SAN DIEGO (CNS) - The San Diego Football Club defeated the reigning MLS Cup champion Los Angeles Galaxy, 2-0, in their first game, with Anders Dreyer scoring twice in the second half Sunday in Carson.
"I think the most important thing is that the boys showed conviction for what we've been working on all preseason," SDFC coach Mikey Varas said. "They showed the quality that they have. I think they did a fantastic thing today. It's not easy. What they did, they make their football coming to life on the field, and I'm so proud of the conviction that they showed."
CJ dos Santos made three saves for the shutout, stopping shots by Gabriel Pec in the 47th minute, Miguel Berry in the 79th minute and Ruben Ramos Jr. in the 80th minute.
SDFC capitalized on a failed clearance attempt by Los Angeles defender Emiro Garces for its first goal. Hirving "Chucky" Lozano controlled the ball and sent a cross to Dreyer, who put a left-footed shot past Galaxy goalkeeper Novak Micovic in the 52nd minute.
"That's a tough ball to handle," Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. "I didn't feel like Novak was under as much pressure as it looked like he was when he hit the ball. So, for Novak to maybe be a little bit calmer and to deliver a pass that's a little more friendly.
"At that point that it arrived at Emiro, I think it was almost more self-defense than it was trying to actually do something with it. He was actually trying to bring it down. The whole thing just felt a little bit rushed, and it didn't really need to be."
On the second goal, Dreyer sent a through ball from behind the halfway line that Tomás Ángel outraced Gabriel Pec to control about 30 yards from the goal line. Ángel then drove to just outside the penalty area when he passed diagonally to the on-rushing Dreyer, whose left-footed shot from about 10 yards out hit the crossbar, then bounced past the goal line three minutes into second- half stoppage time.
SDFC led 9-7 in shots and 6-3 in shots and goal in front of a sold- out crowd announced at 25,224 at Dignity Health Sports Park.
Micovic made four saves, stopping shots by Marcus Ingvartsen and Dreyer, both in the 59th minute, Lozano in the 66th minute and a headed by Paddy McNair in the 86th minute.
The game was the first in MLS for Dreyer and Lozano,
The 29-year-old Lozano played for Mexico in the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups. He began his professional career as an 18-year-old in 2014 with Pachuca of Mexico's Liga MX. He signed with PSV Eindhoven of the Dutch first division in 2017, Napoli of Italy's Serie A in 2019 and returned to PSV Eindhoven in 2023.
San Diego FC acquired Lozano as its first designated player on June 6, 2024, reached an agreement with PSV Eindhoven to transfer him to SDFC on Jan. 1 and signed him to a four-year contract through the end of the 2028 MLS season with two option years.
The 26-year-old Dreyer was acquired by SDFC on Jan. 22 on a permanent transfer from RSC Anderlecht of the Belgian Pro League. The Dane began his professional career in 2017 as an 18-year-old with Esbjerg fB of the Danish Superliga.
Dreyer later played for St Mirren of the Scottish Premiership, Heerenveen of the Dutch first division, Midtjylland of the Danish Superliga and FC Rubin Kazan of the Russian Premier League.
The loss ended the Galaxy's 21-game undefeated streak at Dignity Health Sports Park, including winning the MLS Cup.
Los Angeles was 17-0-4 across all competitions at Dignity Health Sports Park in 2024, winning each of their final 15 games, including a 2-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls in the MLS Cup on Dec. 7, outscoring opponents 45-19.
The Galaxy was without both goal scorers from that Dec. 7 contest.
Joseph Paintsil, who scored nine minutes into the game, is sidelined with a quad injury. Dejan Joveljic, who scored in the 13th minute, signed a three-year designated player contract with Sporting Kansas City on Feb. 1 for a transfer fee of $4 million in the first cash-for-player trade in the history of MLS, which began play in 1996.
Gastón Brugman, the 2024 MLS Cup MVP who assisted on Paintsil's goal, was traded to the Nashville Soccer Club on Dec. 19 in exchange for midfielder Sean Davis, who was waived by the Galaxy on Wednesday.
Two other players among the 14 who played for the Galaxy in the 2024 MLS Cup were also traded in the off-season -- starting midfielder Mark Delgado to the Los Angeles Football Club and defender Jalen Neal, who entered the game four minutes into second-half stoppage time, to CF Montréal on Jan. 6.
The Galaxy's best player, midfielder Riqui Puig, remains sidelined after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the second half of the Western Conference Final on Nov. 30. He continued to play for more than 30 minutes and provided the game-winning assist on Joveljic's 85th-minute goal in the 1-0 victory over Seattle Sounders FC.
Lozano called the victory "a very important step for the club and for the players."
"We've been training a bit over a month, and you see the result that the guys are willing to sacrifice and give our all for the team," said Lozano, whose team will play its home opener Saturday night against St. Louis City SC at Snapdragon Stadium.
``We showed it on the field and each and one every one of us did our job.*
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