San Diego FC still doesn’t know who they’ll play in the best-of-three first round of the Major League Soccer playoffs.
But at least the times and dates are set.
SDFC will play its first-ever postseason game on Oct. 26 against the winner of Wednesday’s 7:30 p.m. play-in game between the Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake. Game 1 will start at 6:30 p.m. from Snapdragon Stadium.
SDFC will travel to either Portland or Salt Lake City for Game 2, which will be held Nov. 1 at 6:30 p.m. The teams will return to San Diego for an if-necessary Game 3, which will be played Nov. 9 at a time to be determined. All three matches will air on MLS Season Pass, with a chance that Game 3 could also air on a linear TV network.
Visiting SDFC wrapped its regular season with a 4-0 win over Portland late Saturday. Anders Dreyer and Amahl Pellegrino scored two goals apiece and goalkeeper CJ dos Santos notched his 10th clean sheet of the season. The victory, coupled with the Vancouver Whitecaps’ 2-1 loss to FC Dallas, earned San Diego FC the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs. The expansion club owned the tiebreaker by virtue of having more regular-season wins (19) than Vancouver (18).
SDFC midfielder Jeppe Tverskov called it an “almost perfect game.”
“I think from the first whistle, we felt like we were in control,” he said. “And, yeah, it’s amazing to get to the final game of the regular season like this, going into the playoffs with confidence also.
“So, yeah, shout-out. No goals, scoring four goals ourselves, and just in general a good performance. So, yeah, only smiles today.”
San Diego FC coach Mikey Varas blows a kiss to thre crowd after his club beat the Portland Timbers and secured the No. 1 seed in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference playoffs. (Brandon Bullas, San Diego FC)
Numbers game
Saturday’s win extended SDFC’s record for the most wins (19) and points (63) by an expansion team in Major League Soccer history.
The club also won 12 road matches, becoming just the second team in league history — and the first since 1998 — to accomplish that feat. SDFC’s 37 road points are tied for the most ever.
“I don’t have all the stats, but … we hit some pretty major milestones that nobody can take away from these guys,” coach Mikey Varas said. “And every single staff member and every single fan, you can’t take that away from us. And so it’s about celebration — celebrating the accomplishments, resting, recovering and then getting back in.”
By finishing first in the Western Conference and fourth in the MLS Supporters’ Shield standings, SDFC earned a berth in next year’s Concacaf Champions Cup tournament. It marks the club’s first-ever international tournament.
Ingvartsen returns
Marcus Ingvartsen entered Saturday’s match in the 82nd minute, marking his first appearance since Aug 17.
Injuries have marred a promising season for the Danish forward. He played in each of SDFC’s first four matches, scoring a goal, before going down with an injury in the club’s March 15 draw with Columbus at Snapdragon Stadium. He played in one match in May, one in June and one in August before coming off the bench Saturday.
San Diego is 6-0-2 when Ingvartsen plays, outscoring their opponents 18-5.
Originally Published: October 19, 2025 at 12:07 PM PDT