SDFC opened the 2026 Major League Soccer (MLS) season with a 2-0 win over St. Louis City SC on Sunday night on Sports Night at Snapdragon Stadium, dropping two games in a row.
Chrome & Azul achieved the club’s biggest victory on Saturday with a historic 5-0 victory at home against visiting CF Montréal on the opening day of the 2026 Major League Soccer (MLS) season.
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SDFC return home for their second game of the MLS season against St. Louis City SC, picking up a point from a 1-1 home draw with Charlotte FC on the first day of the season.
SDFC went unbeaten in their first two games against St. Louis last season, taking four points from a scoreless draw at home and a 2-1 away win in 2025.
Sunday’s game also debuted SDFC’s unprecedented 2026 Unity jersey, also known as the Community Jersey, which features ties and detailed designs from the San Diego and Tijuana regions.
There were no changes from their previous starting lineup last Saturday, with 19-year-old San Diego native goalkeeper Duran Ferree retaining his spot for SDFC after recording their first MLS clean sheet against CF Montreal.
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Early in the game, St. Louis set the tone with strong pressure to counter the style of play established by SDFC, as both Chrome and Azul were blocked in their passing lanes and time of possession.
But SDFC showed off their dangerous counter-attacks from the first press, with star forward Anders Dreyer having his side ready within three minutes of the opening whistle.
After breaking through the early press, Oni Valakari took advantage of the player advantage to lead into the first half. Forward Marcus Invatsson passed the ball in the penalty area. Dreher volleyed with his left foot into the left side of the net, giving SDFC a 1-0 lead.
Anders Dreyer, the 2025 MLS Rookie of the Year winner, scored his first goal of the 2026 season and Ingvartsen added his second assist in two games.
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Dreyer’s goal on Sunday made him the second-fastest player in MLS history to reach the 20-goal and 20-assist mark, behind only Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi.
SDFC held a slim 1-0 lead at halftime and St. Louis didn’t show much sign of scoring in the first 45 minutes as SDFC’s defense held off a goal for the third straight half.
Anders Dreyer doubled the advantage in the 54th minute when he fed Marcus Ingvartsen for his second SDFC goal of the night.
Dreher did the rest and scored when he sent a through ball to Ingvartsson near the goal area and then fired the ball between the legs of veteran goalkeeper Roman Bürki.
Ingvartsson has made a good start to the 2026 season, recording goals and assists in two consecutive games. Dreyer started adding those assists earlier in the year, adding his third assist in the first two games.
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Things changed dramatically for St. Louis in the final minutes of the game when forward Cedric Teuchert came on as a substitute in the 83rd minute and his shot attempt was deflected off the goal line by defender Kieran Sargeant’s left-footed stab.
The final whistle blew at Snapdragon Stadium on Sunday night as SDFC took all three points with a commanding 2-0 victory over St. Louis and held the lead three minutes from the kick-off whistle.
Another impressive performance from the SDFC backline and goalkeeper Duran Ferry, who started the MLS season without conceding two consecutive clean sheets.
In his post-match press conference following Sunday night’s 2-0 win over St. Louis City SC, SDFC head coach Mikey Varas spoke about the team’s mental state and the early chances converted in the first two games.
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“We show up every day to make sure we have a no-regret mentality. From the moment we get out of the car to the moment we get back in the car, we make sure we do everything we can so that we’re as prepared as possible to give ourselves a chance to win the game.”
“Wanting to play proactively, always scoring goals after games and having the mentality that we want to influence the course of the game immediately and we want to chase it early and often”.
After back-to-back home games to start the MLS season, SDFC will visit Sports Park next Saturday (March 7) to take on Sporting Kansas City for their third round tie, with kick-off at 5:30 p.m.
