San Diego FC did not get the catharsis it wanted Saturday night.
But it did get something it badly needed.
SDFC played LAFC to a 2-2 draw at Snapdragon Stadium, stopping its five-match MLS losing streak but extending its winless run across all competitions to nine.
In front of a raucous crowd, San Diego showed more composure, more structure and more resistance than it has in recent weeks.
Until the very end, that is, when midfielder Ryan Hollingshead gathered a corner kick from Mathieu Choinière in the 104th minute, and slid it past Duran Ferree, who had replaced an injured CJ dos Santos in the 98th minute.
LAFC coach Marc Dos Santos rotated his lineup with next week’s decisive second leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals against Toluca looming, but that didn’t make it easy for San Diego.
Two point-blank goals from forward Marcus Ingvartsen, on two pinpoint passes from winger Anders Dreyer, provided the scoring the Blue and Chrome.
SDFC (3-5-3) swept LAFC in its inaugural year, broke LAFC’s expansion points record and ignited a rivalry out of the gate.
This one carried a different kind of weight.
Ingvartsen opened the scoring in the seventh minute, after Dreyer, on his 28th birthday, gifted him a perfect pass on a left corner kick. Ingvartsen beat Hugo Lloris with a header to make it 1-0. The Danish striker’s second goal came in the 71st minute.
It was only Lloris’ fifth goal allowed this season. The French World Cup-winning goalkeeper opened the season with a league record 540 minutes without conceding a goal.
Denis Bouanga’s goal in the 82nd minute closed the gap for LAFC (6-2-3) before the late heroics.
Dos Santos’ last appearance was on Nov. 1, when he sustained a fractured cheekbone and orbital floor below his left eye during a playoff match against the Portland Timbers. This injury caused double vision and required surgery. He finished three saves.
Ingvartsen now has a club-leading seven goals, and has emerged as another key offensive threat alongside Dreyer. Dreyer has a club-best 11 goal contributions (five goals and six assists).
San Diego hasn’t won since a 3-2 victory over Toluca on March 11 in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16.
San Diego finished with 52% possession, but was outshot by LAFC 12-7 — 5-2 on target.
The draw leaves SDFC still below the playoff line in the Western Conference. It is not the breakthrough win the club needed, but it does halt the MLS losing streak and gives San Diego a better start to May than it had in its pointless April.
LAFC maintains its place near the top of the conference while continuing to balance league ambitions with its Champions Cup semifinal against Toluca next week.
SDFC travels next to Seattle, where it will take on the Sounders next Saturday.