San Diego FC earned the victory. Now come the spoils.
Anders Dreyer was named Man of the Matchday by Major League Soccer after scoring both of San Diego FC’s goals in Sunday’s 2-0 win over the LA Galaxy in Carson. It’s the first individual award ever won by a SDFC player.
And San Diego’s expansion franchise is ranked seventh out of 30 teams, one spot ahead of the Galaxy, in the first regular-season power rankings published by MLSSoccer.com. SDFC was 28th in the website’s preseason power rankings.
It is “presumably the largest single-week jump in Power Rankings history,” MLSSoccer.com’s J. Sam Jones wrote.
SI.com ranks San Diego FC ninth after the first weekend of games. ESPN ranks the club a distant 26th despite the first-week win.
ESPN’s Ryan Rosenblatt was quick to praise Dreyer’s accomplishment, however.
“The man should have a parade in his name through the city,” he wrote.
St. Louis City SC, San Diego’s opponent in Saturday night’s 7:30 p.m. home opener at Snapdragon Stadium, is ranked 19th by MLSSoccer.com, 22nd by SI.com and ninth by ESPN.com.
USWNT, Japan in final at Snapdragon
The SheBelieves Cup final will be played Wednesday night at Snapdragon, with the United States Women’s National Team hosting Japan at 7:30 p.m. The showdown between two of the world’s top international teams will start following a 4:30 p.m. game between Australia and Colombia.
The USWNT is 2-0 in the three-city SheBelieves Cup tour, having beaten Colombia 2-0 on Thursday in Houston and Australia 2-1 on Sunday in Glendale, Ariz. Wednesday’s match will be broadcast on TBS and streamed on Max, Universo and Peacock.
The United States is led in part by midfielder Jaedyn Shaw, the former San Diego Wave FC star who was traded to the North Carolina Courage last month. Fellow midfielder Lindsey Horan Heaps’ husband, Tyler, is San Diego FC’s sporting director and general manager.
Shaw said Tuesday she was “really happy to be back.”
“My family still lives here, so it’s nice to see them. And also playing in ‘Snap,’ I’ve always loved the stadium,” she said. “I’m really excited to be back and playing in front of the fans.”
Tyler and Lindsey Heaps were married Dec. 28 in Colorado. Heaps made her name change official on Sunday, donning a No. 10 jersey with her married name on the back.
Tyler Heaps “had no idea,” she said Tuesday. “It was a little special moment for us.”
Wave jersey launch
San Diego Wave FC will unveil a new secondary jersey on Thursday with a party at Belmont Park. The event runs from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Beach House, and will feature a uniform reveal, fashion show, Q&A with players and trivia contest.
Fans can to attend by visiting sandiegowavefc.com.
San Diego opens its season March 16 at Angel City FC, with the club’s first home game scheduled for March 22 against the Utah Royals.
