SAN DIEGO (Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026) – San Diego FC (SDFC) mounted a comeback effort but ultimately fell 3-2 to the San Jose Earthquakes at Snapdragon Stadium on Wednesday night, snapping a five-match winning streak at home in all competitions. Trailing 3-0, Designated Player Anders Dreyer pulled one back in the 42nd minute before newcomer Cédric Bakambu added SDFC’s second goal in second-half stoppage time, but the home side was unable to find the equalizer. SDFC was forced to finish the match with 10 men after goalkeeper CJ Dos Santos was shown a second yellow in the 81st minute. Niko Tsakiris, Preston Judd and Ousseni Bouda scored for the Earthquakes in the second meeting between the clubs this season.
San Jose opened the scoring with a pair of early goals before adding a third in the 38th minute. SDFC responded just four minutes later, with Dreyer finding the back of the net in the 42nd minute to cut the deficit to 3-1. Bakambu then converted a penalty kick in second-half stoppage time to bring SDFC within one, but the home side was unable to find the equalizer. Both teams finished the match with 10 men, as Dos Santos was sent off after receiving his second yellow card of the night in the 81st minute, while San Jose’s Max Floriani was also shown a second yellow card in stoppage time.
SDFC will remain at Snapdragon Stadium as it hosts the Philadelphia Union on Sunday, Sept. 13 at 6:00 p.m. PT for Hispanic Heritage Night. The first 25,000 fans in attendance will receive a complimentary cowboy hat courtesy of DIRECTV. Tickets for Sunday’s match are available at SanDiegoFC.com/Tickets.
Goal Scoring Plays:
SJ – 1-0 – Niko Tsakiris (Beau Leroux, Luka Jovanović), 3rd minute: The visitors opened the scoring early on after Leroux played a ball over the top into the path of Tsakiris on the right flank. Tsakiris cut in to the middle of the pitch and fired a left-footed shot past Dos Santos from just outside the top of the 18-yard box and into the bottom left corner of the goal.
SJ – 2-0 – Preston Judd (Niko Tsakiris, Jack Jasinski), 12th minute: Preston Judd doubled the lead for San Jose after Tsakiris played Judd through on goal. Judd evaded a chasing Dos Santos and tapped home into an empty net.
SJ – 3-0 – Ousseni Bouda (Niko Tsakiris, Daniel Munie), 35th minute: Bouda added the third goal of the first half for SJ after heading home a cross from Tsakiris into the top right corner of the goal.
SD – 3-1 – Anders Dreyer (Onni Valakari), 42nd minute: SDFC’s all-time leading scorer got the home side on the board just before the half, after forward Elias Achouri whipped a left-footed cross into the box that midfielder Onni Valakari was able to get a slight touch on in the center of the box. This allowed Dreyer to strike a left-footed half-volley off the left post and in, his ninth goal of the season.
SD – 3-2 – Cedric Bakambu (Penalty Kick), 90 + 4th minute: The debutant from Congo DR put SDFC within a goal late in the match when he converted from the penalty spot after VAR confirmed a San Jose foul in the box.
Postgame Notes:
· With tonight’s loss against San Jose Earthquakes, SDFC suffered its third loss in its last eight matches across all competitions.
· SDFC now has an 8-10-6 record in the 2026 MLS Regular Season with 30 points.
· SDFC is 24-16-8 all-time against Western Conference teams in MLS Regular Season play.
· Tonight’s match marked the 58th MLS Regular Season match for SDFC and the Club now holds a 27-19-11 all-time MLS Regular Season record.
· SDFC is now 12-13-6 across all competitions in 2026 (MLS Regular Season 8-10-6, Concacaf Champions Cup 2-2-0, Leagues Cup 2-1-0).
· SDFC has now scored 132 goals across all competitions (MLS, Leagues Cup, Concacaf Champions Cup).
· SDFC is 6-4-3 at home in MLS this season.
· SDFC has scored 31 goals at Snapdragon Stadium in league play this season.
· SDFC is 0-9-3 when allowing the first goal this MLS season.
· SDFC is now 2-2-0 All-time against San Jose, with San Jose winning the regular season series 2-0.
· SDFC out possessed San Jose 55 to 45 percent.
· SDFC had 541 total passes compared to San Jose’s 461.
