SDFC becomes the fastest expansion team to clinch a Playoff spot since the 2009 Seattle Sounders
San Diego FC (SDFC) clinched its first-ever spot in the 2025 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs after a 0-0 draw against the Portland Timbers at Snapdragon Stadium. SDFC is the first team in MLS to secure a Playoff berth this season and the fastest expansion club to reach the postseason (28 matches) since the 2009 Seattle Sounders (29 matches).
SDFC earned another point in the standings with the draw and remained in first place in the Western Conference. The Club scored twice in the first half, but both goals were disallowed following Video Assistant Referee (VAR) reviews. The result keeps SDFC in the Supporters’ Shield race, currently sitting second with 53 points, level with the Philadelphia Union (54).
SDFC heads back on the road on Sunday, Aug. 31, for a match against LAFC at BMO Stadium. The match will air live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, with English-language radio coverage on San Diego Sports 760 AM and Spanish-language coverage on TUDN 1700 AM.
Postgame Notes:
- With tonight’s 0-0 draw against the Portland Timbers, SDFC clinched a spot in the 2025 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs in its inaugural season.
- SDFC also became the fastest expansion club to secure a playoff berth (28 matches) since at least the 2009 Seattle Sounders (29 matches), excluding the shortened 2020 season (with expansion clubs Nashville SC and Inter Miami CF).
- SDFC remains in first place in the Western Conference standings with 53 points and a 16-7-5 record.
- SDFC now sits in in second place in the Supporter’s Shield race behind the Philadelphia Union (53 points).
- The Club also sits just four points shy of LAFC’s expansion points record (57 in 2018).
- SDFC is 7-3-5 at home this season.
- SDFC is 14-5-4 against Western Conference teams this season.
- SDFC dominated possession, holding 62% of the ball compared to Portland’s 38%.
- SDFC had 627 passes completed compared to Portland’s 335.
- SDFC continues to lead the league in passes completed with 14,669.
- Tonight’s 0-0 draw marked SDFC’s 10th cleansheet of the season. Opponents have held SDFC scoreless only three times this year.
- Goalkeeper CJ Dos Santos earned his ninth clean sheet of the regular season and 10th across all competitions.
- Defender Christopher McVey made his third-straight start for SDFC tonight in MLS Regular Season play after missing the Club’s two previous MLS matches.
- Tonight’s Man of the Match, defender Manu Duah, made his sixth MLS start and eighth appearance for SDFC. He has a total of 11 appearances with the Club across all competitions. He played in three Leagues Club matches heading into tonight’s match.
- Forward Anders Dreyer has started in all 28 SDFC MLS Regular Season matches this season.
- Defender Pedro Soma made his second MLS appearance when he came on as a substitute in the 82nd minute for Luca De La Torre. He made his SDFC debut during SDFC’s 2-1 win against San Jose Earthquakes last week. Soma made his SDFC debut on Aug. 5 coming on as a substitute in a Leagues Cup match against Mazatlán F.C.
- Forward Corey Baird made his SDFC debut tonight as part of the Starting XI. He was on the 18-man roster for the match against Sporting KC on Aug. 9 and in last week’s match against San Jose Earthquakes. Baird was acquired by SDFC on Aug. 6. He left in the 42nd minute of tonight’s match with an injury.
- Newcomers Leo Duru and Amahl Pellegrino were on the 18-man roster tonight for the first time for SDFC after both being acquired earlier this week.
- Duru made his SDFC and MLS debut when he came on as a substitute for Franco Negri in the 52nd minute.
- Pellegrino made his SDFC debut when he came on in the 82nd minute for forward Hirving “Chucky” Lozano.
- Goalkeeper Duran Ferree appeared on the 18-man roster for the fifth-straight match tonight after returning from loan with sister club FC Nordsjælland in Denmark. It was Ferree’s third time on the SDFC 18-man roster for an MLS match.
Next Game
SDFC will next visit Southern California rival LAFC on Sunday, Aug. 31 at BMO Stadium in MLS Regular Season action live on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV, as well as English and Spanish radio broadcasts on San Diego Sports 760 AM and TUDN 1700 AM.
Match Information
2025 MLS Regular Season
San Diego FC (16-7-5, 53 pts) vs. Portland Timbers (10-9-8, 38 pts)
Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025 – Snapdragon Stadium (San Diego, Calif.)
