San Diego FC draw against Vancouver Whitecaps to remain atop Western Conference
San Diego FC players celebrate Ian Pilcher’s first MLS goal in the 1-1 draw against Vancouver Whitecaps.
The leaders in the Western Conference, San Diego FC, played the second-place Vancouver Whitecaps to a 1-1 draw at Snapdragon Stadium in front of an announced crowd of 27,418.
San Diego FC started slow with a poor offensive first half, but came alive in the second half outshooting Vancouver 12-2.
“I know it’s a 1-1 tie, but for me it feels like a win because I think it’s a dominant performance, especially the second half,” said SDFC head coach Mikey Varas.
SDFC entered the match with a depleted bench with six players out due to injury and only four field players on the bench.
“We challenged the guys to show that we’re a big squad. Maybe not in numbers right now availability wise, but in spirit and quality,” Varas said. “The squad got bigger tonight because you had two draft picks starting at center back, one of them Ian (Pilcher) who I think really grew up today…”
At 22 years old, Pilcher was the oldest on the backline that also featured young players like Luca Bombino, Oscar Verhoeven and Manu Duah. Their average age combined is only 20 years old, but they played well defensively throughout the match despite the inexperience.
The home team began the match dominant in possession, but created very few strong chances or quality shots on the offensive end.
Vancouver scored first in the 40th minute Vancouver got on the board following a counter attack initiated by a long ball threatening SDFC’s back line. The Vancouver midfielder just managed to shoot the ball low while falling. Pablos Sisniega made a great initial save diving quickly to the floor to stop the shot, but Vancouver fullback, Mathias Laborda, stood in the area to follow through.
Laborda tried to tap the ball back toward the goal, but the ball deflected off SDFC center back Manu Duah for an own-goal to make it 1-0.
San Diego FC played a much better second half as their passes moved them closer to the final third and created multiple set piece opportunities.
The home side had positive momentum until the game came to a complete halt for multiple minutes at the 59th minute. Hirving “Chucky” Lozano was trying to shoot the ball from just outside the box, but jumped high and made a challenge for the ball. He touched it, but came into contact with a Vancouver player as well.
The referee initially awarded a foul against Vancouver and setpiece for SDFC just outside the box, but waited a long while before being told by the VAR to check for a possible handball inside the box.
The pause lasted about six minutes and the referee determined there was no handball nor foul by the Whitecaps.
SDFC still played well offensively despite the long pause and eventually equalized with a goal created by the young backline.
Anders Dreyer took a corner kick in the 79th minute. The initial service went to the front post where it was deflected outside the penalty area for Bombino who was open on the backline.
Bombino tried to move into the box to take a shot, but the ball got away from him right in front of fellow defender Ian Pilcher. Pilcher unleashed a strong shot with his left foot into the corner of the goal that no one could react to making it 1-1.
Both teams were pushing for the game-winning goal in what was an exciting final few minutes, but neither side would find the back of the net.
San Diego FC’s star players Anders Dreyer, Hirving “Chucky” Lozano and Jeppe Tverskov will play in the MLS All-Star skills challenge and match against Liga MX All-Stars on Tuesday, July 22, and Wednesday, July 23, respectively in Austin, Texas.
SDFC will play at home again on Friday, July 25, against Nashville SC.
The San Diego FC supporters union, Frontera SD, unveiled a tifo ahead of their match against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
