Dream season ends for San Diego FC

Pretty much all season long San Diego FC was chasing the Chicago Fire’s remarkable Major League Soccer debut season in 1998 when the expansion franchise made it all the way to the MLS Cup championship game, winning it with a 2-0 victory over DC United.

The Fire finished its first MLS season with a championship double by defeating the Columbus Crew for the U.S. Open Cup title.

Chicago has become one of the MLS’s most successful franchises with U.S. Open Cup championships in 2000, 2003 and 2006 besides the MLS Cup title in 1998 and an MLS Cup runner-up finishes in 2000 (to the Kansas City Wizards) and 2003 (to the San Jose Earthquakes). The team also won the MLS Supporters Shield in 2003 with the league’s best regular season record.

There is every reason to believe the first-year San Diego club can be just as successful.

San Diego FC finished its maiden season with a Western Conference best 19-9-6 mark to earn the No. 1 seed in the conference playoffs. As part of that first 2025 season, the club went on to post a MLS record for an expansion team with 19 wind and 63 standings points.

San Diego FC defeated the ninth-seeded Portland Timbers two games to one in the league’s Round One playoff series, taking the opener in San Diego by a 2-1 score and completing the series with a 4-0 shutout victory to advance to the conference semifinals.

Dreyer and Amahi Pellegrino each scored two goals in front of a crowd of 32,500 at Snapdragon Stadium to secure the series win.

San Diego FC defeated Minnesota United, 1-0, on a goal by Dreyer in the 72nd minute in front of a sellout crowd to meet the second-seeded Vancouver Whitecaps in the conference final on Sautuday, Nov. 29.

The Whitecaps ended San Diego’s dream season with a 3-1 victory. Chucky Lozano notched San Diego’s lone goal in the match in front of 32,502 chanting and flag-waving fans. Brian White led Vancouver with two goals while Ali Ahmed contributed two assists. The Canadian visitors also benefitted from an own goal by the hosts.

Lozano, the team’s designated player signing, scored on a long range deflected shot in the 60th minute. But the 3-0 halftime deficit proved too much to overcome.

Vancouver will meet Eastern Conference champion Inter Miami CF in the 2025 MLS Cup finals on Saturday, Dec. 6.

It was a first season definitely to be remembered, even cherished, despite the disappointing ending.

The team’s passionate fan base embraced the team from the start and never stopped supporting it.

“Nobody can take away the season these guys (had), nobody can ever take that away from them,” San Diego FC head coach Mikey Varas said in a post-game media conference. “They made a city dream. They made a while region dream.. They were one stop away from MLS Cup.

“I hope that everybody remembers that we went for it, we went for it with a clear identity, trying to be a reflection of the community, trying to make San Diego proud.

“We fought to the last second in every match we were ever in, and we always took accountability and never shied away from when we weren’t good enough. I hope they also remember that we all just met each other 12 months ago, and that we put a tremendous foundation together to build something sustainable into the future.”

The team posted an amazing video college on its social media platform addressed to its fans:

THANK YOU FOR A HISTORIC INAUGURAL SEASON. pic.twitter.com/tD79i22DUD

“It’s worth watching again and again to relive the magic of 2025.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria posted on X:

“I am so proud of San Diego FC. Mo matter the score tonight, this first-season run has been incredible. From packed nights at Snapdragon Stadium in Mission Valley to becoming one of the strongest expansion clubs in MLS history, this team has united our city in a big way.”

Some highlights:

The team’s 19 wins were a single-season MLS record for an expansion team as were the team’s 63 standings points. The San Diego kickers tied a league record for most road points with 37.

The team earned the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs and advanced to the conference championship game before ending its incredible first-season run.

The team hosted 700,000 fans for home matches at Snapdragon Stadium.

The team finished with three MLS All-Stars: wingers Anders Dreyer and Hirving “Chucky” Lozano and midfielder Jeppe Tverskov.

Dreyer was a finalist for the league’s MVP award and captured MLS Newcomer of the Year honor with 38 goal contributions (19 goals, 19 assists) in the regular season and six more (four goals, two assists) in five playoff matches.

Varas was a finalist for the MLS Coach of the Year award.

It all added up to San Diego FC earning distinction as best expansion team in MLS history.

All the kudos are well deserved.

The list of accomplishments is indeed impressive.

San Diego FC won its first-ever regular season MLS match with a 2-0 victory at the Los Angeles Galaxy on Feb. 2. Dreyer scored both goals.

The team set a Snapdragon Stadium record for single game attendance when 34, 506 spectators turned out for its first-ever home match on March 1, a 0-0 draw against St. Louis City SC.

Fans kept coming back for more.

