Soldier Field, Chicago
San Diego FC faced the Chicago Fire in a road match that had all the makings of a trap game.
The Chicago Fire came into the match in ninth place in the Eastern Division and had lost three of its last five matches. San Diego FC, coming off a disappointing loss to the Houston Dynamo (who, ironically, owned the same record as Chicago did before the match) at home last week, looked to right the ship. On paper, this looked to be an easy win for San Diego.
San Diego FC did not come into the match overconfident and came away with the three points needed to continue their dominance in the league.
The first-place San Diego FC team earned the 2-1 win with efforts from a familiar face and contributions from a new player.
Anibal Godoy missed the match nursing a sore leg after his play in the Gold Cup. His injury is viewed as precautionary, as opposed to anything serious. The 35-year-old is vital to the success of San Diego FC, and the club wisely gave time to the veteran to gather his legs underneath him for the stretch run. Thankfully, SDFC did not need their veteran on Saturday.
In true San Diego FC fashion, the team came out holding possession against the home team early.
Constant pressure on the Chicago back line produced a goal in the eighth minute of the match for SDFC.
Anders Dreyer’s left-footed strike from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner put SD up. The goal was a beautiful example of teamwork as Luca Bombino tipped the ball across the net to the open Dreyer. San Diego FC got up early and looked to put Chicago away.
🇩🇰 Anders Dreyer scores his 10th goal of the season to give @sandiegofc the early lead. 👌
📺 #MLSSeasonPass: https://t.co/qPJHmzwVnS pic.twitter.com/oRBSjelqw5
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 13, 2025
Pablo Sisniega made a surprise start at goal for San Diego FC as the brutal collision last week knocked CJ dos Santos out of the road match. He was a huge deciding factor in the three points earned by San Diego.
The new goalie was tested a few times early, but was up for the challenge. The Chicago Fire attempted to pressure San Diego, but were unable to get through the stout defense of San Diego FC in the closing minutes of the first half. San Diego continued to hold possession and created constant shots on goal.
With three minutes into stoppage time, Anders Dryer earned a brace on a beautiful pass by Chucky Lozano. Chicago left Dreyer open in the box, and Lozano brilliantly touched a ball through to Dreyer, who banged it in for the 2-0 advantage.”A strong performance. A lot of wins on the road,” Dreyer said after the match.
🇲🇽 Chucky Lozano ➡️ Anders Dreyer. 🇩🇰
Beautiful goal from @sandiegofc to take a two-goal lead into the half. pic.twitter.com/OY8Mx8PFVc
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 13, 2025
The Chicago Fire needed to re-group at the half to compete with the fast pace San Diego set. Gregg Berhalter, the Chicago Fire coach, is capable of game planning and adjusting, but the Fire were not able to withstand the constant pressure San Diego put on them, even while holding the lead.
Chicago had their moments early in the second half, but new goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega was rock solid at the position. Sisniega came out of his box a few times to smother decent opportunities by the Fire. His play seemed to demoralize the home team as time continued to click off the clock.
In the 86th minute, Chicago broke through on a corner kick to make it 2-1. Hugo Cuypers’ right-footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner was huge for the home crowd. The corner kick from Maren Haile-Selassie was an excellent shot that reinvigorated the home crowd.
Chicago was energized by the goal and tried to put more pressure on the San Diego defense. The last seven minutes of the match (stoppage time) were exciting, but San Diego FC was too much for the home squad.
San Diego FC plays with great composure. They possess the ball in traffic and seemingly always look cool under pressure. The play of the team is exciting to watch as San Diego FC dictates the action, and everything in the match goes through their play. The defense has picked up of late, despite last week’s hiccup. On Saturday, they calmly withstood pressure from Chicago by communicating effectively and resisting the pressure. It was a great team win.
Up next for San Diego FC
The team has a quick turnaround as they face Toronto FC on Wednesday.
The match will be at home and start at 7:30 pm. There are tickets still available, so come out and support San Diego FC.
James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. James has written about the Padres and their prospects for over a decade. He also writes about San Diego State as well as other local sports. James is the Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.