Before the start of the 2025 MLS season, pundits and analysts across the media had their fun with predictions, hot takes, and potential storylines ahead of the season. No one, however, could have predicted the early success of Major League Soccer’s newest member, San Diego FC.
Like most expansion teams in American sports, predictions about SDFC’s inaugural season generally followed the assumption that they would struggle throughout the year, ending up near the bottom of the league and building up from there.
Yet the San Diego squad is not one to abide by precedent, as not even hometown media could have predicted this level of early success. With a 10-3-5 record and sitting alone at second place in the Western Conference, SDFC is not only poised for a successful inaugural run but also a potential inaugural playoff run that borders on title contention.
Expansion clubs in the MLS have found early success before, as seen most recently with St. Louis City SC, which finished first in the Western Conference in its 2023 inaugural season. This, however, is very much the exception rather than the norm.
To better understand this unexpected development and where it might all be heading, it is important to break down some key developments that occurred both before the start of the season and during.
Blooming culture
Team culture is the foundation of any professional sports club, and SDFC Head Coach Mikey Varas and his staff have built a bedrock that players have fully bought into and built on.
Varas speaks often of maintaining a growth mindset in the squad, not allowing complacency to creep in. He promotes playing with bravery, always looking for ways to improve, and remaining focused on the task at hand.
“Making sure our feet stay on the ground, making sure that we’re not getting too high or too low, and part of that is just remembering that our first and ultimate goal is to be fighting for playoffs in our first year,” Varas said during a media availability regarding the group’s biggest challenge.
Underrated and hungry talent
Before San Diego’s inaugural season got underway, many of the players the team acquired were relative unknowns to the city. Outside of players named Hirving Lozano, you would be hard pressed to find someone outside of soccer fanatics who knew much about the squad.
When taking a closer look at this group, however, a fine collection of talent is revealed. Up and down the squad, players are making their mark not just on the team but on the league as well. Whether it’s Danish forward Anders Dreyer’s calculated offense and league-leading nine assists, team captain Jeppe Tverskov anchoring the midfield with veteran Aníbal Godoy, or supersub and Escondido native Milan Iloski putting his heart into every score off the bench.
The true depth of that talent will be put to the ultimate test over the course of the next few weeks, with many starters on the team missing due to injury or international duty.
Controlling the flow
Well before opening kickoff, Varas was clear in his desire to see his team play with relentless press and bravery on the ball against opponents. His squad heard him loud and clear, making SDFC’s offense in competition with some of the best in the league, holding a top 10 position in most attacking statistics.
Tied for first in the league in possession statistics, San Diego doesn’t let other teams dictate the game either, putting opponents on the back foot and forcing them to play uncomfortable and out of scheme.
Defensively, the squad has made incredible strides as well. After bouncing back from an abysmal April where the team allowed nine goals in four matches, the defense displayed real tenacity, stifling the opposition to allow only five goals in the last eight matches.
“That’s something we’ve been working on from day one, how we defend together,” defender Christopher McVey said of the improvement. “It’s a collective thing, a lot of times people think it’s just the defenders, but it’s a team effort, and I think we’ve been taking big steps in all of the positions, but especially up on the start of the press.”
With 16 matches to go, there is still plenty of gametime left and questions to be answered. Though barring a disastrous collapse, San Diego FC is well on its way to its first-ever postseason in its first-ever season.
As long as the squad remains consistent in their form, their destiny will remain in their own hands. With the supporters who have made Snapdragon Stadium a homefield bastion backing them, the sky is the limit for this young club.