SDFC averaged 28,064 fans per match (excluding Leagues Cup matches).

On the pitch, SDFC fostered community engagement by hosting Liga MX side Club Tijuana (Xolos) in the inaugural Baja Cup on Sept. 15, winning 4-2. After trailing twice, SDFC gave its fans something to cheer for in the San Diego/Tijuana rivalry with three goals in the second half.  Alex Mighten, David Vazquez and Manu Duah notched SDFC’s opening three goals

The Baja Cup marked the first meeting between SDFC and Club Tijuana as part of a five-year partnership that celebrates the shared football culture of the San Diego/Baja region with an annual friendly match.

Sweetwater High School alum Joe Corona drew the assist on Club Tijuana’s game-opening goal scored by Vitinho in the sixth minute. Christian Leyva put the Xolos ahead 2-1 in the 51^st minute.

There were a lot of notables in the cross-border match, which doubled as SDFC’s second win in an international friendly.

Vazquez, who scored his first goal for SDFC, was named man of the match with two goal contributions against the Xolos by also adding an assist on Duah’s goal, also his first for SDFC.

Goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega started for SDFC and was replaced by Duran Ferree, the team’s first local player signing, in the 46th minute, with the San Diego native making his debut with SDFC. Ferree recorded a pair of saves against Club Tijuana

SDFC used four guest players from its recently-opened Right to Dream Academy, one of whom scored the match’s final goal. Another guest player assisted on the scoring play.

The third consecutive edition of the CONCACAF-sanctioned Leagues Cup 2025 competition took place between July 29 and Aug. 31 with all 18 clubs from Liga MX and 18 qualified MLS clubs competing.

San Diego FC hosted three Phase One games at Snapdragon Stadium: CF Pachuca (3-2 loss) on July 29, Tigres UANL (2-1 loss) on Aug. 1 and Mazatlan FC (2-0 win) on Aug. 5. Onni Valakari had both goals in the win over Mazatlan while Luca Bombino and Dreyer each scored goals in injury time against Pachuca. Tomas Angel scored for the hosts against Tigres.

SDFC defeated Club America, 3-0 in an exhibition match on June 7 as Milan Iloski scored two goals and Angel added another against the 16-time Liga MX champions as the MLS expansion team recorded its first international friendly.

Dreyer and Valakari were the only two players who appeared in all of SDFC’s 39 matches this season.

San Diego FC was not represented in the 2025 domestic US Open Cup competition.

Money matters
Off the pitch, the team also achieved remarkable success in ticket sales, partnerships and merchandise. Business milestones reached in 2025 included 18,000-plus founding season ticket members, fourth in MLS average attendance (first among non-NFL stadium clubs), 48 official club partners.

SDFC broke the?all-time MLS annual retail sales record, selling more merchandise at club-controlled stores than any other team in league history. The record was surpassed with five home matches still remaining, highlighting the scale of fan engagement and demand.

SDFC’s retail success is anchored by?Eighteen Threads, the innovative retail concept at Mission Valley Mall blending experiential shopping with football culture.

This record is not only about sales, but about reimagining what fan retail can be. Eighteen Threads is innovative, scalable, and deeply tied to community engagement.

At Snapdragon Stadium, SDFC expanded the existing retail footprint 5 tiems for the first season.

“From our founding season ticket members to our club partners and fans, this inaugural season has exceeded every expectation,” said SDFC CEO Tom Penn. “On the pitch, we’ve shown that San Diego FC is a competitive force, and off the pitch, we’ve set records that reflect the passion and support of our community. This is just the beginning of our journey.”

According to club management, SDFC will continue to combine competitive excellence with innovative fan experiences, world-class soccer and deep community engagement in the seasons ahead.

SDFC appears to have secured its future talent base with the opening of its Right to Dream academy on its training site on the Sycuan Reservation east of El Cajon adjacent to the Singing Hills Golf Resort.

The facility, which includes is shared by the team and the Right to Dream Youth Academy, opened on Feb. 4, 2025. The youth academy will encompass up to 100 resident athletes, starting with middle school ages.

Fans serenaded the team after the season-ending loss.

“It was a great season for me and my teammates, the staff, the leadership. It was a very good season,” Lozano said.

“We always definitely want to win and be champions. This time around, it wasn’t for us. But everyone should walk away with their head high and very happy on the season that we made.”

It’s been a fairytale season for all of us, all of us in the club, but also everybody around the club,” said Tverskov. “Everything has been kind of magical, and you see the end and dream.

“It means we’ve been doing a lot of things right, but it’s also 11 months, and then you’re one step away from the goal. So, it’s tough. I think we can be proud of a lot of things we’ve done, and I think we’ve built something also for the coming seasons.”