San Diego, CA
Wipe out: Sounders smacked in San Diego
Coming out of a game where there were at least some positives, the Seattle Sounders immediately got off to a bad start. Although they seemed to recover from the 2nd minute goal, they then completely fell apart toward the end of the first half. It wasn’t just that they allowed two goals after the 41st minute, it’s that the usually solid defensive squad suddenly let San Diego FC repeatedly run in behind.
The second half was a bit better, but at no point did the Sounders look like they were going to ever get back into the game before suffering their worst loss of the season. The 3-0 defeat to San Diego FC also drops them to 1-3-3 on the year, equalling their disastrous start to the 2024 season.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Sounders were also forced to pull Alex Roldan and Albert Rusnák to injuries.
The match started about as poorly as it could when San Diego worked a short corner that ended with Hirving Lozano feeding Jeppe Tverskov, who scored in the 2nd minute.
The Sounders did seem to recover after that and seemed to be causing San Diego some trouble with an unusually aggressive high press. While the Sounders were able to create some possession and keep San Diego from clear chances, they weren’t creating many good looks of their own.
That came back to bite them as the game headed toward halftime. Lozano was again in the middle of the action, this time spraying a ball to Anders Dreyer on the wing. Dreyer cut it back to Anibal Godoy, who was making a trailing run, and he finished well inside the near post.
The wheels seemed to come off at that point and San Diego was suddenly getting behind the Sounders’ defense with remarkable ease. When Lozano finally scored at 45+3′, it was the third breakaway chance San Diego had in first-half stoppage time alone.
The second half was somewhat better, but only in comparison to the disaster that was the first half. The Sounders managed to create a few decent scoring chances, but most of those came after the match was too late to have made much of a difference.
Key moments
2’ – Goal. San Diego works a nice play off a short corner with Hirving Lozano finding Jeppe Tverskov for a shot in the box that beats Stefan Frei. 1-0.
6′ – Chance! Albert Rusnák gets free for a decent look from about 10 yards out but he shoots just wide.
9′ – Luca de la Torre gets a good look from about 12 yards out but his shot goes wide.
10′ – Shot! Paul Rothrock is able to put his laces through a ball at the top of the penalty area but it’s saved easily.
25′ – Blocked! Jesús Ferreira picks off a pass and sends in a cross that Rothrock runs onto. His shot is well taken but Anibal Godoy is able to deflect it out.
33′ – Alex Roldan is forced out of the game with a muscle injury and replaced by Kalani Kossa-Rienzi.
41′ – Goal. Just as the Sounders seemed to be getting control of the game, San Diego struck on the counter. Lozano started it with a good ball to Anders Dreyer on the wing and he cut it back to Anibal Godoy for a nice finish just inside the post. 2-09.
45+1 – Chance. Lozano gets behind Kossa-Rienzi but his shot goes high.
45+2 – Save! Dreyer gets behind the defense and forces Stefan Frei into a big save
45+3 – Goal. Lozano doesn’t waste this one as he gets behind the defense again off a pass from Jasper Löffelsend. Frei gets his hand to it, but can’t keep this one out.
Halftime – Danny Leyva replaces Albert Rusnák, who apparently suffered an adductor injury.
61′ – Wide. Yeimar gets on the end of a free kick but his header flashes wide.
62′ – Danny Musovski and Pedro de la Vega replace Ferreira and Minoungou.
80′ – Reed Baker-Whiting replaces Paul Rothrock.
87′ – Chance! Danny Musovski gets a look on the doorstep after the Sounders force a turnover in box but CJ Dos Santos makes a big save.
88′ – Chance! Sounders force another turnover deep in San Diego’s end but Kalani Kossa-Rienzi skies his open shot from about 19 yards out.
