Saturday night, San Diego FC beat down Portland Timbers 4-0 at Providence Park, and the result combined with a Vancouver loss gave SDFC first place in the Western Conference of MLS, setting all-time expansion season records for wins, points and away wins. While both Craig Elsten and Tony Sanchez were working at the San Diego Wave FC match concurrently, they had the game on and got together live on YouTube late Saturday night to celebrate the club's win and accomplishments. However, it's never a 100% sunshine story in San Diego sports, so there is also the issue of Chucky Lozano's absence, and head coach Mikey Varas' cryptic comment about him after the match. Get hyped up with Craig and Tony, and hear what Varas had to say in this post-match show!


The guys will be back with Alex Peña on Thursday with reaction to the Western Conference Wild Card Game, and a preview of SDFC's first home playoff match on Sunday. 

Make sure to subscribe to Chromaniacs on YouTube and hit the notification bell to find out every time we go live after matches!

ON THE SHOW TONIGHT

• We go through every possible scenario on how SDFC can finish the season, from first to fourth place
• Training Ground Sound: Mikey Varas and Amahl Pellegrino
• The Never-Ending Search for a #9 (and it's NOT Pellegrino)
• Marcus Ingvartsen, where's Waldo
• SDFC-Portland Timbers preview!

In lieu of a traditional post-match show, on Monday night the Chromaniacs (Craig Elsten and Alex Peña) joined their fellow Chromaniac Tony Sanchez on his 2 Balls and a Mic podcast with co-host Abraham Zepeda. The guys broke down SDFC's 4-2 win in Houston, the breakout performance of Amahl Pellegrino, how much stock to put in SDFC's return to offensive form, the impact of international break departures and how the Chrome and Azul are set up in the endgame of trying to chase down the top spot in the Western Conference of MLS.

The San Diego Padres have been eliminated. Now, SDFC has the chance to become the first major pro sports team in San Diego history to win a championship. But the road to the playoffs has been bumpy of late, filled with no-goal potholes. On the latest episode of the Chromaniacs, Craig Elsten, Tony Sanchez and Alex Peña discuss:

• SDFC's championship opportunity
• Could Marcus Ingvartsen return by season's end, and who should play the nine until he returns?
• Luca de la Torre left off the USMNT roster for October, what does it mean for club and player
• Training Ground Sound: Mikey Varas and Chris McVey
• SDFC at Houston Dynamo match preview 

Tony Sanchez is at Snapdragon Stadium, joined by Craig Elsten and Alex Peña in studio to break down a disappointing 1-0 home loss to San Jose Earthquakes. It seems like San Diego soccer fans have been shown the same match for almost four months now, with great possession but very little finishing touch, and goals conceded against the run of play. The guys work through their frustration over the never-ending hole at the #9 position, and hear the post-match comments from head coach Mikey Varas.

On tonight's show: 

• SDFC plays well for a half in Atlanta, then stumbles
• The battle for first place in the West tightens up
• Luca de la Torre's struggles in the midfield
• Who starts at left back wtih Bombino out?
• SDFC-San Jose Earthquakes preview

ON THE SHOW TONIGHT

• SDFC shows SDSU how to fill Snapdragon Stadium without giving away the house
• Looking back at a loss to the Loons
• How can SDFC reach next year's CONCACAF Champions Cup
• Mikey Varas wants SDFC to support all national teams (training ground sound)
• SDFC-Atlanta United preview
• Is this the ultimate trap game on the schedule? 

Tony Sanchez is live from Snapdragon Stadium, Craig Elsten and Alex Peña join from home to break down a 4-2 win over Club Tijuana in the first-ever Baja Cup. David Vasquez made a play for a bigger role in the offense with a goal and assist. Tomas Ángel delivered a beautiful assist on the Vasquez goal. Manu Duah nailed a header in the box on a corner kick for the lead. And "Guest Player 37" capped things off with a fourth goal. Guest player WHO? Tony has the answers on the names behind the guests. The guys hear from head coach Mikey Varas about the win.

ON THE SHOW TONIGHT! 

• The international break is over, what happened?
• Right to Dream academy officially launches, MLS Next team coming
• SDFC vs Xolos, the "Baja Cup" is coming next week
• SDFC spoiled Sonny's debut for LAFC but NOT in South Korean AI recaps!
• Match preview: Minnesota at SDFC
• What's the dream scenario for Saturday's results? 
• How can Los Chromados overcome Minnesota's planned low-block defense?
• Audio: Onni Valakari from the SDFC training grounds

Monday night, the Chromaniacs and 2 Balls and a Mic got together for another epic roundtable, talking about the hottest team in MLS! SDFC's 2-1 win at LAFC was the signature win so far of an inaugural season that has already delivered more memories than could possibly be imagined. With no match this week, we wanted to share the excitement of our talk with the Chromaniacs audience! The panel went through the match in detail, the implications for the MLS table, how CJ Dos Santos has regained his firm grip on the goalkeeping position, and much, much more!