In a rivalry game and behind a rowdy crowd at Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego FC defeated Los Angeles FC by a score of 3-2 to win their first home game in club history. 

“I hope everybody takes notice in San Diego,” head coach Mikey Vargas said. “The effort and quality of the guys, I thought they were just absolutely lights out.”

SDFC (2-1-2, eight points) is looking to bounce back after a 2-1 loss at Austin FC, the first loss in team history. Meanwhile, LAFC (3-2-0, nine points) aims to repeat their last performance in a 2-0 away win against Sporting KC. 

The first scoring chance of the game came in the 4th minute on a shot from SDFC forward Onni, but went just above the net for a goal kick. LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris made the first save of the game on a diving stop to his left on San Diego midfielder Aníbal Godoy’s shot from outside the box

San Diego defender Christopher McVey scored a header off a free kick in the 21st minute to open the scoring and give the team their first ever home lead. Forward Alex Mighten almost doubled the lead but his shot went just above the next. 

The rivalry between the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego transitioned into this game as there were three yellow cards and five fouls in total only 26 minutes into the game. 

In the 33rd minute, Valakari doubled the lead as he took advantage of Lloris misplaying a ball on a free kick to slam it home

SDFC carried all the momentum as Mighten tripled the lead for SDFC in the 40th minute on Valakari’s cross as the rowdy San Diego faithful got even more into it with chants of “Beat LA” raining down on the pitch. 

“The hype around the team and the city was what we really needed,” Mighten said. “We’ve got amazing supporters that are there for us every single game.”

While most of the first half was all San Diego, LAFC managed to crawl back to score two goals in the last ten minutes and get into halftime down by only one. Defender Artem Smoliakov scored a stellar strike from well outside the 16-yard box to put them on the board, while forward Cengiz Ünder scored in added time to cut the lead to 3-2. 

San Diego still controlled possession for the start of the second half as Valakari almost scored for the second time. He found open space after forward Anders Dryer made a brilliant pass but his shot was saved by Lloris. 

With LAFC needing to keep their foot on the pedal to level the game, midfielder Igor Jesus did the exact opposite as he was sent off for his second yellow card when he fouled Godoy in the 53rd minute. 

Even with ten men, Los Angeles had their first scoring chance of the half as Martinez found open space but his right foot shot was saved by goalkeeper CJ dos Santos. 

SDFC made two substitutions in the 63rd minute with forward Tomás Ángel coming on for Mighten and defender William Kumado subsisting in for defender Franco Negri. LAFC also made a substitution with midfielder Odin Holm entering the game for Ünder. 

After missing the last three games for injury, forward Hirving “Chucky” Lozano entered the game, replacing midfielder Luca de Torre. San Diego also made another substitution with defender Hamady Diop coming on for fellow defender Jasper Loffelsend. 

Meanwhile, Los Angeles made two substitutions of their own with defender Ryan Hollingsheaad subsisting for Smoliakov and defender Eddie Segura for defender Nkosi Burgess

Lozano almost made an immediate impact as he was one-on-one with Lloris after a pass from Dreyer, but Lloris made a save for a corner kick. 

Dreyer found open space just outside the 16-yard box, but his left foot shot went just above the crossbar. After the goal kick, LAFC made their way down the field for a chance to draw level but Denis Bouanga’s shot just missed the net. 

While San Diego FC had a man advantage, they were unable to find any sustained pressure and even allowed Los Angeles to have their own scoring chances. 

In the 89th minute, LAFC almost scored the equalizer but forward Nathan Ordaz’s shot just missed wide right. 

After the fourth official signaled five minutes of added time, SDFC could taste their first ever victory at home but still wanted to add one more goal to solidify it. 

In the 90+3 minute, Lonzano was fouled at the edge of the box, drawing a yellow card and a free kick. However, the shot went harmlessly over the crossbar. 

While LAFC had one more chance, they could not get anything past the defense with the final whistle signaling a 3-2 win. 

The first ever home win came in front of 32,502 fans packed into Snapdragon Stadium and SDFC improved to 3-1-2 for 11 points. Meanwhile, Los Angeles FC dropped to 3-3-0 to stay at nine points. 

“[The win] is so rewarding,” Vargas said. “This is what dreams are made of, we all do this for these moments… 50 years from now, the club is going to be a giant, not just in the MLS but all of the Americas.”