Everything you need to know about San Diego FC’s record-setting season before Sunday’s playoff game

Following a history-making inaugural season, San Diego FC is heading into the 2025 Major League Soccer playoffs as the top seed in the Western Conference.

The club achieved this by winning 19 matches and earning 63 points during the 34-match regular season, the most victories and points ever recorded by a new MLS expansion team.

San Diego FC will now play in the MLS Cup Playoffs with hopes of becoming the first expansion club to win the MLS Cup since the Chicago Fire did so in 1998. 

Dates, start times set for San Diego FC’s first-round playoff series

But how did the 30th MLS franchise get to this position? Here is a rundown of San Diego FC’s journey ahead of Sunday’s playoff opener.

First win: In San Diego FC’s first-ever match on Feb. 23, the club was victorious (2-0) over the defending MLS Cup champion LA Galaxy, setting the tone for what was to come. Anders Dreyer scored both goals, and it was San Diego FC coach Mikey Varas’ first MLS win. Fourteen San Diego FC players made their MLS debut, including Dreyer and Mexican soccer player Hirving “Chucky” Lozano.

First home game: The club came out with a 0-0 draw with St. Louis City SC in the first home game at Snapdragon Stadium on March 1. A record crowd of 34,506 spectators attended the game, surpassing the previous mark at Snapdragon Stadium of 34,248 people, when Wrexham and Manchester United played a friendly on July 25, 2023. Lozano left the match in the 28th minute with a hamstring injury. 

First loss: San Diego FC went undefeated in its first four matches, with two wins and two draws. The club suffered its first defeat during a road match at Austin FC on March 23 by a score of 2-1.

First home victory: Lozano returned to the pitch on March 29 during a 3-2 victory over LAFC at Snapdragon Stadium, for San Diego FC’s first win as a franchise at home. Christopher McVey, Onni Valakari and Alex Mighten each scored a goal in the first half.

First place: Escondido native Milan Iloski found the back of the net four times during a 12-minute stretch to lead San Diego FC to a 5-3 victory in Vancouver against the Whitecaps on June 25, taking the club into first place in the Western Conference. The local squad now had a record of 11 wins, five losses and three draws, after winning only one match and losing three in April, and six of eight matches, with one draw and one defeat, between May 3 and June 14.

MLS All-Stars: Also on June 25, Forwards Dreyer and Lozano, along with midfielder and team captain Jeppe Tverskov were named to the MLS All-Star Game. It was the first all-star selection for all three players, and the first time since Atlanta United in 2017 for an expansion club to produce three all-star players in the same year.

First player of the month: Dreyer became the first San Diego FC player to be named an MLS Player of the Month on July 2. The Danish soccer player was honored for his play on the pitch in June with three goals and six assists, and he aided the club in winning all three of its games that month.

Clinching a playoff spot: In arguably one of the most important ties of the inaugural season, San Diego FC clinched a playoff spot in a 0-0 match versus the Portland Timbers at home on Aug. 23. The draw also kept the club in first place in the Western Conference with 53 points and a record of 16-7-5.

Player of the month again: For the second time, Dreyer was named MLS Player of the Month on Sept. 5. He scored three goals and had two assists in August, when San Diego FC went undefeated with three wins and one draw. Dreyer was also on the pitch for 359 out of a possible 360 minutes in August. Plus, he is only the second player ever to collect two Player of the Month awards in the same season while playing for an MLS expansion team. Josef Martinez did it first while playing for Atlanta United in 2017.

Last regular-season home game: The azul and chrome lost their final regular-season home game, falling 1-0 to the San Jose on Sept. 27. San Diego FC only won seven games at Snapdragon Stadium, compared to 12 matches on the road, with the last home victory coming on July 25.

Final game of regular season: San Diego FC clinched the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference on the last day of the 2025 MLS regular season with a 4-0 trouncing of the Timbers in Portland combined with a win by FC Dallas over the Vancouver Whitecaps, on Oct. 18. Dreyer and Amahl Pellegrino, who joined the team in late-August via a trade with the Earthquakes, both scored two goals. Dreyer also ended the regular season with 19 assists, tied for first with Lionel Messi of Inter Miami CF. San Diego FC also earned a berth in next year’s Concacaf Champions Cup tournament by finishing first in the Western Conference and fourth in the MLS Supporters’ Shield standings.