San Diego FC shut out Nashville SC in 1-0 home win

SAN DIEGO -- Back in the home win column, San Diego FC blanked Eastern Conference contender Nashville SC, 1-0, in a Friday night faceoff to snap three-match Snapdragon Stadium winless streak.

For their third straight home match, San Diego FC returned to Snapdragon Stadium with Nashville SC visiting Southern California on July 25 for the only scheduled interleague meeting between the two clubs this season. 

Conference positioning implications were at stake for the Friday night match, as the first-place side in the West, San Diego FC, looked to grow its single-point advantage over the Whitecaps. 

In a top-of-conference race of their own, Nashville SC came into the match sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference, only a single point behind the conference-leading FC Cincinnati. A collection of three points for Nashville would move them into the top spot in the East. 

In their most recent match last Saturday, San Diego FC faced off against the West’s second-place side in the Vancouver Whitecaps, as the battle for first place ended in a 1-1 deadlock with San Diego remaining in the top position. 

Nashville saw victory last Saturday at home, holding Toronto FC scoreless in their 1-0 win at Geodis Park on July 19. 

The starting XI for San Diego FC remained unchanged from their last matchday, with the youthful backline for the home side being an average age of 20. 

Bombino (19), Pilcher (22), Duah (20) and Verhoeven (19).

A less-than-stellar first 45 minutes between the two sides, as the match stood scoreless going into the locker rooms for the halftime period. 

The most notable moment in the first half was a breakaway foul by Nashville defender Walker Zimmerman on San Diego FC star forward Chucky Lozano in the 18-minute that was left questionable to be upgraded for a red card expulsion. 

A poor Nashville backpass saw Lozano darting into the attacking half with only one defender in sight, as Zimmerman's late-to-the-ball challenge was deemed a yellow card offense.

After a trip to the VAR monitor, referee Drew Fischer was unwilling to upgrade the challenge to a red card, with another Nashville defender close enough to the play, eliminating the last man judgment. 

Although it was a quiet half for both goalkeepers, having seen no shots on target in the first 45 minutes, the match intensity and physicality were still in play, with Nashville accumulating 12 fouls as both starting center-backs collected yellow cards. 

After starting the first half on the offensive front foot, it was All-Star forwards Anders Dreyer and Chucky Lozano who erupted the home fans as they connected for the 53-minute opening goal of the match.  

Dreyer was played into space on the right wing, taking advantage of the three vs two counter attack, finding Lozano unmarked inside the penalty area with a left outside the boot pass.

Lozano didn’t hesitate, letting off a first-time right-footed strike into the right side of the goal, with Nashville goalkeeper Joe Willis left flat-footed as San Diego led 1-0 within the first ten minutes of the second half.  

The All-Star duo continues to leave their mark on the season, as Chucky Lozano netted his seventh goal of the year with Anders Dreyer stretching his league-leading assist tally to 16.  

San Diego FC’s built-up pressure inside their opponents' penalty box broke through in the 81-minute, with midfielder Onni Valakari being taken down as Drew Fischer blew his whistle, awarding San Diego a penalty attempt.

Anders Dreyer took responsibility at the penalty spot with Chucky Lozano subbed out of the match minutes before the foul occurred.

Dreyer's match sealer came up short, with Nashville goalkeeper Joe Willis guessing the correct way to deny the second San Diego FC goal on the night. Dreyer attempted to go low and to the right with Willis pushing the shot away as the match stood at 1-0.

In an attempt to salvage a point, Nashville’s Joe Willis was called out of the sticks for the last remaining set piece in the 90+9-minute of added injury time.

The ball was cleared out with Anders Dreyer gaining possession near the middle of the pitch, having an open field in front of him. He rapidly dribbled to the unoccupied goal and tapped the ball into the empty net for what appeared to be the 2-0 finisher.

A loud and celebratory Snapdragon Stadium was met with confusion as the goal was not allowed due to the referee blowing the full-time whistle before Dreyer's attempt, as the match officially ended 1-0 for the San Diego FC win.

This claims San Diego FC's first home win since their 2-0 victory over Austin FC back on May 31, snapping a brief three-match home winless streak.

“I feel very happy that I was able to score and get the result for the team and for the club,” San Diego FC forward Chucky Lozano said on his goal and the team's result against Nashville. “We had a rare setback, but we were able to get back on track. There are a lot of things we need to work on, but we are on the right path. We are going to continue to work hard to be on the right track.” 

Starting goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega earned his first clean sheet for the club against Nashville, having taken over between the sticks in the last four matches. 

Along with the goalkeeper, the youthful defensive line for San Diego FC was a huge factor in holding Nashville SC goalless for the match, as the youngest backline in the league impressed against one of the top sides in the MLS. 

At the post-match press conference following the 1-0 victory over Nashville SC, San Diego FC head coach Mikey Varas commented on the shutout performance, praising his squad's commitment. 

“At the end of the day, you get a clean sheet against a team that scored a ton of goals in the league. That's massively important. You can see our back line growing up, game by game.”

“You have fireman actions from Pablo (Sisniega), from midfielders, from defenders. You have the front three working back to help defend as a team, and I just think it was a really good performance.”

“I'm so proud of the group because, yes we have talent in the team and yes we have a style of play that they commit to and that helps us and can be our competitive advantage, but this group also has a ton of character and character was a massive factor in this game and that's what makes me so excited.”

After their 1-0 home victory on Friday night, San Diego FC improved their record to fourteen wins, seven losses, and four draws for a 46-point total, pushing their Western Conference leading gap to four points with the trailing Whitecaps holding two games in hand. 

San Diego FC is right back at home on Tuesday night for their next match, participating in this year's edition of the Leagues Cup as they host C.F. Pachuca at Snapdragon Stadium, set for an 8 p.m. kickoff. 

This will be the first of three matches of Phase One in the Leagues Cup 2025, with San Diego FC to host three straight games against Liga MX clubs at Snapdragon Stadium from July 29 to August 5.

Following their Leagues Cup debut against Pachuca, they will play Tigres UANL and Mazatlán F.C.