Quick thoughts
No offensive creativity: After an encouraging start to the season that was capped by a five-goal performance against LAFC, the Sounders have reverted back to their offensive struggles of last year. This was the fourth straight game in which the Sounders have scored one goal or fewer and they’ve now been shut out three times in their past four. Once again, they put themselves in dangerous enough positions to score, but their quality in and around the box is just totally lacking.
Uncharacteristic positioning: As concerning as the offense is, the defense was something we thought we could accept as a given. For the last two seasons, the Sounders have specialized in limiting their opponents’ scoring opportunities. A big part of that is their field awareness and rest-defending. Both were in short supply against San Diego. On all three goals, the Sounders seemed to lack awareness of what San Diego were trying to do, where danger was coming from and were caught flat-footed.
Where to go from here: The Sounders are in the midst of what could be a season-defining stretch of games. Five of the Sounders’ next seven games are on the road. on paper, there’s a lot of winnable games. But they’ve no erased any wiggle room they might have had. They have now tied last year’s start through seven games and certainly don’t want to be in position where they need a nearly perfect second half to salvage their season.
Notable quote
Paul Rothrock: “This has to be rock bottom so far this year. Brian talked about it in the postgame, but things have to change, things have to shift, mindsets have to be better.”
Player spotlight
Jesús Ferreira: There have been plenty of times when Ferreira looked to be every bit the player the Sounders had been hoping to acquire, but he was particularly off his game tonight. On the first goal, he seemed very late to recognize that San Diego was attempting a short corner and was caught out of position. Offensively, he never looked dangerous and only had 23 touches, including just two inside the San Diego penalty area. The expectation was that Ferreira would be a key component in helping lift the Sounders but he has so far been unable to do that.
Joan Endres
OBITUARY
Born January 1939 in Cincinnati Ohio. Died February 14, 2026, in San Diego, California, with her sons at her side. Her beloved husband Dean passed away in 2010.
Joan was the only child of Thomas and Edna Palmer. In 1943, the family moved to San Diego, where Joan graduated from Helix High School in 1956.
In 1957 Joan married Dean Endres of San Diego, where they raised two sons. Joan followed her two great passions outside the home, the Arts, and Gardening. Both activities being a way to bring beauty to others and to the community.
Joan received a degree in Environmental Design from San Diego State University, and afterwords worked at UCSD, for the Campus Architect.
As an artist, Joan worked in various media, especially ceramics. She was active in many cultural and arts organizations, eventually becoming President of the Combined Organization for the Visual Arts (COVA). Later she turned to gardening, with the Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca Community College and the Master Gardener Association of San Diego County.
Joan is survived by her son Jeff and wife Katrin, grandson Jackson, and son Todd Endres, all of La Mesa, and sisters Alice Buck of Phoenix, Elaine Kennedy of San Diego, Nancy and husband Don Jones of Vista, Eva Budzinski of Cloudcroft, New Mexico, and their children and grandchildren.
There will be a Celebration of Life for Joan in the near future. Those who wish to attend should contact celebratejoanuvart@gmail.com to receive details when they are confirmed. In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully suggests a donation to the Water Conservation Garden or the Diego Visual Arts Network (SDVAN).
The San Diego State Aztecs’ have moved off the bubble and back into the NCAA Tournament’s Field of 64 in the latest ESPN’s Bracketology projections.
The Aztecs must feel like a yo-yo, but now it’s in a good way. Bracket expert Joe Lunardi moved them from the bottom of the First Four Out — No. 72 — to holding the Mountain West’s automatic bid after an 89-72 home romp Wednesday night over Utah State, which had held the auto-bid in bracketology for a few weeks now.
Lunardi now has the Aztecs as the No. 11 seed in the West Region, with a projected first-round date against former MW rival BYU in Portland.
Lunardi wrote that SDSU’s auto-bid “shifts the entire bubble.”
Wednesday night’s victory not only pulled the Aztecs (19-8, 13-4) into a tie with Utah State (23-5, 13-4) atop the MW standings, but it was just their second Quad 1 victory in six such opportunities.
