Saturday, May 2 | 6:30 p.m. PT
🏟 | Snapdragon Stadium - San Diego, CA
🖥 | WATCH: Apple TV | Coupang Play (Korea), SpoTV (Korea), Local Bar Partners
📻 | LISTEN: 710 AM ESPN, ESPN LA App, SiriusXM FC 157 KFWB 980 AM La Mera Mera (Spanish), & KYPA 1230 AM (Korean)
In an MLS regular-season match that falls in the middle of LAFC’s two-leg series in the Concacaf Champions Cup Semifinals, the Black & Gold travels south to San Diego for a southern California derby contest against San Diego FC.
LAFC is coming off a rousing 2-1 home victory over reigning Liga MX champions Toluca Wednesday night at BMO Stadium in the first leg of their Champions Cup Semifinal. Now the Black & Gold seeks to gather regular-season points in San Diego while saving its strength for the second leg against Toluca on Wednesday. LAFC also seeks its first victory over its southern MLS neighbor.
San Diego FC defeated LAFC twice last year during its epic run to a first-place finish in the Western Conference in its debut season. Head coach Mikey Varas’ side went 19W-9L-6D in 2025, with a +23 goal differential (64 GF, 41 GA). But this season has been different, due in large part to injuries. San Diego is currently mired in an eight-game winless streak across all competitions, including five straight losses in MLS play. Through ten matchdays Varas’ team sits in 11th place with a league record of 3W-5L-2D, a 2W-2L-1D mark at home, and a goal differential of zero (17GF, 17GA).
SOLID IN THE BACK
LAFC (6W-2L-2D, third in the West) has also scored 17 goals, but has conceded only six, for the third-best goal differential in the Western Conference (+11).
The Black & Gold’s success has come despite a congested schedule, including seven Concacaf games so far. The club is in the midst of a challenging stretch of 13 matches in 44 days – one match every 3.38 days – including two long trips to southern Mexico, plus flights to Oregon and Minnesota.
The All-Star level play of goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, and the Black & Gold’s overall defending, have been its foundation. “When things change, you as a coach have to work with the strengths you have in the team,” head coach Marc Dos Santos said after Wednesday’s first-leg win over Toluca. “And that's what we're trying to do. I think to have a very strong defensive base and then slowly grow offensively is going to give you a chance to win trophies.”
“Before we even get to the [second] Toluca match we still have this game in San Diego coming up first,” Dos Santos added, “which is going to be a tough one. And so tomorrow, we’re heading back to training. There are no days off; we’re going to try to focus on preparing for San Diego first, and then we’ll look at what we need to do for Toluca.”
IN THE ROTATION
With a flight to Mexico looming, and the high-stakes match against the Red Devils just four days after this San Diego trip, Dos Santos has been clear that he will give players in his second-choice eleven an opportunity on Saturday night. Wearing a broad smile Dos Santos said:
“To the San Diego coach—Mikey [Varas], if you happen to be listening right now, I’m telling you right now, Mike, don’t worry—we will be rotating the squad, because we need to give everyone some rest. We have to be fully prepared for Toluca, because the physical demands of playing in Toluca are extreme. But at the same time, I have faith in this group. I’m confident that the players who get called upon will be full of energy. They want to play. They want to prove themselves.”
HOMECOMING
One player who will likely see action is San Diego native Jude Terry (above), the 17-year-old midfielder and LAFC Academy product who grew up in nearby Chula Vista. A regular captain for the USA’s U-17 team, Terry has shone when given the opportunity for LAFC this year, contributing active minutes in the center of the pitch and a curling goal from distance against Portland on April 11.
“He's 17 years old,” Dos Santos said. “He plays in a midfield where we have Mathieu Choinière, Marky Delgado, Stephen Eustáquio, [Timmy] Tillman— we have a lot of players with experience there. But I think that Jude in the right moment with the right progression is going to keep growing with the club. When a player is 17 years old, it's important that we're careful with how we progress with him, but it's for sure a player that we've been liking a lot … With the long season we have ahead, I'm sure we're going to see more of him.”
SCOUTING SAN DIEGO
Anders Dreyer, the 2025 MLS Newcomer of the Year, tallied 19 goals and 19 assists last season and would have finished first in the league’s MVP voting if not for a player named Messi. The Danish international (above, with Denis Bouanga) has maintained that form in 2026, with a club-best nine goal contributions (5g/4a).
Fellow Danish attacker Marcus Ingvartsen has hit for 5g/2a. Veteran midfielder Anibal Godoy, who will likely captain Panama at this summer’s World Cup, must help pick up the slack for injured midfielder Jeppe Tverskov, the metronome who led MLS in touches and completed passes last year and led both categories again this year before leaving last weekend’s Portland match with a lower body injury.
SDFC is winless in league play (0W-5L-1D) since it was eliminated from Concacaf Champions Cup by Toluca on March 18.
LAFC CAN WIN IF
Its depth pieces bring their A-games. In addition to Terry, U22 defender Artem Smoliakov (three assists last year), 19-year-old Academy product Matt Evans (scored a free-kick goal last weekend for LAFC2), and 21-year-old goalkeeper Cabral Carter (made his MLS debut April 11) are among the players who could see action on Saturday, along with defender Ryan Hollingshead, the 2022 MLS Cup champion who recently signed a contract extension and has provided leadership through this season’s first three months.
By most accounts, this is the deepest squad in club history. That claim can be supported with a strong performance in SD.
Also of note: star forward Denis Bouanga is well-rested after sitting out the first leg against Toluca. Bouanga (4g/4a in MLS this year, nine goals in all comps) probably will not play the whole game against San Diego, if at all. Look for him to be subbed off early in the second half, or perhaps sit at kickoff then come on late if the score needs changing.
SAN DIEGO CAN WIN IF
Its own reserves seize the moment. The injury gods have been unkind to SDFC, to say the least. In addition to losing the irreplaceable Tverskov, former LAFC players Luca Bombino (defender) and Pablo Sisniega (goalkeeper) are also dealing with physical issues. The result: for the first time in SDFC history the club has gone seven regular-season matches without a win.
Like Dos Santos, Varas will fill his lineup with players eager to prove themselves. They’ll join Dreyer, the explosive, creative Danish international who turns 28 on Saturday and would love to give the home fans a birthday gift.
Desperate to find a fingerhold so they can climb out of their winless skid and regain control of their season, SDFC knows that a win over the Concacaf Semifinalists from up the road would provide exactly that.