Misconduct Summary:
SD – Luca De La Torre (caution, 25’)
SD – Anders Dreyer (caution, 33’)
SD- Christopher McVey (caution, 70’)
Lineups:
SAN DIEGO FC: GK CJ Dos Santos; D Franco Negri (Leo Duru, 52’), D Christopher McVey, D Manu Duah, D Luca Bombino; M Jeppe Tverskov -C-, M Onni Valakari, M Luca De La Torre (Pedro Soma, 82’); F Hirving “Chucky” (Amahi Pellegrino, 82’), F Anders Dreyer, F Corey Baird (David Vazquez, 42’)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Duran Ferree, D Ian Pilcher, D Paddy McNair, M Anibal Godoy, F Emmanuel Boateng
TOTAL SHOTS: 11; SHOTS ON GOAL: 1; FOULS: 10; OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES; 2
PORTLAND TIMBERS: GK James Pantemis; D Dario Zuparic, D Finn Surman -C-, D Jimer Fory, D Juan Mosquera; M David Da Costa, M David Ayala, M Felipe Carballo (Diego Chara, 83’); F Matias Rojas (Antony, 60’), F Kristoffer Velde (Ariel Lassiter, 69’), F Kevin Kelsy (Felipe Mora, 60’)
Substitutes Not Used: D Eric Miller, GK Maxime Crepeau, M Cristhian Paredes, D Ian Smith, M Joao Ortiz
TOTAL SHOTS: 9; SHOTS ON GOAL: 2; FOULS: 6; OFFSIDES: 6; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 1
Referee: Rosendo Mendoza
Assistant Referees: Chris Wattam, Stefan Tanaka-Freundt
Fourth Official: Victor Rivas
VAR: Greg Dopka
AVAR: Craig Lowry
Weather: 76-degrees, partly cloudy
Attendance: 27,810
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
SDFC HEAD COACH MIKEY VARAS
On tonight’s result and clinching a spot in the playoffs:
“In the microscopic view, we're disappointed because we're competitors, and we want three points at home, and we feel like we played a really good game in a lot of facets. And of course, it was just the margins where, you know, we didn't get the goals, a little bit offside here, but we did a lot of things well, but we'll always push ourselves, because that's the kind of the nature of the group and the culture we're going to always push ourselves that we want to do better and we want to win every single game. So, ties for us sometimes feel like losses in the medium view though, we did some good things, and if we repeat that performance over and over and over again, you're more likely to win than to lose, and that's our mentality. And then in the big picture, we can't let our disappointment and our competitive spirit completely dampen the big picture, which is that we're the first team in the league to qualify for playoffs, and we're the fastest team expansion team to a playoff qualification, and that's the work that we've done every single day, from day one all the way through to now. And so, keeping an eye on the wanting to get better, but also balancing that with celebrating the overall work that we've done. And then the question is, now what? So now? What now? What do we want to do? And I know that everybody in that locker room wants to push for a lot more.”
On if he will rest players during upcoming games now that playoff berth has been clinched:
“Absolutely not. This is about showing up and competing every day in training, and you see what happens in life. Because the reason that we compete the way that we do is we push everything to the limits all the time, the second that you start to play with the handbrake on, or start to, okay, let's, let's take it safe. Then we play completely outside of who we are, which is, we're an all-in club, we're all-in players, all-in staff. So, you see, like, it's unfortunate, right? Corey [Baird] gets a start, and he's doing pretty good, and then he has a little groin injury. Next guy, next guy up. You know, if I get sick one day and I can't make it to work, somebody is going to step up and do the job. And that's, that's who we are. And so, we're going to keep pushing this thing full throttle and see how far we can push the season.”
On the Club culture and what drives the team’s success:
“I think it starts with the vision from the ownership group that we want to be a football club that plays a certain way, wants to be a winning club and wants to be a reflection of the community. So when there's clear vision, I think, as players or staff or as a club, you have a target to reach for, and then you hire the right people, and you sign the right players, people who are overachievers, and so now they have that target, and then you get enough people who want to go beyond that target, then you have the potential for something special to happen, but it's absolutely no guarantee. We can't take for granted the season that we're having because we've put a lot of hard work in. We have a lot of good people. We have really, really good players. Everybody's really committed. But at the end of the day, it's really difficult to win football games, and you can see that we play a very good game tonight, and we don't get the three points. So, there's always an element of writing your luck as well, and finding those good moments in life where life is giving you something and being strong enough and confident enough to recognize that as well. So, we should not take anything for granted in this season. We're working our butts off. We're going to continue to work our butts off, and then we see what happens when the ball starts rolling.”
On players Tomás Ángel and Marcus Ingvartsen missing action tonight due to injury:
“In terms of Tommy [Ángel], like, things are getting more competitive. We just signed Pelle [Amahl Pellegrino], Corey [Baird] has been in training now. So, it's, it's about these guys earning their spots, not only for playing time, but also on the roster. Tommy is a top professional, a great teammate. He's got a lot of potential, and he understands, he understands we have no problems inside our locker room, these guys actually love that, because they know that if they if they perform the right way, they'll get their opportunity. And then Marcus, it's more case of continuing his return to play protocol and making sure that we don't push it too fast and too consistent, because we want to make sure that we finish strong the season with him, so like everybody's going full throttle, but the one area that we always have clear intentions with, and we always think about player safety, is their return from injury, with the big picture in mind of making sure that we finish the season strong and head in the playoffs with momentum.”
