With every match, San Diego FC is carving its identity into the heart of the city and in Major League Soccer (MLS). Winger Anders Dreyer and head coach Mikey Varas are MLS award finalists for the 2025 MLS season.
The Danish International is a finalist for the Landon Donovan MLS MVP award and MLS Newcomer of the Year. “El Paletero” is nominated alongside Los Angeles Football Club’s Denis Bouanga, FC Cincinnati’s Evander, Inter Miami CF’s Lionel Messi, and Nashville SC’s Sam Surridge for MVP. MLS Newcome of the Year also includes LAFC’s Son Heung-Min and Chicago Fire FC’s Philip Zinckernagel.
Dreyer was the only player to start all 34 MLS Regular Season games for SDFC with 38 goal contributions (19g/19a). The winger has two Player of the Month recognitions including June and September.
Varas is a finalist for the Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year after leading the Club to First Place in the Western Conference in the Club’s inaugural season. SDFC finished the regular season with 63 points and 19 wins, surpassing the previous records.
LAFC ended their 2018 Inaugural season with 57 points and held the record for most points by an expansion team until Sunday, October 18 when SDFC defeated the Portland Timbers 4-0. St. Louis City SC held a record of 17 wins in 2023, but the Chrome and Azul also added a record for most wins by an expansion team with their 19th victory.
The Club became the third expansion side since 2018 to have at least three finalists in their debut season. St. Louis CITY SC had four finalists in 2023 and LAFC had three finalists in 2018.
Dreyer and Varas have been engraining their names in SDFC history, and they’re not done yet! The winners will be announced throughout the Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs.
