San Diego FC set a high standard after their 2026 home opener on Saturday, February 22. After a 5-0 victory against CF Montréal, with all goals scored by different players, the audience now has even higher expectations for the team’s 2026 season than before.
Marcus Ingvartsen
Forward Marcus Ingvartsen had a terrific start to the season after scoring the fourth goal of the match. This was his third goal with the team, the other two being last season.
“Yeah, great start, I think for the team and for me personally,” said Ingvartsen. “It’s been a short preseason, but we have been working very hard in training and having some good training matches. A lot of goals in the first couple of games, also. Great start and personally, great to be back with the players growing and assisting.”
At the beginning of the 2025 season, Ingvartsen suffered what seemed to be a long-term leg injury, benching him for a large portion of the inaugural season. He spoke about last year’s injury and his role on the team.
“It was a long, tough year for sure,” Ingvartsen said. “I think we aligned a lot of stuff and really did a clever way of building it up throughout the preseason. Maybe taking two, three, or four extra weeks to get in complete shape. But that’s definitely worth it compared to what happened last season. So, I’m happy with my progress and how I feel.”
Ingvartsen also spoke on how seeing the ball to the back of the net affects him mentally by stating,
“It helps a lot. Now we have that first [game] out of the system, and it was just a great start at home. A lot of goals, getting that freeness in the game. So, yeah, it was a very good feeling.”
Anders Dreyer, the team’s midfielder, stood out the most on the field. He made a total of two assists on the five goals that were scored. One being the goal scored by defender Christopher McVey at the 14th minute from Dreyer’s corner-kick, and the second being the set-up for Ingvartsen to shoot and score.
Ingvartsen spoke on what it means to have such a profound and skilled player on the team.
“It’s amazing to have a player like him around here,” Ingvartsen said, “being able to run off of him sometimes, and then he can see those passes and the goal, and he has the last hope in creating goals. That connection, of course, we speak the same language, but I also think we speak the same football language.”
Duran Ferree
Duran Ferree is the team’s 19-year-old goalkeeper and the first signing of San Diego FC. After CJ dos Santos’ injury from last season’s game against Portland Timbers on Nov.1, 2025, as well as Pablo Sisniega’s red card at the Western Conference Finals, Ferree got his chance to prove himself by starting his first game. He was an absolute powerhouse. He commented during training, 3 days after his game, on how he believed his performance was and how he plans on evolving from there.
“It was a good start, and I think there’s some good takeaways, but I know I’m better than what I showed, so I’m happy to express more of myself. There’s always something I could be improving on, being more sharpened, so I think we’ll just be seeing more of me,” Ferree said.
Ferree also discussed how it felt getting to pursue this goal and dream of his; to start a match and do a phenomenal job.
“It’s been great. [It was] really special for me. It just represents what I’ve been through these past six months. I’ve been looking forward to this moment for years now, and now that I’ve made it, I’m looking forward to making more memories like that,” said Ferree. “Everyone was pretty proud, pretty happy with what I’ve done so far.”
Since there are 2 other goalies on the team, there is major competition for starting positions. “We’re here to compete against each other. We’re fighting every day against each other, but it’s a good, healthy relationship, and we’re all really appreciative of the work we put in every day, so we’re all looking forward to this next game,” Ferree stated.
Ferree also walked through his moments during the game when he used his feet, because, as a goalkeeper, that can be pretty risky.
“I grew up in an academy where we wanted to play out the back, and I wasn’t always a goalkeeper. Until about 9, I was a striker, so I was always good on the ball. It was in my blood.”
Ferree remains one of the young talents on the team who has proved himself and continues to amaze the audience.
He spoke on behalf of his other young teammates, saying, “It’s an amazing opportunity for all the guys, and it just shows the academy that everyone has the right to dream.”
Moving Onward
San Diego FC had a prodigious start to their season, but that doesn’t mean there’s time for rest. The team still has to push their limits and practice their strategies to be better than the last time.
Ingvartsen noted what strategies should be made in future games to make them as unbelievable as the last.
“We cannot score after 40 minutes every game. So, keeping pressure, and then at the end, 70-80 minutes, the opponent will get tired also. I would rather have an early goal and then we score 4-0 there, but I’m sure they will come. I think now we are experiencing high pressure. I’m pretty sure we will experience a lot of low blocks also this season,” said Ingvartsen.
San Diego FC has its next game on Sunday, March 1, at Snapdragon Stadium against St. Louis.
