Wild final seconds leave San Diego FC, FC Cincinnati tied
It was Anders Dreyer bobblehead night at Snapdragon Stadium, where fans received a likeness of the Danish winger as an “El Paletero,” a Mexican ice cream vendor on a bike.
Dreyer actually posed as one for the photoshoot to create the bobblehead, handing out ice cream to kids while riding around with a blue cooler on the front of a three-wheeled bike.
San Diego FC was in an equally giving mood, scoring the go-ahead goal deep into second-half injury time and then surrendering the equalizer moments later for a wild 3-3 tie against FC Cincinnati that, in many ways, is a uncomfortable reflection of this upside-down season.
“The frustrating thing is we have to sit here once again, saying we played good football and scored three goals but didn't get the result,” said Ingvartsen, whose brace gave him seven goals in his last seven games. “We're pretty tired of that.”
SDFC had gone down 2-1 after a pair of blunders by teenage starters, then equalized on a sensational assist from 19-year-old substitute Pedro Soma to Amahl Pellegrino and seemed to have grabbed a dramatic game-winner on Marcus Ingvartsen's goal in the 96th minute.
While the smoke from celebratory fireworks was still clearing and with referee Timothy Ford telling players there were roughly 10 seconds left in stoppage time, the visitors kicked off and sent a desperate ball into the box that 6-foot-4 Ayoub Jabari headed to an unmarked Tom Barlow for his second easy tap-in goal of the night.
The whole thing took 13 seconds. VAR confirmed the goal, and Ford blew the final whistle.
Game over.
It was the sixth time in 13 MLS games this season that SDFC has allowed a goal in the 80th minute or later that cost them a win or tie.
“We played more or less a game we'd feel pretty good about winning, but unfortunately we didn't make enough plays considering how (few) shots they had and how many times they got hold of the ball,” said coach Mikey Varas, whose team had a 12-6 edge in shots and 59% of possession. “To concede three goals, we can't be OK with that. And when we score three goals at home, it's got to be three points.”
That makes it only one win in SDFC's last 12 games – Wednesday's 5-0 thumping of Austin FC – and kept them in 10th place in the Western Conference with only one game left before Major League Soccer takes a seven-week World Cup break.
That game is also at home, Saturday against the Vancouver Whitecaps in the long-anticipated rematch of last season's Western Conference final at Snapdragon Stadium won 3-1 by the visitors.
FC Cincinnati feels SDFC's pain. The club finished second in the East last season, a mere point off the league's best record, and has dropped to ninth this year.
Two hungry teams, one exciting game.
FC Cincinnati struck first in the 11th minute, when Brazilian playmaker Evander – a teammate of Dreyer's at Danish club FC Midtjylland in 2020-21 – got the ball in the center circle and fed French winger Kenji Mboma Dem in the space vacated by 19-year-old right back Luca Bombino.
At the other end, SDFC had several chances after the visitors coughed up the ball against the press, finally connecting in the 32nd minute when left back Kieran Sargeant found Ingvartsen for the equalizer.
FC Cincinnati went ahead again early in the second half when the 19-year-old goalkeeper Duran Ferree looked like a veteran All-Star and a green rookie literally seconds apart.
Ferree spectacularly tipped Evander's curling, dipping free kick over the bar, then whiffed on Evander's ensuing corner kick that left Barlow alone at the far post with an empty net.
Tom Krasovic: San Diego FC's youth movement well served in draw vs. FC Cincinnati
If teenagers made mistakes that led to FC Cincinnati's two first goals, another got SDFC level at 2-2 in the 65th minute thanks to a perfectly weighted pass to Pellegrino from Soma, who had his first MLS goal and assist on Wednesday and was named man of the match.
That gave the hosts a half-hour to run its winning streak to two games. And they thought they had when another teen – 17-year-old substitute Anisse Saidi – found Ingvarsten alone inside the box for a 3-2 lead.
The teams lined up for the kickoff. FC Cincinnati rolled the backward and blasted a Hail Mary into the box.
The problem?
“We dropped lower than we ever have defending a kickoff, and they score a goal,” Varas said. “That's a gut wrencher.”
Jabari got inside position on Christopher McVey. The other central defender, 20-year-old Manu Duah, seemed unsure where to go, either to Jabari or to Barlow behind him. He got caught in no man’s land, allowing Jabari to head the ball across to Barlow at the far post.
Once again, Varas fielded a team full of players under 21. Several made crucial mistakes that led to goals.
“It doesn't soften the blow,” Varas said. “We still have to be really upset that we lost the game. But we can't microwave development or experience. That's not how it works. … We have by far – by far – the most minutes of players under 21 in the league. Everybody wants a finished product very fast in life. That's the world we live in right now, but that's not our mentality.
“Our mentality is to create something that's sustainable. That's no excuse, because our job is to win games. I'm always disappointed when we don't. But at the same time, we know there's a larger picture at play here.”
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This story was originally published May 16, 2026 at 9:14 PM.