Written by Joaquin Serrato

Photo by Sawyer Hall

The lights were bright at Snapdragon Stadium as 29,437 attended to watch San Diego FC take on California rivals San Jose Earthquakes on the very first Fan Appreciation Night in club history. 

Despite already having a spot in the playoffs, SDFC did have something to play for on Saturday night. 

In addition to playoff seeding for home field advantage throughout the playoffs, bragging rights over SDFC’s Golden State rivals were at stake. SDFC entered the game with five wins in five over San Jose and both Los Angeles clubs, LA Galaxy and LAFC. 

“I found out it (San Jose) was a California team, of course. It would be nice to be undefeated against California teams. I think there is a big hunger in the dressing room to make that top performance at home, after two months without a win. I just came out of the dressing room. There is a feeling that we could win today, but we didn’t. I think we had that feeling the last couple of games here at Snapdragon. So I think, I know the hunger is to win and especially in front of our fans, that’s for sure,” SDFC forward Anders Dreyer said in the postgame presser, on whether there is extra motivation amongst the team to win over California rivals. 

If it were not for a guy who goes by Lionel Messi, playing in Major League Soccer (MLS), Dreyer would likely lead the 2025 MVP race, as he is closest to what many deem the greatest of all time for the award. 

Dreyer’s MLS leading 18 assists and club leading 15 goals place him in the conversation for MVP. Despite being a threat to the goal throughout the season, Dreyer and the SDFC attack were silenced at home by San Jose, unable to complete the California sweep. 

“Just really disappointed not to get the three points at home for the fans. They were great as usual. It’s sad, we can feel their support so clearly. I think we had two-point something xG (Expected Goals), they (San Jose) had point-something (xG), and you lose the game. It comes down to details, little details. Finishing quality, concentration in moments during counterattacks,” SDFC Head Coach Mikey Varas said on his reflections of the match, along with his impression of his team’s finishing in front of goal. 

One thing has to be noted that the Azul y Chrome did not play terribly. As Coach Varas mentioned, SDFC had many more chances and opportunities to score compared to the Quakes. However, higher xG is not how soccer, or fútbol, is won. It is won by who scores more goals.

Midfielder and captain, Jeppe Tverskov, shared the sentiment with his coach that their side played well, but fell short of victory due to being off target when aiming towards the goal. 

“I think we saw them (San Jose) better today than we did in the away game against San Jose (in August), where we ended up winning. I felt like we broke them through quite well. It seemed like every time we got near the goal, our finishing lacked quality, which hasn’t been the case the whole season,” Tverskov said on difficulties playing against San Jose at home. 

My MVP of the match for SDFC was not a specific player, but the 12th man. Very fitting for this to happen on Fan Appreciation Night, as Snapdragon and Frontera SD made their presence known despite the result. 

As mentioned, a loud and passionate 29 thousand people packed the stands to enjoy a night of soccer at the stadium in Mission Valley. 

“We are extremely happy it’s not our last game with all the fans. Today is the perfect example of how incredible they have been the whole season. We were behind 1-0 at home last game, and we heard them the whole game (and) after the gam, chanting our names. All of us players are very blessed to have landed in a football (soccer) city, we can definitely feel that,” Tverskov’s message to the fans for continued support in the playoffs. 

On the same night, 44,457 people attended the Postseason-bound Padres game at Petco Park in Downtown.   

This game, being my first SDFC game, I could not believe I was at the same venue where SDSU Football plays its home games. I could not believe that where Frontera SD does their chanting, drumming, and light pyros is the same place as the Aztec Football’s student section. 

SDSU’s Football average attendance in the 2024 season was 24,770 with a weekly change of negative 5.43%. 

Sure, it did not go in favor of SDFC, a team that calls Snapdragon home on the night. But one thing stands clear. If you win in this city, they will come. If Aztec Football wants a 12th man at their stadium, the same one, they must bring back the winning culture to the gridiron. 

SDFC had loads of opportunities to score and, unfortunately, could not complete that California sweep in its playoff-quality ofaugural season. 

But hey, at least they had a crowd and atmosphere to face defeat in.