San Diego FC was undermanned and outgunned in its second Leagues Cup match Friday, falling to Mexican club Tigres UANL by a score of 2-1.

San Diego, now 0-2 in Leagues Cup play, came into the match at Snapdragon Stadium at a clear disadvantage. First, leading scorer Anders Dreyer was suspended for the game due to a red card received during the previous match against C.F. Pachuca on Tuesday.

In addition, second-leading scorer Hirving “Chucky” Lozano was not in the starting XI as a precautionary measure due to lingering hamstring injuries. Lozano, who played about 71 injury-free minutes in SDFC’s 3-2 loss to Pachuca, wound up on the pitch for about 30 minutes in the second half Friday, coming in during the 62nd minute.

Tigres – 2-0 in the Leagues Cup after a dominant 4-1 win over the Houston Dynamo – went up 1-0 during the 31st minute when Argentine forward Ángel Correa scored with a right-footed shot from the center of the goal to the middle-right portion of the net.

San Diego leveled the score during the 55th minute when forward Tomás Ángel scored with a left-footed shot from the center of the goal to the top left corner of the net.

Correa collected a brace during the 67th minute when he hit a right-footed shot from the center of the goal to the bottom right corner of the net, a goal that sealed the Tigres’ 2-1 win.

In addition to Dreyer being out and Lozano being limited, another of the club’s best players, goalkeeper C.J. dos Santos missed his sixth straight match after suffering a nose injury July 5 versus the Houston Dynamo. Dos Santos later underwent surgery.

Backup keeper Pablo Sisniega has started all the matches dos Santos has missed, and San Diego has a 2-3-1 record since, including Leagues Cup play.

Since SDFC’s back-to-back losses were in Leagues Cup play, they don’t count in the MLS standings. San Diego still sits atop the Western Conference table at 14-7-4.

With Friday night’s loss, SDFC’s chances of moving out of Phase One of the Leagues Cup and winning the tournament are nil.

Under the format for the tournament, 36 clubs – all 18 Liga MX teams and 18 MLS teams – play three games against teams in the opposing league. The four from each league with the highest point totals advance to the semifinals.

Up next, SDFC faces Mazatlán F.C. at Snapdragon at 7 p.m. Tuesday in its third and final Leagues Cup match. Mazatlán defeated the Houston Dynamo 2-0 earlier Friday to remain undefeated (2-0) in Leagues Cup action.

After wrapping up its international tournament duties, San Diego returns to MLS regular season play with a road match against Sporting Kansas City on Aug. 9 before facing the San
Jose Quakes in Northern California on Aug. 17.

Notes: SDFC announced Wednesday that it traded backup goalkeeper Jacob Jackson, an Escondido native, to FC Dallas for a 2026 draft pick. In addition, San Diego is re-acquiring
goalkeeper Duran Ferree from FC Nordsjælland in Denmark. Ferree, an 18-year-old San Diego native, was loaned out to Nordsjælland in December. In December 2023, he became the first player signed in SDFC history.

Note: Inset, SDFC limited Chucky Lozano’s play in their second of three Leagues Cup matches Friday. He started the first match here, vs. C.F. Pachuca. (Photo courtesy of SDFC)