AUSTIN, Texas — San Diego FC was bound to lose at some point during its inaugural season. That it took a month for the first blemish to appear on Major League Soccer’s newest team’s record is a testament to how well SDFC has played so far. Chula Vista native Brandon Vázquez and defender Jon Gallagher scored early goals, and Brad Stuver made them stand up as Austin FC handed San Diego FC its first loss with a 2-1 victory at Q2 Stadium on Sunday. SDFC played without five regulars or projected starters: Winger Hirving “Chucky” Lozano, Marcus Ingvartsen and Andres Reyes were all out with leg injuries, while Paddy McNair (Northern Ireland) and Anibal Godoy (Panama) were playing with their national teams. “I think we caused Austin a lot of trouble,” SDFC coach Mikey Varas said. “We created clear chances. We played through the inside of them. We played around them. But we need to manage the transitions better. They create a lot of danger in transition, then in our pressing how well are we able to protect the space in behind.” Austin FC coach Nico Estevez said SDFC provided “a hard game” for his club. “San Diego was the last unbeaten team in the West for that reason,” he said. “They’re finding their identity and their idea very early in the season on the ball side.” Vázquez, a former member of the Tijuana Xolos academy and senior teams, notched his first goal of the season with his new club, giving Austin (3-2-0) a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute. Vázquez scored 32 of his 36 career goals over the previous four seasons with FC Cincinnati. His first three netters came in seven starts and 32 appearances with Atlanta United. Diego Rubio picked up his first assist of the season and the 36th of his career on the score. Besard Sabovic snagged his first assist in his second start and fifth career appearance. Gallagher stretched the lead to 2-0 when he took a pass from Owen Wolff and scored in the 19th minute. It was Gallagher’s 13th netter in five seasons with the club. He had four goals for Atlanta United in 2020. It was the third assist of the season for the 20-year-old Wolff and his 11th in his fourth full season in the league. San Diego (2-1-2) halved its deficit in the 27th minute when San Diego native Luca de la Torre used an assist from Onni Valakari to score his first career goal 13 minutes after he was tagged with a yellow card in his fifth appearance — all starts. It was the second assist for Valakari, who scored a goal in last week’s draw with Columbus. Stuver saved three shots for Austin. CJ dos Santos had three saves for San Diego FC. He allowed two goals with two clean sheets in first four starts for the newcomers. He allowed five goals in two starts a season apart for Inter Miami previously. San Diego returns home to play Los Angeles FC on Saturday. Union-Tribune sports editor Ryan Finley contributed to this report.