Amahl Pellegrino and Anders Dreyer each had two goals and an assist to help San Diego FC beat the Portland Timbers 4-0 on Saturday to clinch the top seed in Western Conference.
San Diego also (19-9-6) finished the regular season with 63 points — the most by an expansion club in MLS history.
Portland (11-12-11) fell to eighth in the Western Conference and will play ninth-seeded Dallas on Wednesday in the Wild Card game.
The winner takes on San Diego in the best-of-three first round. The date and time for SDFC’s first postseason match will be announced Sunday.
“And now we ask ourselves, what now? Because we’re hungry for more,” head coach Mikey Varas said.
SDFC got some help Saturday from Vancouver, which needed a win or draw against Dallas to secure the West’s top seed. Defender Mathías Laborda was sent off with a red card in the 11th minute and the Whitecaps played with 10 the rest of the way and Dallas prevailed 2-1.
The Philadelphia Union had clinched the top spot in the East and claimed the league’s Supporters’ Shield with a 1-0 victory over NYCFC on Oct. 4 ahead of Decision Day. Philadelphia also secured home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Pellegrino, after a Timbers giveaway in their defensive half, ran onto a ball played ahead by Dreyer and his first-touch finish from the center of the area gave San Diego the lead for good in the 26th minute.
SDFC celebrated on a damp night in Portland as their win clinched the top seed in the Western Conference for the playoffs. (Photo courtesy of San Diego FC)
Dreyer added goals in the 47th and 49th minutes and, following another Portland turnover, Pellegino knocked down a pass played by Jeppe Tverskov and then scored to make it 4-0 in the 63rd.
“I think we played (a) very mature and almost perfect game,” Tverskov said. “I think from the first whistle, we felt like we were in control.”
CJ dos Santos had two saves for San Diego.
San Diego had 64% possession and outshot the Timbers 16-11, 7-2 on target.
Tverskov, in reflecting on SDFC’s debut season and what the club hopes to achieve, said, “So yeah, me, personally, it’s been one of the most fun seasons I’ve had, of course, both being a captain and being a big part of it. But also, just as I said, it’s an amazing culture we are building. And it’s not only for this year, it’s for the coming years.”
Notes: After producing two goals and one assist, Dreyer has now produced the most goals (17) and goal contributions (27) in road matches in a single season in MLS history … SDFC extended its unbeaten streak on the road to 10 consecutive games … The first-place finish in the Western Conference and fourth place in the Supporter Shield’s standings also secured the club’s first-ever berth in international competition – the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup.
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