that they made it very difficult for us tonight. And then, of course, we can see the goal. And I just love the composure that the group showed in that moment, because at the end of the day, like this is how we play. And sometimes you're going to get bit when you take that much risk, but we maintained our calm. And, boy, these guys don't give up, man. This team is a team full of guys who just don't give up. And that's when special things can happen, because you can maintain calm and say, hey, we're still going to go after this game, and it's not just about getting that one, but and it's about getting the next goal.”
On taking the Supporters’ Shield race and Marcus Ingvartsen’s return and performance tonight:
“I'll be honest with you, the only points that I'm thinking about week in and week out, are the ones that are in front of us. So right now, it's about celebrating these three points, because these were hard-earned. This was a hard-earned three points. And tomorrow we'll wake up, recover, and then we got to get back to business for the next three points in front of us, but Marcus (Ingvartsen), what a welcome back for Marcus, and I think that's perfect for a number nine to get on the score sheet. Such an important finish, such an important presence. He he's been dealing with a lot of adversity this season, but he's a great leader and a great person, and he's got a lot of talent, so we're all just really happy for him.”
On if this was a statement win for San Diego with Dreyer’s celebration with the fans:
“Yeah, like I said, I think the only thing that matters is what we do when we wake up every single day. That's about giving everything, coming in with an open mindset to get better, being good people, and then making sure that we got that competitive spirit in us, and that starts on the training ground, in the recovery room, in the film room. But I think that that goal celebration for him is fantastic because it shows something important, which is all of those Frontera folks, they're on our team, and we recognize what they do for us, because we're not playing this game in isolation. We got 11 guys playing on the field. We got another nine guys on the bench. We're giving good energy, we got a coaching staff, we got a support staff, and then we got Frontera SD up there, just bringing the energy all the time. And all of that is what makes us the team and the family that we are.”
On the team’s mental toughness and if Dreyer is deserving of MVP award:
“Yeah. I'll start with the mental aspect of the game. Listen, this game requires a complex interaction between talent, technique, tactics, principles, fight, competitive spirit and mental fortitude. And when you make as many come from behind wins as this group has, it shows that this group has a fighting spirit in them, and that's fundamentally the base of who we are. At the end of the day, we always want to play with initiative, and I'm so proud that the group, even at 1-1, just keeps pushing for that game. And then, in regards to your second question, the only thing that we're focused on, including Anders [Dreyer], is about getting better every day and making sure we bring it because at the end of the day, all of these hypotheticals about where we could end up or who could win, what it doesn't matter until the end of the season, when you actually do it. So, our job right now is to become as good as possible in every day that we can and set ourselves up to have the best chance to finish the season as strong as possible for all of San Diego.”
SDFC FORWARD MARCUS INGVARTSEN:
On being able to return from injury and being able to contribute to the win tonight:
“So good to be back. It's been a long time. For some time, a lot of work in the gym, and, yeah, doing this rehab twice. So extremely happy to be back, be back in a good way. Turn the game around, and we are on top of the league. So amazing feeling right now.”
On his assist and goal tonight and why it appeared easy for him:
“Yeah, it was a chaotic game and going a lot back and forth. We know that they were going to man mark us, difficult pitch and like, we couldn't really find, find our play. But, yeah, the first goal, the hit, I was in a very clear position in there. Franco [Negri], I think after a quick corner or throw in, we, we got it on the side, and he made a perfect cross in so, so good to be, to be back there. And, yeah, it gave energy. And I think we stay pretty calm, even though coming behind we had a calmness in the team, and we're pretty sure that we could turn this around. And then the assist, second ball in the middle of the field, Anders [Dreyer] and I had just talked about me coming a little bit more, and he would go deep. So it was, yeah, it was exactly how we talked about, and I could set him through so amazing feeling.”
On his celebration after his goal:
“You know, I was just pointing to the fans, I was so happy to be back. So, nothing, nothing special on that. But yeah, just extremely happy. So we appreciate the support so much, so many traveling fans and so on. So it was basically just give some energy out there, and they gave us on the field.”
On what it’s like being part of this team after all that he has gone through this season:
“Yeah, it's been a different season for me. Very good start. I felt great in the beginning, and like quickly came into the team in such a good way. And, yeah, had a big role. Then two injuries kept me out for a very long time. I hope that's all for now and I can stay on the pitch. I definitely plan to do that. So, I feel strong. I feel in good shape. Of course, there's some playing shapes that will build up throughout the next couple of weeks, but I've been working a lot, and I feel like I stand at a good point. I'm it's, it's been nice and tough to follow the team a little bit from the outside, because it's, it's amazing what's been done. But also, you want to be a part of that, and I plan to do that.”