On being the first team to clinch a playoff spot and also the fastest expansion club to do so:
“The thing about the expansion for me, it has less value, because every season, every journey, is totally different. But for me, what has tremendous value is we're here to represent a community, right? We're supposed to be a reflection of San Diego and the people of San Diego, and I think that means that it's a community with good character, it's a community that's creative, that's diverse, it's a place that people know they come for entertainment, but what a lot of people don't know is that this is a place where people make tremendous sacrifices to live and they work really hard. And because this is California, especially these areas, it's not easy to make a living and live here, but people make tremendous sacrifices, huge work ethic every single day so that they can live here because they love this place so much and I think that's what I'm most proud about the group you see in many games when we're down that we have that fighting spirit about us and that's the base of everything in terms of being a reflection.”
SDFC MIDFIELDER JEPPE TVERSKOV:
On being the first the first club to clinch a spot in the 2025 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs:
"First of all, we're happy to get in the playoffs of course. I think right now, the emotions is most based on the game and of course, we wanted to win. So, it's, it's kind of mixed feelings."
On what made Portland a difficult matchup tonight:
"They know what they want. They are pretty good in transition, so you need to be careful. On the other hand, you can also catch them a little bit, because they have guys who are waiting a little bit. So, once you get the ball, it's about some time risking it early and unfortunately, we weren't good enough to do that. I'll say at least most of second half. I felt like the first half, we caught them a couple of times and was close also getting the first goal with Anders [Dreyer] that was onside. But yeah, it's football, there's two teams always. There's always a team that try to disrupt your game plan and make it difficult for you and they were, they were good at it today."
On his message to the fans after clinching a playoff spot:
"Yeah, I think our feeling is right now that we are in the playoffs. So now the first step is complete and we are in a position where I feel like we can hold our chest high and say we want to go for it all. I think we have proven ourselves. I think we are confident. I think we still have a lot of respect for all the games that's in front of us, but I also feel like if we are confident and play the way we've done the whole season, doesn't wave too much out of what we've done and what we achieved this season. I don't see why we shouldn't be able to compete with all the rest of the teams."
On integrating new players into the team and still upholding their winning ways:
"Yeah, we've done a lot of guys in. I think we were in games with almost only 14, 15, field players on the pitch and 3, 4, 5, and on the bench. So, yeah, we needed guys and we got a lot of guys in also this this window, and it's fun as a team, because it means there's more competition, but it's also means you need to learn a lot of new guys the system and how we want to play and how we want to do things. But luckily, we had 26 new guys in January, so everybody knows how it is to kind of integrate new players quickly. So yeah, it's something that needs to be done along the games and like when we are playing the game. As of right now, it's looking still good, I feel like, as a player, and that's a nice feeling. We still have the confidence, whoever plays on the pitch that we will dominate and we will win the game. So yeah, that's a nice feeling to have as a player."
SDFC WINGER ANDERS DREYER
Playoff Clinching Opening Statement:
"Yeah, first of all the match. Of course, I think we're disappointed not to win. Every time we play at home with these amazing fans, we want to win, and also today, I think first half was very good and yeah, with a little bit more luck, and yeah, how do you say, composure on the ball and without the ball, we we're leading the first half maybe by one or two goals, and then think the game is over. And the other thing, of course, qualifying for the playoffs is amazing, and it's a nice accomplishment for the team and to do it so early, it's also nice, but we're still aiming to, with the six games left to keep getting a lot of points."
On the MVP race:
"I think, like I said throughout the whole season, for me, it's important that we as a team are doing great. I also think that's why I'm a little bit disappointed. We're still happy that we are like in the playoffs, but no, it's nice to be named, of course, among good players, for the MVP of the season, but there's still a lot of games to go and hopefully a lot more goals and assists and wins for this team to come."
On how important it is to focus on the Supporters' Shield as well:
"I think it's important and I think I know we are completely new team, but we want to go for it, but most important is that we would take one game by one, and today we wanted three points, but we didn't get it. And then, yeah, it's going to be close for the win. But no, of course, I think we want to go for it. Why not with six games to go? And then I think that also should be a target for the players, and I think that's also the way we want to make a statement as a single team in the MLS, that we're here to compete."
On using milestones to fuel the stretch run:
"I think it's important that, I know we are a new team, like I said, but I think already we've shown the league that we are capable of winning games and being in the top of the league and I think we we need to keep that in our mind, that we still have a lot to build on. And yeah, today was not great, but we still have to think about that. We also qualify for the playoffs, then with six games to go, that we can compete for the Supporters' Shield.”
