Dreyer, San Diego snatch SoCal bragging rights over LAFC | OneFootball

By Alex Calabrese

Few things are certain in sport. But for now, it seems like San Diego FC making life difficult for LAFC is one of them.

The Chrome-and-Azul earned a hard-fought 1-0 win over their Southern California foes, grabbing all three points at BMO Stadium for the second straight season and improving their all-time MLS record vs. the Black & Gold to 3W-0L-1D. 

Saturday's dramatic result came vía an 89th-minute penalty-kick winner from Anders Dreyer.

“I’m just focused on a really complete performance against a top team,” head coach Mikey Varas said postgame.

“This is high-level football at its best. You go away to LA with all the firepower they have, and you’re going to concede chances. You’re going to concede momentum at times.”

Statement win

After setting a nearly impossibly high bar during a historic 2025 MLS expansion season, San Diego have experienced plenty of ups and downs in year two. 

Entering Saturday’s meeting with LAFC, the expectation was that LAFC – riding an eight-game unbeaten run across all competitions dating back to before the 2026 FIFA World Cup break – would take care of business at home.

That’s not how it went. San Diego contained LAFC’s superstar duo of Son Heung-Min and Denis Bouanga, and when the visitors were awarded a late penalty following Video Review, Dreyer got the job done.

The 2025 MLS Newcomer of the Year now has 2g/4a in four all-time meetings against LAFC. 

Defensively, goalkeeper CJ Dos Santos stepped up with three huge saves. The Philadelphia native, fresh off a World Cup trip as Cape Verde’s backup goalkeeper, has been a revelation in recent weeks, starting every game since the league’s return to play.

“It’s all about taking it one day at a time, one game at a time, one training session at a time, one rep at a time,” Dos Santos said. “That’s the most important thing. We don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves.

"We know what our objectives are, we know what our goals are, and we’re going to do everything possible to make them come true.”

Positive momentum

Saturday's win has bigger implications for San Diego than bragging rights over arguably California’s most stacked roster.

It brings them within one point of the Audi 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs and could give them the confidence to push on towards a postseason return after reaching last year's Western Conference Final. 

With new Designated Player winger Elias Achouri also coming off the bench to make his debut, the tide certainly seems to be turning for San Diego - even with Dreyer's late sending off for a second yellow card. 

“This is a game where you could see that everybody was committed to doing the dirty work and making sure we did whatever was possible to win the game, while still looking like us,” Varas said.

“It’s absolutely a game we can build on and use as inspiration to recognize what we can do, because we know we can still take steps forward as well.”

WATCH: San Diego STUN LAFC in SoCal rivalry clash