San Diego FC defeated Portland 2-1 in the opening round of the MLS Cup Playoff on Sunday evening to move within one win of advancing out of the opening round. Despite apologizing for his actions against Houston that resulted in him being held out of the regular season finale, Chucky Lozano was unavailable and did not dress for Sunday's match. Mikey Varas did say after the match that Lozano would be available for Game 2 against Portland.
The first half featured plenty of fireworks, and SDFC struck first when Onni Valakari sank a rebound shot after a missile of a shot off the foot of Manu Duah in the 23rd minute. Anders Dreyer headed in a pass seven minutes later to send the home crowd into a frenzy with a 2-0 lead. Portland's Kristoffer Velde scored in the 36th minute to bring Portland back within a goal, but SDFC was able to hold on for the 2-1 win in this best of three series in the opening round against Portland. The two teams will meet again on Saturday at 6:30 in Portland.