SAN DIEGO -- Anders Dreyer 's 'El Paletero' bobblehead night ends in a 3-3 gut-wrenching injury time equalizer for FC Cincinnati on Saturday night at Snapdragon Stadium.
SDFC were coming off a dominant 5-0 showing over Austin FC on Wednesday night, snapping their elongated 10-match winless streak that lasted over two months.
Snapdragon Stadium held the club's first-ever bobblehead night, honoring star forward and the 2025 MLS Newcomer of the Year winner, Anders Dreyer.
Saturday night also marked the first-ever meeting between San Diego FC and FC Cincinnati, with the interleague opponents not matching up in SDFC's inaugural season in 2025.
Another dominant start for SDFC, holding most of the ball and possession in attacking areas against FC Cincinnati, but it only took the Ohio-based side one countering chance to snatch the lead in San Diego .
Midfielder Evander found forward Kenji Mboma Dem through on goal as Mboma Dem finished the chance into the left-sided near post for the 1-0 lead at the 11-minute mark.
Man of the night, Anders Dreyer, had two chances to get his side back on equal terms, with the first coming in the 16-minute as the inside the box shot drifted left of the goal.
The second opportunity came in the 29-minute as Dreyer had his one-on-one chance saved and pushed over and out for a corner by FC Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celentano , maintaining the match at the slim 1-0 lead for Cincinnati.
Only three minutes after the missed chance, SDFC's on-fire striker Marcus Ingvartsen got the match all tied up with a powerful strike that put him into double-digit goals in the MLS.
Defender Kieran Sargeant set up the goal with a grounded cross inside the penalty box as Ingvartsen took the first timed left-footed shot and blasted it into the left-sided near post, making the match 1-1 in the 32-minute.
Ingvartsen also extended his goal streak, having gotten on the scoresheet in four straight games, including Saturday night against FC Cincinnati.
Cincinnati replicated its first-half start, getting the first goal of the second half as Evander set up another goal for the visiting side for his second assist on the night.
Coming off a corner kick, Evander's cross went through the traffic near the goal area and fell to the feet of subbed on forward Tom Barlow for the finishing touch into the uncontested net, retaking the lead at 2-1 in the 50-minute for Cincinnati.
Subbed on SDFC midfielder Pedro Soma sparked the offensive magic that brought SDFC back into the game, laying off a defensive-half long grounded through ball to put forward Amahl Pellegrino through on goal, with Pellegrino tucking in his shot into the bottom right corner for the 2-2 score in the 66-minute.
An impactful last two matchdays for Pedro Soma, recording assists in back-to-back matches, and adding a goal in their midweek victory over Austin FC.
Pellegrino recorded his second goal of the 2026 MLS season.
Added injury time saw the biggest twists and turns of the match, as Marcus Ingvartsen looked to have netted the match-winner for SDFC, and a brace in the 90+6 minute.
But in the dying moments of the match and the whistle all but ready to blow for full time by referee Timothy Ford, it was Tom Barlow once again in the right place inside the box as he spoiled the party in San Diego in the 90+8-minute with the last-minute leveling goal to save a point for FC Cincinnati.
The full-time whistle finally blew at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday night, ending in a thrilling 3-3 back-and-forth showcase, with SDFC's three points slipping away in the final moments of the game.
SDFC head coach Mikey Varas spoke at the post-match press conference following the club's 3-3 draw against FC Cincinnati, reflecting on his team's performance, resilience and the growth still needed to close out matches.
"I think overall, we made a lot of really good plays in the game and we played more or less a game that you would feel pretty good about winning. But unfortunately, we just didn't make enough plays."
"Ultimately, proud of the group, because they turned the result around. Kind of against the run of play where they got ahead of us two different times."
"We got to close games better, because it's now too many games where we left points on the table. We have to be upset about that and we have to make sure that we mature from it."
The draw against FC Cincinnati extends SDFC's unbeaten streak to four straight matches, having finished in three ties and a victory.
SDFC's three-match homestand finale comes up next Saturday, May 23, hosting the Vancouver Whitecaps in a rematch of last season's Western Conference Final, set to kick off at 6:30 p.m. at Snapdragon Stadium.
Following the matchday, the MLS pauses league action from May 25 to July 16, with the seven-week break taking place for the highly anticipated 2026 FIFA World Cup.
