Writer: Melissa Ramus
Photographer: Rashad Griffin Sr.
SAN DIEGO — San Diego FC showed plenty of fight Wednesday night at Snapdragon Stadium, but an early three-goal deficit proved too much to overcome as SDFC fell 3–2 to the San Jose Earthquakes on September 9.
The loss brought an end to San Diego’s five-match home winning streak across all competitions and turned what had been a strong stretch at Snapdragon Stadium into a frustrating night. San Jose struck three times in the opening 35 minutes before San Diego responded through Anders Dreyer and newcomer Cédric Bakambu.
San Jose wasted little time putting the home side under pressure.
Niko Tsakiris opened the scoring in the third minute, finishing a quick Earthquakes attack to give the visitors a 1–0 advantage. San Diego’s problems continued when goalkeeper CJ Dos Santos received an early yellow card, although he kept SDFC within one by stopping a penalty attempt minutes later.
The save gave San Diego an opportunity to settle into the match, but San Jose continued attacking.
Preston Judd doubled the Earthquakes’ advantage in the 12th minute, with Tsakiris providing the assist. The early goals forced San Diego to chase the game much sooner than expected in front of the home crowd at Snapdragon Stadium.
San Jose made it 3–0 in the 35th minute when Ousseni Bouda found the back of the net. Tsakiris was again involved, adding another assist to an impressive first-half performance.
Despite the difficult start, San Diego refused to let the match get completely out of reach.
Anders Dreyer gave SDFC some much-needed life in the 42nd minute. Onni Valakari provided the assist as Dreyer scored his ninth MLS goal of the 2026 season, cutting the deficit to 3–1 just before halftime.
The goal changed the feeling inside Snapdragon Stadium and gave San Diego something to build on heading into the second half.
SDFC came out after the break looking for a way back into the contest. San Diego controlled more of the ball and continued searching for openings against a San Jose side that could afford to protect its advantage.
San Diego finished the night with the majority of possession and continued to push numbers forward as the second half progressed.
Head coach Mikey Varas turned to his bench looking for another attacking spark. One of those changes came in the 68th minute when Cédric Bakambu entered for Valakari.
Bakambu, who had recently joined San Diego FC, was making his club and MLS debut.
San Diego’s comeback attempt became considerably more difficult in the 80th minute when Dos Santos received his second yellow card and was sent off. SDFC was forced to play with 10 men, with Duran Ferree entering in goal.
Even shorthanded, San Diego continued pushing forward rather than allowing the match to quietly finish.
The closing minutes became increasingly dramatic. San Jose’s Max Floriani was also sent off after receiving a second yellow card during stoppage time, leaving both teams with 10 players.
San Diego then received one final opportunity from the penalty spot.
Bakambu stepped up and converted the penalty deep into stoppage time, scoring on his San Diego FC debut and pulling SDFC within one at 3–2.
Suddenly, a match that appeared well out of reach earlier in the evening had life.
San Diego pushed for one final opportunity to complete what would have been a remarkable comeback, but time ran out before the equalizer arrived.
The final whistle confirmed a 3–2 San Jose victory and ended San Diego FC’s five-match home winning streak.
For SDFC, the result will be remembered as a missed opportunity created largely by a difficult opening 35 minutes. Falling behind 3–0 forced San Diego to spend the remainder of the match trying to recover.
Still, the response provided positives.
Dreyer continued his productive season, while Bakambu made an immediate impact by scoring in his first appearance for the club. San Diego also continued fighting after going down a man, turning what could have become a comfortable San Jose victory into a tense finish.
The challenge moving forward will be combining that late-game urgency with a stronger start.
At Snapdragon Stadium on Wednesday night, San Diego FC proved it could fight its way back into the match.
This time, it simply ran out of time.
