Onni Valakari will get equalizer as San Diego FC tie Columbus Crew

Onni Valakari scored the first home goal in San Diego FC history in the 69th minute for a 1-1 tie against the short-handed Columbus Crew on Saturday.

With road wins against the LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake and a home draw vs. St. Louis City, San Diego (2-0-2, 8 points) joins St. Louis City (5-0-0 in 2023) as the only expansion clubs in MLS history to go unbeaten through their first four games.

Max Arfsten scored in the 13th minute for the Crew (2-0-2, 8 points), but the complexion of the match changed in the 60th when Columbus defender Malte Amundsen was sent off for fouling fellow Danish player Anders Dreyer to deny a goal-scoring opportunity.

San Diego tied it off a corner kick while the Crew was down two players because defender Yevhen Cheberko was awaiting a return to the field after being medically checked after blocking a free kick with his head.

That left Valakari open for a header from a Luca de la Torre service in San Diego’s second home match.

Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte made five of his six saves in the second half.

Arfsten, who scored a career-high four goals last season, completed a well-executed give-and-go with DeJuan Jones. Arfsten bolted down the middle of the box to receive a return pass from the right side by Jones.

C.J. dos Santos prevented the Crew from expanding the lead in the 39th minute when he pushed away a shot by Jacen Russell-Rowe that was targeted for the right corner.

The Crew completed a busy stretch of five matches in 15 days with two trips to the West Coast because of their involvement in the CONCACAF Champions Cup which ended with a 4-2 aggregate goals loss in two matches with Los Angeles FC.

They will face another challenge in their March 22 match against New York FC because Schulte will be away with the U.S. national team for the CONCACAF Nations League on March 20 and 23.

–Field Level Media