A 2-2 draw wasn’t what San Diego FC needed Sunday against Real Salt Lake, especially given their recent struggles.
It marked San Diego’s second consecutive draw in MLS play and the second straight match in which they surrendered a late lead. A week earlier in Dallas, they conceded in the 5th minute of stoppage time.
“When you tie games that you know, when you play your best, you should win, you have to be disappointed,” San Diego FC coach Mikey Varas explained. “You have to be disappointed at the same time, we have to remember that not everything is going to be rosy and easy.”
On Sunday at Snapdragon Stadium, it happened again in the 85th minute. Salt Lake midfielder Morgan Guilavogui sent a dangerous ball into the box that Victor Olatunji finished at the back post as he leveled the match.
Things went from bad to worse four minutes later, when center back Christopher McVey received his second yellow card of the afternoon, resulting in a red.
Down to 10 men, San Diego struggled to mount a response and created few chances to reclaim the lead.
Real Salt Lake struck first in the 17th minute, when Juan Manuel Sanabria found space along the left flank and delivered a quality cross into the box. Sergi Solans met it with a header to give Salt Lake a 1-0 advantage.
San Diego responded quickly.
In the 27th minute, Anders Dreyer delivered a set piece into a crowded box. Rafael made the initial save, but the rebound fell to Marcus Ingvartsen, whose shot deflected off defender Philip Quinton and into the net to even the score at 1-1.
After halftime, Salt Lake brought on Diego Luna, which immediately increased the tempo of the match.
In the 55th minute, Luna sparked a two-on-two opportunity and slipped a pass to Guilavogui, who found himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Duran Ferree. The 19-year-old came up with a crucial save to keep the match level.
Moments later, San Diego regained the lead. Jeppe Tverskov played a ball over the top to Amahl Pellegrino, who quickly found a wide-open Dreyer. Dreyer chipped it into the back of the net to make it 2-1.
However, the lead wouldn’t hold, as Olatunji’s late equalizer in the 85th minute secured the draw for Salt Lake.
With the result, San Diego FC sits fourth in the Western Conference with 11 points. A win would have moved them into a tie atop the standings with LAFC.
“I think we struggled a little bit because we weren’t very sharp tonight, and that’s no excuse,” Varas said. “If you want to be a top team, you have to be ready to play five games in 16 days. … We aim to be a top club.”
SDFC now heads into the two-week international break on a three-match winless streak. It returns April 4, when it travels to face third-place San Jose.
Wave score late, beat Royals
Lia Godfrey scored in the 87th minute and the visiting San Diego Wave beat the Utah Royals 2-1 on Sunday, logging their first win of the National Women’s Soccer League season.
The Wave were playing 11-on-10 after the Royals’ Tatumn Millazo received a red card in the 83rd minute and the match tied 1-1. Four minutes later, Godfrey — a midfielder who signed with the Wave on Dec. 30 — split two defenders, passed the ball and got it right back just in front of the goal mouth. Her right-footed shot was the difference in the match.
The Wave’s Dudinha opened the scoring in the 17th minute, notching her first goal of the season. Utah’s Lara Prasnikar evened things in the 60th minute. The Royals fell to 0-2-0.
The Wave (1-1-0) return home Wednesday to take on the Portland Thorns.