San Diego FC secured a late 2-2 draw against the visiting Seattle Sounders on Saturday night, with Cedric Bakambu converting a penalty in stoppage time. The 35-year-old forward, acquired by San Diego in September, nearly completed a remarkable two-goal comeback after being denied a potential winning goal by Seattle goalkeeper Andrew Thomas late in the match.

Seattle initially took the lead through Dejan Joveljic, who scored his 13th goal of the season, marking his fifth for the Sounders. Despite Joveljic’s contribution, Seattle was unable to hold the advantage, as San Diego fought back to earn a point.

The draw extended San Diego’s winless streak to nine games, leaving the team with a record of 8-12-11 and 35 points. This result places San Diego 12th in the Western Conference standings, five points shy of the playoff cutoff, which is currently occupied by the ninth-place LA Galaxy. The Galaxy are set to face LAFC on Sunday, with the potential to widen the gap.

Seattle (11-10-10, 43 points) maintained its seventh-place position in the Western Conference but was unable to capitalize fully on the opportunity to climb higher in the standings. The match highlighted individual performances, particularly Bakambu’s late heroics for San Diego and Joveljic’s consistent goal scoring for Seattle.

The result leaves both teams striving for improved consistency as the season progresses toward its conclusion and the race for the MLS playoffs intensifies.