· Winger Anders Dreyer scored his ninth goal of the season tonight.
· The Danish forward now has 28 MLS regular season goals with SDFC.
· Dreyer also has 20 goal contributions (nine goals, 11 assists) this season and 67 (33 goals, 34 assists) All-Time with the Club.
· Onni Valakari assisted on Dreyer’s goal, registering his eighth assist of the season.
· Valakari now has 31 career goal contributions with SDFC across all competitions.
· With tonight’s start, Valakari made his 72nd appearance for SDFC across all competitions.
· Forward Cedric Bakambu made his SDFC debut tonight and scored on a penalty kick.
· Bakambu came on as substitute for Valakari in the 68th minute and scored his first goal in MLS during stoppage time. He signed with SDFC on Sept. 3.
· Midfielder Gabriel Pirani made his seventh appearance (sixth start) in MLS Regular Season. Overall, he has registered eight appearances (nine starts) in all competitions.
· Team captain Jeppe Tverskov returned to action as a starter after missing the previous match while serving a red card suspension.
· Goalkeeper CJ Dos Santos will miss the next match with a suspension after being sent off tonight after two yellow cards.
· Goalkeeper Duran Ferree came in at goal for Dos Santos, making his 14th MLS appearance and 18th across all competitions.
Match Information
2026 MLS Regular Season
San Diego FC vs San Jose Earthquakes
Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026 – Snapdragon Stadium (San Diego, Calif.)
Scoring Summary:
SJ – 1-0 – Niko Tsakiris (Assisted by Beau Leroux and Luka Jovanović), 3’
SJ – 2-0 – Preston Judd (Assisted by Niko Tsakiris), 12′
SJ – 3-0- Ousseni Bouda (Assisted by Niko Tsakiris and Daniel Munie), 35’
SD – 3-1- Anders Dreyer (Assisted by Onni Valakari), 42’
SD – 3-2 – Cedric Bakambu (Penalty kick) 90+3
Misconduct Summary:
SD – CJ Dos Santos (caution, 5’)
SJ – Preston Judd (caution, 13′)
SD – Christopher McVey (caution, 19’2
SJ – Ousseni Bouda (caution, 37’)
SJ – Beau Leroux (caution, 45 +3′)
SD – Jeppe Tverskov (caution, 52′)
SJ – Max Floriani (caution, 76′)
SD – CJ Dos Santos (caution, ejection) 79’
SJ – Max Floriani (second caution), 90+2
SJ – Ronaldo Viera (caution, 90+5)
Lineups:
SAN DIEGO FC: GK CJ Dos Santos; D Dagur Dan Thórhallsson (D Kieran Sargeant, 46’), D Christopher McVey, D Manu Duah, D Oscar Verhoeven; M Jeppe Tverskov -C-, M Aníbal Godoy (M Alejandro Alvarado Jr, 46’) (GK Duran Ferree, 81’), M Gabriel Pirani (F Amahl Pellegrino, 45+2); F Elias Achouri, F Onni Valakari (F Cédric Bakambu, 68’), F Anders Dreyer
Substitutes Not Used: D Ian Murphy, M Bryce Duke, M David Vazquez, F Bryan Zamblé
TOTAL SHOTS: 10; SHOTS ON GOAL: 6; FOULS: 13; OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 1; SAVES: 4
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: GK Angus Gunn; D Reid Roberts (D Max Floriani, 46′), D David Romney -C-, D Daniel Munie; M Vitor Costa, M Beau Leroux (Ronaldo Vieira, 67’), M Jack Jasinski (Benji Kikanović 68’), M Ian Harkes, M Niko Tsakiris; F Preston Judd (F Ousseni Bouda, 30′), F Luka Jovanović (M Eduard Lowen, 46′)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Francesco Montali; D Jamar Ricketts, M Nick Fernandez, F Jack Skahan
TOTAL SHOTS: 11; SHOTS ON GOAL: 6; FOULS: 16; OFFSIDES 1; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 3
Referee: Alexis Da Silva
Assistant Referees: Jeremy Hanson, Logan Brown
Fourth Official: Corbyn May
VAR: Victor Rivas
AVAR: Mike Kampmeinet
Weather: 81-degrees, Partly Clear
Attendance: 18,799
