SDFC, hoping to extend Cinderella season, hosts must-win match against Portland
Dante Ulanday - News Moderator 
San Diego FC’s inaugural season became a Cinderella story, but the fairy tale could come to an abrupt end Sunday.
The club will host the third and decisive game of its first round matchup against the Portland Timbers at 6 p.m. at Snapdragon Stadium with the winner advancing to the Western Conference semifinals.
This will be the fourth-straight meeting between the two sides going back to the 4-0 road victory by SDFC over the Timbers in the regular season finale on Oct. 18, which helped clinch San Diego the top seed in the Western Conference.
The squad won its first-ever playoff game 2-1, but Portland was able to stay alive after a goal in the final seconds of regulation by forward Gage Guerra led to a dramatic win on penalty kicks in Game 2.
“It’s playoff football. I think the effort from the boys was tremendous and we gave ourselves a chance to win the game,” said San Diego FC head coach Mikey Varas. “It is what it is, it hurts because we are all competitors. We’ll use it as motivation to go back home and play our best.”
What also complicates matters for San Diego is that it will be without the services of CJ dos Santos. The starting goalkeeper likely will miss the rest of the playoffs after suffering a broken cheekbone in the 21st minute of Game 2 during a collision with Timbers forward Kevin Kelsy.
Pablo Sisniega came in and performed well, despite giving up the late goal. He made two penalty kick saves, but SDFC ended up missing its last three attempts.
MLS Newcomer of the Year Award winner, and MVP finalist, Anders Dreyer and Hirving “Chucky” Lozano ended up being the only SDFC teammates to capitalize on their penalty kicks.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity to play with a finals type of feel and to do it at home,” Varas added. “The only focus for us is on ourselves. We don’t fall into that trap of focusing on other people. We haven’t done it and we won’t.”
Sunday’s winner will face the winner of the Seattle Sounders vs Minnesota United series; the two teams play their decisive match on Saturday. The other semifinal is already set, between third-seed LAFC and second-seed, the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Tickets remain available for Sunday’s match, starting at $80.
