If there were any doubts that Anders Dreyer and Hirving “Chucky” Lozano were still in their primes when they ed Major League Soccer expansion club San Diego FC, each forward has booted them into the seats.
Dreyer, who turned 27 last week, and Lozano, 29, have displayed polished skill but also scrappy effort and smart leadership across the first two-and-a-half months of the Major League Soccer season.
The two alums of European leagues have combined for nine goals and 18 assists, and first-year San Diego (6-4-2) stands fourth in the 15-club Western Conference going into Wednesday night’s home match against the ninth-place Colorado Rapids (4-4-4).
Meeting the entertainment standard is important, too, and Denmark’s Dreyer and Mexico’s Lozano have done it. They’ve made it easier for local soccer aficionados who love the top European leagues to take a look at MLS and first-year San Diego FC.
Both stars made big plays in Saturday’s 2-1 road win over St. Louis City SC.
Dreyer glided toward the box from his right wing spot. Losing no speed with the ball as he veered right-to-left, he shot so fast he got the jump on one of the league’s best goalkeepers. Never mind that the 24-yard liner hit the far post, keeping the score tied. The soccer ment was clear: Dreyer isn’t a ham-and-egger.
Late in the match, Dreyer dictated once again. Fooling the goalkeeper with a fake, he slipped a sharp-angled shot by him.
Lozano is the team’s most expensive acquisition, coming over from Dutch club PSV Eindhoven for a reported $12 million. Yet when grunt work was most needed in the muggy Midwest, the left wing provided it.
Sprinting across the box, Lozano flustered a defender into ing the ball into a trap shy of midfield. Then came a steal, two es and a goal by Milan Iloski, the poised MLS rookie from Escondido. The result was a 1-0 lead, which Dreyer doubled eight minutes later.
Lozano is primarily a goal-scorer and assist-maker. He can’t do those jobs if he’s worn out. But coach Mikey Varas’ scheme demands that forwards run hard at opponents who have the ball.
As the match neared the 80th minute, Lozano showed he still had plenty of juice. MLS has attracted a number of past-their-prime international standouts who semi-retired to the United States across the league’s 30-year run, but Lozano isn’t one of them.
He’s still a fit, hungry player who can cover the whole pitch.
“It’s really clear that he’s putting in a tremendous amount of effort to help us defend,” Varas said. “His pressing was fantastic, his defending of the low block. And then, he creates such a big problem for the opponent in of 1-v.-1. He’s flying.
“And,” the coach added, in an apparent reference to roster construction for next year’s World Cup, which will be in North America, “I would expect that the Mexican Federation is watching these games and seeing that, he’s really, really, really stepping up in a big way.”
Lozano’s decisive goal in a 2018 World Cup match, leading to Mexico’s 1-0 upset of defending champion , made him the most recognizable player to San Diego FC. He returned for the 2022 World Cup. Leading the first-year MLS club to the playoffs would seemingly ensure him a crack at the 2026 World Cup.
If San Diego FC has a top performer, though, it’s been Dreyer. He has played heavy minutes in every match, whereas Lozano sat out most of March with a leg injury.
Dreyer has five goals and five assists, tying him with Argentine forward Martin Ortega of Orlando City for the most goals plus assists this season. Lozano, with four goals and four assists, is tied for eighth.
Acclimating fast to a new team and new league isn’t new for Dreyer. Have cleats, will travel is his motto. In 10 professional seasons spread across six countries, the 5-foot-8 1/2, 152-pounder has collected 67 goals and 47 assists in 196 club matches. His most unusual job change came midway through the 2022 season. When Russia invaded Ukraine, the Dane left his Russian team and ed a club in Belgium.
With Lozano under contract through 2028 (including two option years) and Dreyer on the books through 2027, San Diego FC stands to improve at developing young players like Iloski, 25, and recruiting other foreign standouts. The clever duo also shows that, while San Diego FC is new to MLS, it’s hardly a collection of soccer players low on experience. The team’s average age, 27.5, weighted by minutes played this season, stands 15th in the 30-team MLS.
If you want a fair representation of good MLS play in 2025, Dreyer and Lozano are worth a look.
San Diego FC (6-4-2) vs. Colorado Rapids (4-4-4)
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Snapdragon Stadium
TV: AppleTV+
Radio: 760-AM (English), 1700-AM (Spanish)
