‘We want more’: SDFC returns to training ahead of Saturday’s Western Conference final

SDFC forward Amahl Pellegrino and his family met a couple while out to sushi recently, and the newfound friendship led to an invitation to the most uniquely American of holidays.

“This,” Pellegrino said, “will be our first Thanksgiving celebration.”

And so Pellegrino, a dual citizen of Norway and Tanzania, will tuck into some turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and all the trimmings on Thursday as he prepares for the biggest game of his soccer season.

It’s been a month of firsts for Pellegrino, star Anders Dreyer and the rest of San Diego FC’s largely international roster.

Monday’s 1-0 win over Minnesota United in a Major League Soccer Western Conference semifinal moved SDFC even closer to making league history. San Diego will host the Vancouver Whitecaps in Saturday’s Western Conference final, with the winner moving on to the MLS Cup championship game. No expansion club has won the MLS Cup since 1998, when the Chicago Fire brought home a title in their first year.

SDFC returned to training on Wednesday looking to stay both focused and fresh during a short week of preparation.

Visiting Vancouver played its conference semifinal on Saturday night, giving the club nearly 48 extra hours of downtime. The longer break may be mitigated by the fact that the Whitecaps played 30 minutes of overtime and went to penalty kicks before dispatching LAFC, and they will have to fly 2,200 miles to San Diego from Canada.

“As in life, you have to have a quick-turnaround mentality,” SDFC coach Mikey Varas said following Wednesday’s workout at the club’s Singing Hills training facility. “Today is about preparing. Nobody can take away what the guys did (Monday), and there’s a lot of merit to that … but we want more.

“Our priorities are about recovering for the guys who played big minutes, getting rhythm for the guys who didn’t, and preparing the most important details to get us in the position of winning the next game.”

Dreyer update

Dreyer had been battling a virus in the week before Monday, when he rattled in a 72nd-minute goal to give SDFC a playoff win.

He admitted the illness, which he caught while playing for Denmark’s national team in World Cup qualifiers, had taken a lot out of him.

Varas said he trusts SDFC’s support staff, which includes director of human performance Luke Jenkinson and nine others with titles ranging from athletic trainer and physical therapist to head of sport psychology and head of nutrition, to get Dreyer and his teammates right in a short week.

“At this point of this season, everybody needs something a little bit different,” Varas said. “Our job is to set the conditions so that they’re in the best condition to go out there and play their hardest and with a lot of confidence. (The staff has) all sorts of ways and strategies to help with those things.”

Field talk

Tuesday brought news that grounds crews were re-sodding Snapdragon Stadium.

“If they need help over there, I can come in 45 minutes,” Pellegrino joked. “That’s good news.”

The Snapdragon Stadium pitch was lumpy and sandy throughout Monday’s match, which worked against the home team.

SDFC’s style of play means the team thrives on slick, glass-like surfaces. SDFC players like artificial turf and the rain, both of which make the field play faster.

By contrast, Monday’s field was the worst of the 2025 home season, captain Jeppe Tverskov said.

“The pitch needs to go,” he said postgame.

And now it’s gone.

College to pro

Manu Duah played his final college game on Nov. 24, 2024, logging 110 minutes in UC Santa Barbara’s overtime loss to Stanford in the NCAA Tournament.

Exactly one year later, Duah was in San Diego FC’s starting lineup for a playoff game. The 20-year-old has played 354 of a possible 360 minutes during SDFC’s playoff run from a new position: center back. He was a midfielder in college.

“I’m actually enjoying it,” he said. “I’m not there yet, but I’m still learning. It’s fun to play there.”

With Duah and a long backline leading the way, SDFC has allowed just three goals in the playoffs. SDFC hasn’t allowed a goal since surrendering one in the final seconds of its Nov. 1 playoff match against the Timbers in Portland, Ore.

MLS Western Conference Final: No. 1 San Diego FC vs. No. 2 Vancouver Whitecaps

When: 6 p.m. Saturday

TV: AppleTV+

Radio: 760-AM, 1700-AM (Spanish)