San Diego FC‘s first-ever home match as a Major League Soccer team ended with a
whimper rather than a bang, as the team settled for a 0-0 tie Saturday with St. Louis City FC before a record crowd at Snapdragon Stadium.

Despite its spirited and energetic play, SDFC couldn’t capitalize on the momentum that it
gained when it defeated the reigning MLS Cup champion — and San Diego’s geographic and conference rival — the LA Galaxy on the road six nights ago.

However, despite its lack of scoring, SDFC dominated the contest in several areas. The team took 15 shots, compared with two for St. Louis City, and also boasted a massive 72% possession time during the match.

San Diego also held a 90% pass accuracy rate, compared to 77% for the opposition. SDFC did, however, commit 14 fouls — three more than St. Louis.

Like their debut against the Galaxy, the first half ended with a 0-0 score, despite four minutes of stoppage time added at the end, as well as some near misses on goal by both teams.

Unlike the Galaxy game, however, SDFC was not able to muster any second-half goals. The
team’s franchise player, legendary Mexican winger Chucky Lozano, had left the match during the 31st minute due to an apparent leg injury.

During the post-match press conference, Sporting Director and General Manager Tyler
Heaps said that Lozano would undergo tests Sunday to determine the extent of his
injury.

“He’s in a positive mood now and we hope to obviously get him back as quickly as possible,” Heaps said.

Just prior to the start of the game, San Diego city officials, joined by Padres third
baseman Manny Machado, a founding partner in the club, took to center pitch to mark the occasion with team ownership during a brief ceremony.

“This is a historic moment — one that San Diego has been waiting for over 30 years,” the
team said in a statement. “Today, our city officially takes its place on the global soccer stage.

“San Diego is a soccer city. It always has been. And now, with San Diego FC, we have our
very own MLS club that will unite our diverse community, inspire the next generation and
showcase to the world what this city is all about.”

SDFC wore its home Chrome & Azul jerseys, while St. Louis City wore white. The
announced attendance was 34,506 — a stadium record — and the home crowd was loud and solidly behind the team.

The atmosphere was raucous, with SDFC fans waving flags, chanting and cheering
loudly. The atmosphere, however, took a dark turn late in the match.

During the 87th minute, and again in the 92nd, the team was forced to display a
message on the venue’s big screen, and also played a pre-recorded voiceover warning
attendees about a crude, homophobic chant that had broken out.

San Diego FC left wing Hirving “Chucky” Lozano (center) advances the ball, before an injury forced him from the match. (Photo by Chris Stone/Times of San Diego)

“Discrimination has no place in our sport and in our stadiums and will not be tolerated,” the onscreen message read. “The fan chant that was used is offensive and we ask that fans do not continue to use this chant.”

The voiceover warned that if the chant continued, the game would be suspended. However, there was little chance of that, since the first warning came with just three minutes left in regulation; the second was issued two minutes into four minutes of stoppage play.

During the post-match press conference, both Heaps and head coach Mikey Varas
addressed the chants.

“It’s totally against who we are as a club and as people,” Heaps said, adding that such
behavior would not be tolerated by the team or MLS in the future.

San Diego Loyal, the USL Championship club that folded after the announcement that MLS was coming to the city, drew attention in 2020 when the team forfeited a match in which an opposing player allegedly directed a homophobic slur at a Loyal player.

The league ultimately suspended the player, from Phoenix Rising, but the incident galvanized the Loyal fan base, which pointed with pride to the how the club handled the adversity, including outreach to the LGBTQ community.

NOTES: Defensive midfielder Jeppe Tverskov was named the man of the match by SDFC following Saturday’s game … The tie dropped the club to 1-1-0 … Next, SDFC faces Real Salt Lake at 6:30 p.m. March 8 in Sandy, Utah. RSL will go into the match with a record of 1-0-1 after a win against the Seattle Sounders … San Diego returns home March 15 against Columbus Crew.