SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 05: Hirving Lozano #11 of San Diego FC celebrates after scoring a goal against the Seattle Sounders during the first half at Snapdragon Stadium on April 05, 2025 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)
Eight years ago the Vegas Golden Knights redefined what an expansion team is capable of when they went to the Stanley Cup Final in their first year of existence. Success like that is not normal, but in rare cases it is possible.
Seven games into their existence, San Diego FC has the look of a club that can win the Major League Soccer championship. SDFC scored a trio of first half goals in a dominant 3-0 win over the Seattle Sounders on Saturday night at a packed Snapdragon Stadium, a win that pushed the home team into 2nd place in the Western Conference standings.
The scoring started less than 90 seconds after the opening kick when San Diego native Luca de la Torre alertly got a corner kick back into play before the Sounders defense could get set. de la Torre fed Chucky Lozano, who dribbled towards the corner of the goal before sending a pass to captain Jeppe Tverskov, who sent it through a sea of Seattle defenders and in for the fastest goal in franchise history.
In the 41st minute Anders Dreyer put a pass at the feet of Anibal Godoy, who found the bottom corner of the goal for another score and a 2-0 lead. But the biggest highlight of the night came a few minutes later.
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Lozano came streaking down the center of the field and took a feed from Jasper Löffelsend that left just him and the Seattle goalie. Chucky has had a few chances to get his first SDFC goal this year and just missed by inches. This time he wasn't coming away empty.
Lozano's goal sent the already buzzing sellout crowd into a full-blown frenzy. Unlike the previous week, where San Diego scored three times and had to hold on for dear life in a 3-2 win over LAFC, they put the clamps on Seattle and rolled to a shutout win.
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SDFC has 14 points and sits just two behind Vancouver in the Western Conference. Next week they hit the road for their first meeting with the Colorado Rapids looking for the franchise's first ever 3-game winning streak.
