Onni Valakari needed only a few minutes on the pitch Tuesday night to close San Diego FC’s inaugural Leagues Cup foray with a 2-0 win over Mazatlan FC at Snapdragon Stadium.

Shortly after subbing in for Luca de la Torre at the 62nd minute, Valakari broke a scoreless stalemate when he booted a left-footed screamer that Mazatlan goalkeeper Victor Alcaraz had no hope of stopping.

The 66th-minute goal, set up by a perfectly placed cross from Anders Dreyer, gave SDFC (1-0-2) its first lead in Phase One of Leagues Cup play. Valakari added to that advantage eight minutes later when David Vazquez dumped a pass off to the streaking midfielder.

Valakari’s shot from right-to-left found the net, out of the reach of a diving Alcaraz, guaranteed SDFC would not go winless in a disappointing Leagues Cu

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