San Diego FC Win Big Against Austin FC

San Diego, CA – San Diego FC beat Austin FC at home 5-0 in a mid-week clash at Snapdragon Stadium. This was the first SDFC win since March.

In Case You Missed It

• What happened:  Head coach Mikey Varas fielded a much different looking starting XI ahead of the weekend match, giving young players an opportunity to showcase themselves. They rose to the challenge. Pedro Soma steered the team from a center midfielder position, nabbing a goal and an assist while David Vazquez showed his skills on and off the ball, collecting two goals in the process.
• What we learned: That a turnaround may take a little time. This team is obviously going through a rough patch where things just aren't working and teams are figuring them out. This victory was a great first step in turning the page and getting back to their winning formula. The team showcased what it is capable of.
• Big picture: This was a complete performance by San Diego FC. SDFC's form was getting better with each of the last two matches and led to a dominant showing on the field tonight. Mikey Varas acknowledged in postgame media that the turn around will take some time, and "it's not an overnight thing." The team played with flair and looked like they really enjoyed themselves – something we haven't seen since March. The young, rotated squad ahead of this weekend's clash with Cincinnati did a wonderful job running off of one another, stringing passes together and finishing their chances. Anders Dreyer was at the helm of what seemed like every attack and Pedro Soma took every advantage of the chance given to be the focal point of the team in the center midfield.

Key moments

• 4' | Alex Mighten is sent through on the left side; he does a great job chasing it down and provides a cross into Marcus Ingvartsen in the middle of the box. Ingvartsen gets his foot on it amidst two defenders, but the shot goes just wide of the right goal post.
• 8' | GOAL! Luca Bombino starts the attack on the right side of the danger area by playing the ball into the center of the opponent penalty box. Onni Valakari dummied the ball and Ingvartsen sent him through into the six-yard area. Valakari provides a low cross into David Vazques, who slides the ball in. 1-0 SDFC lead.
• 14' | Fagundo Torres capitalizes on a mistake pass in the SDFC danger area and takes a one-time shot from just outside the box which forces Duran Ferree to make a save with his legs.
• 17' | GOAL! Pedro Soma sends Anders Dreyer through into the penalty box with a carefully slotted pass. Dreyer pivots to his left foot and carefully curls the ball into the left corner of the net. 2-0 SDFC lead
• 54' | GOAL! Manu Duah picked out Dreyer with a long over-the-top ball into the penalty area. Dreyer dribbled it out to keep possession and passed it to Mighten who then found Soma on the edge of the area. With a wonderful strike from outside of the box, Soma found the very edge of the right post to make it 3-0 to the hosts.
• 56' | Just minutes later, Dreyer dribbled into the center of the penalty area and drew defenders with him. Ingvartsen made an overlapping run, and Dreyer saw him through one-on-one, but his shot was blocked by Brad Stuver from close range.
• 65' | With an unreal amount of space and respect given to him by Austin, Dreyer dribbled from the right side of the field to the middle of the danger area and took a curling shot that just missed the left post.
• 76' | Facundo Torres finds space in the middle of SDFC's half and dribbles into the center of the edge of the area. Torres hits a hard shot to the left post, but Duran Ferree makes a wonderful save.
• 79' | GOAL! David Vazquez with a lovely through ball to find an overlapping Bombino into the penalty box. Bombino takes his time and picks out Ingvartsen's run with a low pass that Ingvartsen taps into the opposite corner of the net. SDFC lead 4-0.
• 91' | GOAL! David Vazquez receives the ball from Anibal Godoy at about the halfway line and dribbles into acres of space on the left side. Vazquez beats his defender with a couple of stepovers and slides the ball into the back of the net. SDFC lead 5-0.

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Standout performers

• Pedro Soma (SDFC Nation Man of the Match) was excellent tonight. Playing in his natural position in center midfield, Soma exemplified qualities which made San Diego FC invest in him in the first place. The 19-year-old is still a young player in need of more development but he showed Varas that he is up to the challenge. Varas acknowledged after the match that Soma was very good tonight. He told the media that he wants to see Soma be more aggressive in his tackles and better in transition to really become the best athlete that he can – something he will learn with meaningful match minutes.
• David Vazquez proved he belongs on the starting XI every week with a standout performance tonight. Vazquez wowed the crowd with his fancy footwork and pace. He was excellent in transitions and created many offensive opportunities by playing with creativity. His intentional runs and good finishing abilities rewarded him with two goals.
• Anders Dreyer finally got back on the score sheet after having one of his best performances of the year. SDFC looked to him in transitions and on the offensive. Austin FC gave Dreyer a little bit too much respect which left him with a lot of space in behind and he took advantage. Dreyer finished the night with five chances created and three shots on target, one of them being a goal.

Lineup notes

Head coach Mikey Varas rotated his squad tonight with Cincinnati this weekend in mind. Alex Mighten started on the left wing, David Vazquez in the left mid and Pedro Soma played central pivot in the center mid. Defensively, Luca Bombino moved over to the right side of the field and Kieran Sargeant returned to action playing left back.

What it means

SDFC's nine match winless streak is finally over. The boys showed what they're capable of in a display of flair, decisiveness and confidence. Some of the young players took their chances to prove themselves and they did so in a big way. Maybe it's time for Varas to shakeup the lineup a little bit in search of the hunger and intensity that this squad so desperately needed. The system worked tonight – SDFC drew the opponent in while playing quickly out of the back and creating counter attacks while finishing chances. That is the recipe for success every time.

Up next

SDFC returns to action this Saturday against FC Cincinnati, who are currently 8th in the Eastern conference with a 4-4-5 record. This will be a telling game to see if SDFC are capable of a repeat dominant performance or if this was simply a win-hungry team beating up on a bad Austin FC squad.

Stats

Possession: SD 58% – 42% FCC
Shots: SD 22– 9 FCC
Shots on goal: SD 10 – 3 FCC
Penalty kicks: SD 0 – 0 FCC
Goals: SD 5–0 FCC
Expected goals: SD 2.54 – 0.62 FCC
Total Passes: SD 634 – 414 FCC
Fouls: SD 9 – 7 FCC
Yellow cards: SD 1 – 0 FCC
Red cards: SD 0 – 0 FCC
Announced attendance: 19,194

Highlights