SDSU’s next two games are both Quad 1 chances, at New Mexico on Saturday and then at Boise State on Tuesday night.
The win lifted the Aztecs only one spot in the NCAA NET Rankings, to No. 43. Those rankings are used by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee as the primary sorting tool for selection and seeding for March Madness.
SDSU’s resume for earning an at-large berth has been on shaky ground all season, and was seriously damaged last week when the Aztecs lost at home to Grand Canyon and were then routed at Colorado State, both Quad 2 games.
SDSU’s best bet to assure a trip to March Madness for the sixth straight season is to win the MW tournament in Las Vegas and claim the automatic bid. That requires winning three games in as many days, and perhaps a third showdown against the Aggies, who beat the Aztecs 71-66 in Logan on Jan. 31.
Lunardi now has Utah State projected as an at-large team, but still with the No. 7 seed in the East, facing No. 10 Texas A&M in a first-round game in St. Louis.
New Mexico (21-7, 12-5), lurking just a game behind SDSU and USU, has dropped from the Last Four In at No. 68 to the First Four Out at No. 70.
The Aztecs were the unanimous preseason pick to win the MW regular-season title in their final season in the league before moving into the Pac-12 along with Utah State, Boise State, Fresno State and Colorado State.
Saturday’s game at New Mexico is set to tip off at 11 a.m. PT and will air on CBS.
The top teams in the West Coast Conference are jockeying for position in the standings as the regular season draws to a close, and the Oregon State women took care of business Thursday night, blowing out the San Diego Toreros 83-49 to move to 21-9 on the season, and 13-4 in conference play.
Oregon State’s Tiara Bolden Grabs WCC Honor After 44 Points Over Two Games
The Toreros have been a basement dweller in the conference for the last few seasons, so this result isn’t surprising, though it’s magnitude is a bit eye-raising. The Beavers wasted no time putting San Diego into a hole, opening the first quarter on an 8-0 run that Tiara Bolden and Kennedie Shuler getting involved early. Oregon State held a 14 point, 26-12 lead after one.
The second quarter wasn’t as lopsided, but San Diego wasn’t able to make much headway into the Beaver lead. Six points from Olivia Owens kept San Diego within shooting distance, but defensive pressure from Kennedie Shuler and strong rebounding from Lizzy Williamson kept the Toreros under control. Oregon State ended the first half up by 13, 40-27.
Oregon State Dominates Cougars in 79-51 Blowout
Oregon State tightened their grip in the third. While Olivia Owens and Kylie Ray managed to give the Toreros some hope early in the quarter, Oregon State went on a run late in the period to get their lead to 21 at the highest. San Diego finally snapped the Beaver hot streak, but a three from Kennedie Shuler ended the quarter in a 61-43, 18 point Beaver lead.
The bottom seemed to fall out of San Diego in the fourth, with the Toreros only putting six points on the board. Tiara Bolden and Kennedie Shuler kept the points flowing for the Beavers, while Lizzy Willilamson continued to dominate the boards. A layup with an and one from Elisa Mehyar were the last Beaver points of the game, giving Oregon State a 34 point, 83-49 win.
Oregon State Takes Down Portland 64-54 in Season Saving Game
It was a good night for several Beavers, with Kennedie Shuler once again leading the team in scoring. She finished the night with 22 points, four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals. She can do just about everything on the court.
Tiara Bolden continued her hot streak with a 17 point night, along with four rebounds and four assists. Jenna Villa added 14 points, one rebound and one assist. Lizzy Williamson added another double double to her resume, with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Oregon State’s Winning Streak Ends With 55-51 Loss to LMU
There’s one last item on the agenda for Oregon State, a season-closing meeting with the Loyola Marymount Lions Saturday at Gill Coliseum. The Lions handed Oregon State their first WCC loss of the season back in January, so getting some revenge before the conference tournament would be a good statement from the team. Tip off is set for 1 PM PT.
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