Written by San Diego FC Dmitry
March 24th, 2025
How does the old saying go? All good things must come to an end, or something like that? Well, it was good while it lasted. I’m talking about the unbeaten streak, of course. Look – this loss stings, no doubt about that. As depressing as it was seeing that game slip away from us in the first 20 minutes, there are many positives that came out of this and I truly believe that this loss was good for us. Now wait a minute… “Good for us”? The answer is yes and I’ll try to convince you on why. As always, let’s get into it:
The week leading up to the game, everyone was wondering what Mikey Varas was going to do about the depleted roster due to injuries and national team representation. It was all a guessing game until they finally revealed the starting lineup. Varas had many options and varieties of how he can structure our squad and he chose, to many people’s surprise – two young defenders on the left, which Austin exploited. Brandon Vasquez was free to move around on the field from left to right and he, undoubtedly, tested the inexperienced youngsters.
Austin Score First
For the third game in a row, SDFC conceded first. In his post game conference, Mikey Varas insisted that he is aware of that fact and that the team has to do better in preparation in order to not play from behind. I am sure that is a trend that will be addressed in training sessions and in locker room game plan prep moving forward. We will for sure be watching to see how the team adjusts.
In the 10th minute of the match, Brandon Vasquez scored his first goal for his new club, after ATX spent $10 million on his transfer. He quickly tested young Ian Pilcher by creating space in between him and Chris McVey. There was obvious confusion as Pilcher thought McVey was going to cover the run but Chris had his back turned to Vasquez as he was focused on the ball and what is in front of him. For a slight second, Pilcher put his arm up as to tell McVey that Vasquez was making a run but soccer is a game of inches and that split-second gave Vasquez enough time to use his incredible speed to get in front of Pilcher and around Dos Santos to tuck it away.
You can clearly see from the screenshot of the play that Vasquez has a step on Pilcher. It was a breakdown in defense and who was marking who, which the youngster will learn from because, ultimately, he should have been the one to track Vasquez, who was in front of him making the run. It was a beautiful, quick through ball off of a turnover that caught our defense off-guard. You just can’t help but feel that this would not have happened if Paddy McNair, who is currently captaining his Northern Ireland team during international matches, was in the back. At the end of the day, the youngsters have to step up but unfortunately Vasquez got the best of Pilcher there.
Austin FC Make It Two
Our woes wouldn’t end there. Gallagher got in behind Luca Bombino and the 18 year old could not catch up as Gallagher neatly tucked it into the opposite corner after getting a breakaway. However, this was not entirely Bombino’s fault. After Ian Pilcher committed a foul in the Austin half, both he and Tverskov were too busy arguing with the ref and walking away with their backs turned to the ball which allowed ATX to take a quick restart and send a long through ball in for a speeding Gallagher, who finished it to take the 2-0 lead.
This simply cannot happen. One of the many things that Anibal Godoy and Paddy McNair bring to a team is their veteran ability to recognize situations in which you have to react quick. This was a situation where no one got in front of the ball to prevent Austin from taking the quick restart, a situation which I am sure would have been handled by the two missing vets. Varas will ensure this does not happen again, as he will address this in the film room.
SDFC Get One Back
We managed to climb back within one as Luca de la Torre sent a low shot that ricocheted off of a defender and went into the back of the net in the 27th minute of the match. It seemed as though we were re-living another one of those games where San Diego will tie it up and maybe even get the W. Everyone knew SDFC were going to come out and press high in the second half which would leave us more exposed in the back but we had to take that chance.
Second Half
SDFC controlled the game through the second half, dominating possession 70%-30%. Once again, the team did get carried away a little bit and played flat in the back which allowed Austin to sneak a few through balls in behind.
Testing Our Weakness
Austin FC saw the weak spot in our defense with the two young defenders in the Pilcher/Bombino duo and decided to test them any chance they got – and they got many. First, Rubio got in on a long ball that sailed over Bombino’s head but he wasted a 1v1 opportunity. Vasquez found himself on another 1v1 with CJ again, trying to chip our keeper, he shot wide of the net. In the 58th minute, Vasquez was sent through again when Bombino was off his line and Brandon remained unmarked. He quickly dribbled it into the right side of the box and cut onto his left foot past a sprawling Bombino, only to curl it over the net. Austin’s biggest chance of the second half came in the 69th minute. SDFC were in attack mode, playing a high line when Bukari got in behind our defense on a long ball and found himself 1v1 against Dos Santos, who did all he can to keep us in the game by making an absolutely incredible save and parried the ball to the side as it hit the post and skipped out of bounds.
One Last Push
At this point of the game, SDFC were pressing hard and with that, came the many opportunities. Valakari snuck a lob pass to Dreyer who found himself face-to-face with the falling Austin keeper but his shot went straight at him allowing him to make a fairly easy save. Alex Mighten, who Varas uses as a change-of-pace guy, made a beautiful run down the left wing and split the defenders into the box, then sent a low pass to Dreyer who was waiting on the top of the box but he sent his uncontested shot over the bar.
SDFC kept peppering balls into the box from corner kicks and crosses which saw Stuver, the ATX goalkeeper, make a couple of really nice saves. Our best chance came in the 86th minute when Tverskov got on the end of a corner kick cross from de la Torre and hit the top of the crossbar.
Lack Of Creativity
That was all she wrote for the game and SDFC was once again the better team who did not get the 3 points. I wrote in my preview for this match, that if ATX were going to go up in score, they would park the bus and that is precisely what they did for the entire second half. Sure, they had their offensive chances on our defensive breakdowns, but the stats speak for themselves. We continue to struggle breaking down defenses that keep their shape against us and stack guys in the back. What this team is lacking mostly is creativity up front. Game after game, we continue to play too direct, too predictable. What we need is a little bit of flair, a little creativity to play some one-two’s and make some creative runs. It’s time to break out of our shell and go for the throat. LAFC comes to town next weekend and the boys need to be ready. The good news is, we will get Godoy and McNair back. Full preview of that game coming later this week, so stay tuned for that.
One Cool Feat
Anisse Saidi made his MLS debut at 16 years old. He was born in 2008. That is not a typo, by the way. Saidi, who was acquired by SDFC from the Philadelphia Union, was an academy player who received international attention because of his great ball control and finishing abilities. It will be exciting to watch his career progress in an environment like San Diego, where the club is focused mainly on youth development.
Not Meant To Be
In the end, this was a valuable lesson to the team and I am sure they will learn many things from it. About their style of play, about their positioning, but most importantly – about themselves.
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