Front Row Seat: Wave FC prepare for rivalry game against Angel City
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Darren Smith
San Diego FC / San Diego Wave FC
‘Cheer and hug and cry together’ - Expansion franchises are supposed to struggle - just don’t tell that to tight-knit MLS side San Diego FC, who lead the Western Conference - Goal.com
Three San Diego players were selected as MLS All-Stars. First-overall pick in the 2024 SuperDraft Manu Duah has impressed since being worked into the team in July. Lozano has missed a handful of games, and is yet to find his best form, yet SDFC are top of the West. Dreyer is among the best players in MLS - and will be in the MVP conversation.
“The way we play in San Diego is the way that, when I look at football, that's how I want to play football,” Dreyer said. “I love to have the ball. I love to be creative and take risks in the last third.”
Lozano, one of the biggest name-value signings in the league, is being kept happy, too.
“We have to work very hard, so we’re always doing things very well, and we’re taking it step by step. The objective is to be at the top, and we’re working very, very hard for that,” Lozano said.
By The Numbers presented by Compass Minerals: Sporting KC vs. San Diego FC - SportingKC.com
San Diego has hit the ground running in its inagural MLS campaign, riding a high-powered attack to the top of the Western Conference table. Sporting, meanwhile, enters the final two months of the regular season with work to do and will view Saturday as an opportunity to springboard upward as the home stretch beckons.
San Diego FC acquires Escondido native in trade with FC Cincinnati - San Diego Union-Tribune
The club announced Wednesday that it has acquired Major League Soccer veteran Corey Baird from FC Cincinnati for $50,000 in general allocation money, with the possibility of more cash headed to Cincinnati if Baird plays well.
The signing of Baird comes one day after the Philadelphia Union signed Milan Iloski for their playoff push. Another Escondido product, Iloski spent time with SDFC earlier this season, providing scoring punch with Marcus Ingvartsen injured. Iloski returned to his Danish club late last month after he and SDFC were unable to agree on a new contract.
Baird, 29, becomes one of SDFC’s most tenured players. He has appeared in 201 MLS matches, starting 133 of them. He and SDFC (14-7-4) will resume MLS play on Saturday, when they take on Sporting Kansas City (6-12-6) on the road.
Let’s Forget about the Leagues Cup - Chromatic FC
San Diego FC now returns to MLS action to face Sporting Kansas City. The two teams last met on May 17th, a match that ended in a 0-0 draw. In that game, San Diego FC had 65% of the possession and 10 shots with three on target , while Kansas City was content to sit back and get a road point.
San Diego Wave faces Angel City as part of NWSL rivalry weekend - Axios
The Wave face Angel City FC at Snapdragon Stadium at 7pm Saturday in one of the weekend's three featured rivalry matches.
Both teams debuted in 2022, with the Wave defeating Angel City on the way to setting an NWSL attendance record in the first soccer game at Snapdragon.
The matchup slots right alongside the Padres-Dodgers and SDFC-LA Galaxy in San Diego's ongoing "Beat LA" quest.
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