San Diego FC sweeps LA rivals, topping LAFC 2-1 on the road

LOS ANGELES -- The Sunday Night Soccer showdown between Southern California rivals San Diego FC and LAFC ended 2-1 at BMO Stadium. The California sweep looms as SDFC finished 2025 with a perfect 4-0 regular season record against the LA clubs. 

Last Saturday, San Diego FC’s scoreless home draw and point earned against the Portland Timbers was enough to clinch a 2025 MLS playoff berth, being the first MLS club to book their spot in this year’s postseason. 

After three straight MLS matches away from home, LAFC were back at BMO Stadium just in time for their postseason positioning push, coming into the match in fifth in the Western Conference standings. 

The August 31 match between the newly formed So-Cal rivals was the reverse fixture, as the first meeting back on March 29 finished in a 3-2 Snapdragon Stadium win for SDFC. 

LAFC got off to a great start, with midfielder David Martínez and forward Denis Bouanga connecting to give the Black and Gold the opening goal of the match at the 15-minute mark at BMO Stadium. 

Martínez was able to loft a perfectly weighted over-the-top ball for Bouanga inside the penalty box, with Bouanga catching the ball off a bounce for the first-touch chip shot over SDFC goalkeeper CJ dos Santos and into the goal to take the 1-0 lead. 

But SDFC answered back with their own moment of magic, as the San Diego All-Star forward duo, Dreyer and Lozano, connected to get SDFC back on level terms in the 33-minute.

MLS MVP frontrunner Anders Dreyer lifted an over-the-top pass just over LAFC's last defender for Chucky Lozano, making the dangerous run into the attacking space.

Lozano chested down the pass and rolled his shot into the left side of the goal, leaving 2018 FIFA World Cup champion and LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris frozen in place for the 1-1 finish. 

The 33-minute goal pushed Lozano's 2025 MLS goal total to nine, as Dreyer claimed his league-leading 18th assist of the season. 

LAFC star signing Son Heung-Min looked to have his moment with a curling shot headed for the back of the net, but it was SDFC’s CJ dos Santos that made the diving goal-saving play in the 45-minute to deny Son his first goal at home. 

The two So-Cal clubs couldn’t be separated, as they went into the locker room break tied after 45-minutes played. 

20 minutes in the second half, SDFC midfielder and club captain Jeppe Tverskov picked apart the LAFC backline with a piercing own-half through ball for Anders Dreyer, making the in behind run.

Dreyer did the rest as he dribbled in the box, sat down the first arriving LAFC defender with a chop back, got past the second late-arriving defender, and fired a left-footed shot into the LAFC net, as SDFC took the 2-1 lead in the 66-minute. 

“I saw Jeppe (Tverskov) with the ball, and he was looking forward,” SDFC forward Anders Dreyer said on his game-winning goal against LAFC. “We had talked about it before the game that hitting it between the center back and the fullback, and he did it perfectly.”

“I had the feeling he was a little bit too close to me when I wanted to shoot with the right, so I made a cut, then I saw another defender and made another cut, then I put it in the goal,” Dreyer said. 

Anders Dreyer’s 2025 MLS MVP shouts continued to get louder after Sunday night, as the 66-minute go-ahead goal marked his 14th goal of the season, as he leads the MLS in goal contributions with 32 G/A on the year. 

Another moment arrived for Son Heung-Min, this time with his 78-minute shot seeming to be already written as a goal, being denied by the right post, as the ball bounced off frame with LAFC still down 2-1 with 12 minutes plus added time remaining.

SDFC was able to keep out the remaining LAFC attacks, as they snatched the slim 2-1 Sunday Night Soccer victory at BMO Stadium. 

SDFC head Mikey Varas spoke at the post-match press conference on the tight 2-1 winning performance against LAFC. 

“That’s a huge credit to the players. The players make the football come to life, and these guys believe. These guys believe in a real performance mentality, and they believe in coming back, not getting down when they go down a goal.”

“They believe when they’re playing good that they can win, and they believe even when things are not going our way that we can find a way to win.” 

“We talked about it. Impacting the flow of the game was going to be really important. They are a top team, and we knew the environment was going to be tough, Son’s first home game, so there was going to be a lot of electricity around this game.”

San Diego FC continues to showcase their dominance away from Snapdragon Stadium, being the first team in the MLS season to claim 10 road victories, continuing to break and make records with their seventh consecutive road win. 

The 2-1 away win over LAFC moves SDFC to a 5-0 record over the other MLS California clubs, as they will get the chance to complete the in-state sweep with a win over the San Jose Earthquakes on September 27. 

The snatching of three points from their Northern neighbors sees San Diego FC grow their Western Conference leading position to five points with a total of 56 points in their inaugural season.

SDFC improves their league record to seventeen wins, seven losses, and five draws through 29 matches played. 

San Diego FC now stands level in the record books with St. Louis City SC for their 2023 17-win set record for most wins in an inaugural club season, as next matchday gives them the chance to snap the win and points total record, currently held by LAFC from their 2018 57-point debut season.

As for their next matchday, San Diego FC returns to Snapdragon Stadium for Saturday night's top-of-the-Western-Conference battle with Minnesota United on September 13, set for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. 

SDFC will be looking to complete the season sweep over Minnesota, with their previous meeting ending in a San Diego 4-2 victory at Allianz Field on June 14.