Anders Dreyer Strike Keeps San Diego FC Perfect in 1-0 Win at Sporting Kansas City

San Diego FC had the ball for two-thirds of the night, took 15 shots and hit the post twice. It only needed one Anders Dreyer swing to win.

Dreyer's left-footed strike from just outside the box in the 39th minute gave San Diego a 1-0 win over Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night at Sporting Park, keeping the visitors perfect at 3-0-0. Sporting KC's own recap noted it was San Diego's third straight clean sheet to open the regular season, and the hosts, still searching for their first win, were left to ask what might have been after two late chances went begging.

Patience, Then a Hammer

Sporting coach Raphael Wicky made one change, starting Jansen Miller at right back in place of the injured Ian James, according to the club, and his side spent the first half doing what you do against San Diego: sitting compact and waiting. Dejan Joveljic had an early shot blocked, but most of the traffic headed the other way. San Diego won corners, Onni Valakari and Amahl Pellegrino had efforts blocked, and the yellow cards started to pile up: Miller and Manu García were booked two minutes apart.

In the 39th minute, the dam broke. Pellegrino had just fired a shot high and wide from a Dreyer set piece when San Diego came again, and this time Valakari teed up Dreyer, who hit a left-footed shot from outside the box into the bottom left corner. Sporting's recap said he struck from the edge of the penalty area. It was his second goal in as many weeks.

Sporting had answers before the break. John Pulskamp made what the club called a superb foot save on Valakari's diving header in the 42nd minute, and at the other end Joveljic forced Duran Ferree into a save from a tight angle right before halftime, off a through ball from Jake Davis.

San Diego Knocks, the Woodwork Answers

The second half was mostly San Diego trying to put it away. Valakari just missed from distance in the 53rd. Pulskamp stopped Dreyer in the 56th. In the 62nd minute, Pellegrino put the ball in the net, but the goal was ruled out after a VAR review; ESPN's feed also logged a Pellegrino handball in that minute. Five minutes later Pulskamp saved from Dreyer again, and a minute after that substitute David Vazquez rattled the left post from outside the box.

Pulskamp denied Dreyer a third time in the 76th minute, and Dreyer dragged another attempt wide in the 84th. San Diego's discipline slipped a little as Manu Duah, Christopher McVey and Vazquez all went into the book in a five-minute window.

That opened the door for a late Sporting push. Taylor Calheira, on in the 79th minute, got onto a flicked pass from García in the 88th, but the club said a sliding challenge from Oscar Verhoeven and Ferree's left hand kept it out. In the 92nd minute, Dreyer hit the left post at the other end on a breakaway through ball from Pellegrino, and in the same minute Stephen Afrifa unleashed a half-volley from a García pass that Ferree palmed away. That was the last real chance.

Who Stood Out

Anders Dreyer: The goal, six shots, four on target and a post. Sporting's recap noted the reigning MLS Newcomer of the Year leads all MLS players with five goal contributions through three weeks, with two goals and three assists. That is a player playing a different sport than everyone around him right now.

Onni Valakari: The assist on the winner and three shots of his own, including the header that forced Pulskamp's foot save.

John Pulskamp: Four saves, three of them against Dreyer. Wicky said the club was very happy with him, and he also had a coach's honest take on the job. "As a head coach, I would love to be here after the game and say the goalie didn't have to make one save in a game," Wicky said, per Sporting KC. "That would be perfect, but that is usually not the reality of this game."

Duran Ferree: Only three saves, but two of them came in the last few minutes with the lead on the line.

The Turning Point

The 39th minute. Sporting had kept its shape for most of the first half, and Wicky felt his side had its moments before San Diego scored. Dreyer's strike changed the problem completely: now Sporting had to chase a team that loves the ball, and that is exactly the game San Diego wants.

Wicky said as much. "Our problem today wasn't defending," he said. "I think we were today not as good with the ball as we were, for example, a week ago. I think we had way too many sloppy balls."

Stats That Matter

• Possession: San Diego 67 percent, Sporting KC 33 percent.
• Shots: San Diego 15, Sporting KC 5. On target: 5 to 3.
• Passing: San Diego completed 672 of 749 passes; Sporting completed 286 of 361.
• Saves: Pulskamp 4, Ferree 3.
• Cards: San Diego 4 yellows, Sporting KC 3.

What It Means

San Diego is 3-0-0 with 9 points and has outscored opponents 8-0 after home wins of 5-0 over CF Montréal and 2-0 over St. Louis CITY SC. Sporting KC's own headline called them the Supporters' Shield leaders, and García was blunt about them too: "I think they are probably the best team with the ball in the league."

Sporting falls to 0-1-2 with 1 point after a 3-0 loss at San Jose and a 2-2 home draw with Columbus. There were positives, including the MLS debut of 19-year-old academy product Shane Donovan late in the match, per the club, and Wicky stuck to the long view: "We have to keep working hard, keep believing, keep giving these young players opportunities to grow," he said. Sporting heads to Southern California next to face the LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday.

Closing Take

San Diego plays like a streaming service that knows exactly what you want to watch next: it keeps the ball, it keeps you on the hook and eventually it hits play on Dreyer. Sporting did plenty right and still went home with nothing. Against this team, that is starting to feel like the standard experience.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes and club notes as reported by Sporting Kansas City (sportingkc.com).