San Diego FC Remains Unbeaten in MLS After Home Draw Against Columbus Crew

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MLS San Diego FC

San Diego FC Remains Unbeaten in MLS After Home Draw Against Columbus Crew

March 16, 2025 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
San Diego FC News Release


SAN DIEGO - San Diego FC (SDFC) earned a hard-fought 1-1 draw against the Columbus Crew in its second-ever home match at Snapdragon Stadium, improving the Club's record to 2-0-2 with eight (8) points on the season. A second-half goal by midfielder Onni Valakari extended SDFC's unbeaten run in the Club's inaugural 2025 MLS season.

Valakari, who came on the field to start the second half, found the net via a header off a Luca de la Torre corner kick in the 69th minute of play. Valakari's goal came after SDFC pressured for most of the second half and Columbus goalkeeper Patrick Schulte made key saves. Columbus (2-0-2, 8 points) took a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute with a goal by Maximilian Arfsten but finished the match with 10 men after Malte Amundsen was ejected in the 61st minute.

Next up, SDFC is back on the road heading to the Lone Star State to visit Austin FC on Sunday, March 23 (1 p.m. PT) at Q2 Stadium live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

Goal-Scoring Plays

0-1 CLB - Maximilian Arfsten (DeJuan Jones), 13th minute: Arsften sent a quick shot past SDFC goalkeeper CJ Dos Santos on a cross by Jones after squeezing through a pair of defenders near the center of the box.

1-1 SD - Onni Valakari (Assisted by Luca De La Torre), 69th minute: Valakari headed in a Luca de la Torre corner kick as he charged the goal line to beat goalkeeper Patrick Schute. The goal was Valakari's first with the Club and De La Torre's first SDFC assist in MLS play.

Postgame Notes:

- With the 1-1 draw against Columbus Crew, SDFC remains unbeaten and joins St. Louis CITY SC (5-0-0 in 2023) as the only expansion club in MLS history to go unbeaten through its first four matches of a season.

- SDFC is 2-0-1 when wearing the Club's primary kit.

- SDFC is 0-0-2 when playing at Snapdragon Stadium.

- Forward Tomás Ángel registered his second-consecutive start for SDFC.

- SDFC midfielder Onni Valakari scored his first MLS goal in the 69th minute of tonight's match.

- Valakari's goal is the first-ever SDFC goal scored at Snapdragon Stadium in MLS play.

- Luca de la Torre's assist on Valakari's game-tying goal was his first for SDFC.

- Forward Alex Mighten made his MLS and SDFC debut, replacing Tomás Ángel in the 67th minute of the match.

- 18-year-old defender Luca Bombino made his first SDFC and professional career start after making his professional debut just seven days ago in the Club's 3-1 road win against Real Salt Lake on March 8.

- Defeder Willy also made his first SDFC and MLS start tonight.

- SDFC has now come back to secure points after conceding the first goal in back-to-back matches, winning 3-1 in Salt Lake on March 8 and equalizing the match against Columbus at Snapdragon Stadium tonight.

- This season, SDFC is 1-0-1 when conceding first.

- SDFC has now registered a minimum of 16 shots per match in three-consecutive matches.

- Goalkeeper CJ Dos Santos, defender Chris McVey, midfielder Jeppe Tverskov, and forward Anders Dreyer have all started and played a full 90 minutes in through the Club's first four matches, each otaling 370 minutes played.

- SDFC founding partner Manny Machado was in attendance along with eleven San Diego Padres teammates, including San Diego's own Joe Musgrove, Fernando Tatis Jr., Yu Darvish, Jacob Cronenworth, Xander Bogarts, Dylan Cease, Michael King, Jackson Merrill, Jason Heyward, Luis Arraez and Adrian Morejon.

Next Game

Next up, SDFC will travel to face Austin FC at Q2 Stadium on Sunday, March 23 at 1 p.m. PT live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

Match Information

2025 MLS Regular Season

San Diego FC (2-0-2, 8 pts) vs. Columbus Crew (2-0-2, 8 pts)

Saturday - Snapdragon Stadium (San Diego, Calif.)

Scoring Summary:

COL (0-1) - Maximilian Arfsten 13' (Assisted by DeJuan Jones)

SD (1-1) - Onni Valakari 69' (Assisted by Luca de la Torre)

Misconduct Summary:

SD - Tomás Ángel (caution 31')

CLB - Sean Zawadzki (caution 33')

CLB - Malte Amundsen (ejection 61')

CLB - Dylan Chambost (caution 90+1)

CLB - Diego Rossi (caution 90+5)

CLB - Patrick Schulte (caution 90+8)

Lineups:

SAN DIEGO FC: GK CJ Dos Santos, D Luca Bombino (Franco Negri, 83'), D Christopher McVey, D Willy Kumado (Jasper Löffelsend, 83'), D Paddy McNair, M Jeppe Tverskov -C-, M Aníbal Godoy (Alejandro Alvarado, 66'), M Luca de la Torre, F Anders Dreyer, F Marcus Ingvartsen (Onni Valakari,46'), F Tomás Ángel (Alex Mighten 67')

Substitutes Not Used: GK Pablo Sisniega, D Hamady Diop, D Ian Pilcher, F Emmanuel Boateng.

TOTAL SHOTS: 17; SHOTS ON GOAL: 7; FOULS: 12; OFFSIDES: 4; CORNER KICKS: 10; SAVES; 2

COLUMBUS CREW: GK Partrick Schulte, D Mohamed Farsi, D DeJuan Jones (Aziel Jackson, 88'), D Malte Amundsen, D Yevhen Cheberko, M Darlington Nagbe, M Sean Zawadzki, M Dylan Chambost, F Maximilian Arfsten, F Diego Rossi, F Jacen Russell-Rowe (Andrés Herrera, 66')

Substitutes Not Used: GK Evan Bush, GK Stanislav Lapkes, D Cesar Perez, M Taha Habroune, M Derrick Jones, M Cole Mrowka.

TOTAL SHOTS: 7; SHOTS ON GOAL: 3; FOULS: 8; OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 1; SAVES: 6

Referee: Victor Rivas

Assistant Referees: Cameron Bianchard

Fourth Official: Jeremy Hanson

VAR: Kevin Stott

AVAR: Joshua Patiak

Weather: Clear, 57 degrees

Attendance: 30,018

All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial

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