SAN DIEGO (Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026) – San Diego FC (SDFC) earned three points tonight after a 3-0 win against Colorado Rapids at Snapdragon Stadium.Onni Valakari, Elias Achouri and Gabriel Pirani scored in the Western Conference match, with Achouri’s goal marking the Club’s 100th goal in MLS Regular Season Play.
Valakari opened the scoring when he sent in a loose ball from near the six-yard box after a failed clearance by the Colorado back line. Achouri scored SDFC’s 100th MLS Regular Season goal when he took advantage of a defensive miscue by Colorado, scoring his first goal with the Club in the 36th minute. Pirani added SDFC’s third goal of the night on a play with Marcus Ingvartsen in the 71stminute. Goalkeeper CJ Dos Santos also recorded his 3rd clean sheet of the 2026 MLS Regular season to help seal the victory.
Up next, SDFC remains at home to host the LA Galaxy on Saturday, Aug. 29 at Snapdragon Stadium, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. PT. Tickets for the Aug. 29 match are available at SanDiegoFC.com/Tickets.
Goal Scoring Plays:
SD – 1-0 – Onni Valakari, 27th minute: Valakari scored on a defensive error by the Colorado back line, sending in a right-footed shot into the lower left corner of the net from the center of the penalty box.
SD – 2-0 – Elias Achouri, 36th minute: Achouri extended the SDFC lead when he hit a right-footed shot from the six-yard box after a pair of Colorado defenders could not clear the ball from the penalty box. Achouri had played a ball into the heart of the box from the right-side to start the scoring play.
SD –3-0 – Gabriel Pirani (Marcus Ingvartsen), 71st Minute: Pirani added SDFC’s third goal with a right-footed shot to the lower right corner of the net off a pass from Ingvartsen. Pirani began the attack with a run up the middle of the field and a pass to Ingvartsen, who entered the penalty area and waited for Pirani to make a run before feeding him with the assist.
Postgame Notes:
· With tonight’s win against the Colorado Rapids, SDFC earned three points in the Western Conference standings and added its seventh win of the season.
· SDFC now has a 7-8-5 record in the 2026 MLS Regular Season with 27 points.
· SDFC scored MLS Regular Season goals number 99, 100 and 101 tonight.
· SDFC is 2-2-0 all-time against Colorado Rapids. Colorado beat SDFC 1-0 in the first meeting between clubs this season on July 22 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
· SDFC is 23-15-8 all-time against Western Conference teams in MLS Regular Season play.
· Tonight’s match marked the 54th MLS Regular Season match for SDFC and the Club now holds a 26-17-11 all-time MLS Regular Season record.
· SDFC is now 11-11-6 across all competitions in 2026 (MLS Regular Season 7-8-6, Concacaf Champions Cup 2-2-0, Leagues Cup 2-1-0).
· SDFC has now scored 128 goals across all competitions (MLS, Leagues Cup, Concacaf Champions Cup).
· SDFC is 5-3-3 at home in MLS this season.
· SDFC has scored 27 goals at Snapdragon Stadium in league play this season.
· SDFC is 7-3-3 at home this season across all competitions (MLS, Concacaf Champions Cup, Leagues Cup).
· Onni Valakari scored his fourth goal of the season tonight. He has seven career MLS goals and 11 goals with the club across all competitions.
· Valakari has 29 goal contributions (11 goals, 18 assists) with SDFC. He has 10 goal contributions (4 goals, 6 assists) this season.
· Valakari now has had a goal contribution in the last two matches (assist against Portland on Aug. 19).
· Valakari’s goal was also SDFC’s 99th goal in the MLS Regular Season.
· Newcomer Elias Achouri scored his first goal with SDFC in his first start with the Club marking SDFC’s 100th goal in the MLS Regular Season.
· Achouri has made three appearances with the Club, coming on as a substitute in the previous two MLS matches. He signed with the Club on July 24, 2026.
· Midfielder Gabriel Pirani made his 4th appearances (3rd start) in MLS Regular Season. Overall, he has registered five appearances (6 starts) in all competitions.
· With tonight’s goal, Pirani has now scored in consecutive MLS matches, finding the net for his first goal with the Club in just his second start against Portland Timbers on Aug. 19.
· Forward Marcus Ingvartsen came on as a substitute for Valakari in the 67th minute and recorded his fifth assist of the season on Pirani’s goal.
· Ingvartsen now has 16 goal contributions (11 goals, 5 assists) in MLS play this season. He has 19 goal contributions (13 goals, 6 assists) across all competitions this season.
· Winger Anders Dreyer was back in the starting lineup after serving a one-match red card suspension.
· Defender Ian Murphy made his third start for SDFC and his fifth MLS appearance tonight.
· Forward Amahl Pellegrino saw action for the third-straight match, coming on as a substitute for Achouri in the 68th minute. Pellegrino returned to play Aug. 15 against LAFC. He had not played since before the summer international break due to an Achilles injury.
· Goalkeeper CJ Dos Santos recorded his 13th clean sheet of the season. He had two saves tonight.
· SDFC now has seven clean sheets this season.
Match Information
2026 MLS Regular Season
San Diego FC vs. Colorado Rapids
Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026 – Snapdragon Stadium (San Diego, Calif.)
Scoring Summary:
SD – 1-0 – Onni Valakari, 27’
SD – 2-0 – Elias Achouri, 36’
SD – 3-0 – Gabriel Pirani (Assisted by Marcus Ingvartsen), 71’
Misconduct Summary:
COL – Reggie Canon (caution, 59’)
COL – Keegan Rosenberry (caution, 89’)
Lineups:
SAN DIEGO FC: GK CJ Dos Santos; D Oscar Verhoeven, D Luca Bombino, 75’), D Ian Murphy (Christopher McVey, 90+3), D Manu Duah; M Aníbal Godoy, M Jeppe Tverskov –C–, M Gabriel Pirani (Alejandro Alvarado Jr., 90+3); F Onni Valakari (Marcus Ingvartsen, 67’, Lewis Morgan, 86’), F Elias Achouri (Amahl Pellegrino, 67’), F Anders Dreyer.
Substitutes Not Used: GK Duran Ferree, D Ian Pilcher, D Dagur Dan Thórhallsson, M David Vazquez.
TOTAL SHOTS: 7; SHOTS ON GOAL: 4; FOULS: 13; OFFSIDES: 6; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 2
COLORADO RAPIDS: GK Nicolas Defreitas-Hansen; D Reggie Cannon (Keegan Rosenberry, 75’), D Loic Williams, D Rob Holding, D Kosi Thompson; M Hamzat Ojediran (Youssef Maziz, 46’), M Paxten Aaronson, M Josh Atencio (Wayne Frederick, 46’); F Georgi Minoungou (Alex Harris, 59’), F Dante Sealy (Darren Yapi, 46’), F Rafael Navarro –C–
Substitutes Not Used: GK Adam Beaudry, D Noah Cobb, F Donovan Phillips, M Nathan Tchoumba
TOTAL SHOTS: 9; SHOTS ON GOAL: 2; FOULS: 21; OFFSIDES 2; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 1
Referee: Pierre-Luc Lauziere
Assistant Referees: Kyle Atkins, Stefan Tanaka-Freundt
Fourth Official: Ramy Touchan
VAR: Ismir Pekmic
AVAR: Claudiu Badea
Weather: 78-degrees, clear
Attendance: 21,697
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
