On a chilly Monday night in front of another wild sellout crowd at Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego FC continued to make history in its inaugural season, beating Minnesota United FC 1-0 in a hard-fought Western Conference Semifinal.
It took composure, consistency and cohesion from every member of the squad to secure this historic victory. Let’s break down what happened:
Patience is a virtue
As one of the league’s defensive leaders this season, Minnesota has been known for its cautious, counterattacking playstyle, backed by MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, Dayne St. Clair, the Loons concede possession and let opponents make mistakes for them to produce quick scoring counterattacks and set-pieces. The last time these two squads met at Snapdragon Stadium, that aforementioned playstyle secured the Loons a 3-1 victory despite SDFC dominating the offensive stats.
San Diego once again dominated possession, but this time failed to have any shots on target for the majority of the game.
Sometimes, though, all it takes is one opportunity. SDFC found theirs in the 72nd minute. An athletic backheel pass by Escondido native Corey Baird just barely prevented the ball from going out of play, setting up MLS Newcomer of the Year Anders Dreyer to strike home what would be the winning goal for San Diego.
“I just had one thing on my mind: hitting it as hard as possible,” Dreyer said of the resulting sequence.
Pitch problems
The plan from San Diego FC’s inception was to make Snapdragon Stadium their home, sharing the ground alongside the city’s NWSL team, San Diego Wave, and the venue’s primary host and owner, San Diego State. During the spring and summer months, this arrangement is hardly an issue for the tenants. When fall rolls around, however, things can become a bit tricky. The field quality during Monday night’s playoff match was a prime example of that.
“I think that’s the worst day it’s been for the season,” said team captain Jeppe Tverskov of the field conditions. “It made it way more difficult for us because of the condition, and the amount of sand on the pitch made it difficult to get onto the ball and move it quickly, which you need to do against a team like Minnesota.”
The pitch, simply put, was atrocious and had a noticeable effect on all players’ ability to perform to their desired level.
For context, two days before SDFC’s match, the Aztecs’ football team beat San Jose State in a 25-3 rout at home. Coupled with heavy rain over that same weekend, it would likely be a Herculean effort for any grounds crew to turn the pitch quality around in such a short amount of time.
Nonetheless, the field on Monday evening was unacceptable for players, especially in a critical postseason elimination game.
“Just win, baby”
Gratuitous use of the late great Al Davis’ Super Bowl-winning motto aside, this squad truly does embrace a win-no-matter-the-cost attitude.
Facing an agitating, defensive-minded team on an undesirable ground and with impact players like Dreyer and Hirving “Chucky” Lozano coming off illness or injury, the entire squad had to buckle down to grind out a victory.
The offense continually chipped away at Minnesota United’s defense, poking for any weak points or cracks. They stayed together and continued to press the Loons all game, seizing on the one moment they needed to flip the match in their favor.
The defense hounded Minnesota with efforts by first-round pick Manu Duah, wing-backs Luca Bombino and Ian Pilcher, and veteran defender Christopher McVey. Three massive saves by goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega and a stunning last-second goalline clearance by Pilcher ultimately secured the shutout to end the game in regulation.
The supporters also fulfilled their role for the team, packing the stadium for their club and making Snapdragon Stadium a fortress from kickoff to final whistle. The atmosphere, especially after San Diego finally broke through to score, could give even the casual fan goosebumps.
“This narrative that the other team is the more blue-collar team, harder-working team, this is garbage. [Our] club is founded on hard work, intensity, relentless ambition, just like the community,” head coach Mikey Varas said of his squad. “There’s so many people in San Diego who have to make massive sacrifices and work so hard to live here, and we said we wanted to be a reflection. That’s our base, then the football flows from there.”
San Diego FC will now face the Vancouver Whitecaps on a short week with a trip to the MLS Cup on the line. The Western Conference Final will take place at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 29, at 6 p.m.
