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.
San Diego, CA
$50K Reward Offered In Unsolved Murder Of San Diego Barber
SAN DIEGO, CA — A $50,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction in a 2018 killing of a man in San Diego, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced Monday.
Arthur Jordan, 28, was fatally shot July 19, 2018, by an unknown assailant while sitting in a car in the 3000 block of Martin Avenue. At the time of his death, Jordan was a barber working in his family’s barber shop.
San Diego Police Department investigators have interviewed witnesses and potential suspects, but have exhausted all leads.
“We are very thankful for the governor’s support in our efforts to find justice for Jordan and his family,” said SDPD detective Chris Murray.
Under California law, law enforcement agencies may ask the governor to issue rewards in specific unsolved cases where they have exhausted all investigative leads, to encourage individuals with information about the crimes to come forward. Public assistance is vital to law enforcement, and rewards may encourage public cooperation needed to apprehend those who have committed serious offenses.
SDPD has requested that a reward be offered to encourage anyone with information about this murder, urging them to contact Sgt. Joel Tien at 619-531- 2323. Anonymous tips can also be submitted to San Diego Crime Stoppers at 888- 580-8477.
San Diego, CA
Christmas Eve storm could hit San Diego County with 4 inches of rain and 40 mph winds
The souped-up Pacific storm that will hit San Diego County on Christmas Eve could drop 3 to 4 inches of rain over a short period, making travel dicey and raising the risk of flooding, the National Weather Service said.
San Diego averages less than 2 inches of rain in December and hasn’t had a drop this month.
The region will catch the tail of a storm that tapped into copious amounts of subtropical moisture, causing it to grow and become more explosive. The Pineapple Express, as some call it, will affect the entire state. The first big urban hit comes Monday when the system is expected to slam the San Francisco Bay Area. It’ll then sink toward Southern California.
The storm, which also is packing strong winds, could slow or disrupt traffic on Interstate 5 and U.S. Highway 101, prime routes between San Diego and San Francisco.
Forecasters say the system will push into Orange and San Diego counties and the Inland Empire late Tuesday night and unleash heavy rain, and possibly lightning, on Wednesday. The wind could gust as high as 40 mph in spots from San Diego to Julian, forecasters said.
The most intense rain is expected to fall from mid-morning until late-afternoon Wednesday, when last-minute Christmas shoppers will be crowding freeways. Downpours could close some parking areas at the Fashion Valley Mall in Mission Valley, which often floods in heavy rain. Showers will last into Thursday, Christmas Day, and forecasters say a second storm could hit over the weekend.
A flash flood watch will be in effect countywide from 4 a.m. Wednesday to 1 a.m. Thursday.
The forecast has turned worrisome over the past couple of days.
The weather service earlier thought the storm could produce about 1.5 inches of rain in San Diego, and roughly twice as much across inland valleys and mountains.
On Sunday, they said San Diego could get 2.5 to 4 inches of precipitation. And there was deeper confidence that some areas east of Interstate 15 would be seeing 3 to 4 inches of rain.
Snow isn’t expected, though. The storm is comparatively warm due to its connections with the subtropics.
San Diego, CA
Longtime San Diego bike shop hit again by thieves ahead of holidays
A longtime San Diego bike shop is struggling to recover after its latest burglary — a break-in the owner says cost thousands of dollars in stolen merchandise and damages just days before the holiday shopping rush. The shop, “San Diego Bike Shop,” is located at 619 C Street.
The shop’s owner Moe Karimi says this is not the first time thieves have targeted his business, despite repeated efforts to improve security.
The small business has installed surveillance cameras, reinforced doors and even upgraded to shatter-resistant windows. Still, the owner says it hasn’t been enough to stop criminals from breaking in.
“It’s a very upsetting thing that you wake up at four o’clock in the morning and come up here and face the broken door and window,” said Karimi. “You walk in and see half the store is empty.”
Karimi says repeated burglaries have taken a growing toll on his business over the years.
“It has always progressively gotten worse and worse,” he said.
Surveillance footage from the most recent break-in shows multiple suspects inside the shop. Karimi says dozens of bikes were stolen — many of them high-end models with hefty price tags.
“It’s not just the money that was lost — the physical money,” Karimi explained. “I lost a lot of money because of not selling.”
The timing, he says, couldn’t be worse.
“During the holiday season, when there’s so much product taken out of your store, your sales drop because you don’t have the products,” he said. “And it takes time to replace that.”
Karimi opened the bike shop in 1999 and says he’s made it a priority to stay proactive when it comes to security.
“Every year I add some kind of security feature. I reinforce the doors and gates,” he said. “But still, if they want to get in, nothing stops them.”
Now, the repeated break-ins have left him feeling uncertain about the future.
“I feel very insecure in my business — that every day something can happen,” Karimi said. “It seems to me that nobody cares at the street level what happens in San Diego. It’s terrible.”
The San Diego Police Department says it is still investigating the burglary.
In a statement, police said in part:
“Shortly after 4:00 a.m., multiple suspects forcibly entered the business and stole property before fleeing the area. No injuries were reported, and no arrests have been made at this time.
The business owner reported an estimated loss of approximately $15,000 in stolen property. The exact inventory and total loss remain under review.
Detectives are actively reviewing surveillance footage and working with partner agencies as part of the ongoing investigation.
Anyone with information related to this incident is urged to contact San Diego Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477. Tipsters may remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward.
Detectives are actively reviewing surveillance footage and working with partner agencies as part of the ongoing investigation.”
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