Thanks to Anders Dreyer\u2019s 72nd-minute goal and the shutout, the first-year club booked Snapdragon Stadium for the Western Conference final Saturday against Vancouver.<\/p>\n
If any MLS fan base deserves another home game, it\u2019s SDFC\u2019s supporters.<\/p>\n
Capacity crowds of 32,500 have attended all three of the team\u2019s playoff matches on the heels of a season in which the club finished fourth overall in attendance and first among teams that don\u2019t play in NFL venues.<\/p>\n
Monday night, the crowd\u2019s chanting, singing and drum-banging impressed both sides.<\/p>\n
\u201cGreat atmosphere,\u201d said Minnesota United coach Eric Ramsay, who worked three years with global powerhouse Manchester United in England.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have landed in football city,\u201d San Diego FC captain Jeppe Tverskov, who played for several years in Europe.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love to play in front of a lot of fans,\u201d said an appreciative Dreyer, who clapped afterward for the supporters.<\/p>\n
![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SUT-L-sdfc-1125-013_22f05e.jpg\")
San Diego, CA \u2013 November 24: Anders Dreyer #10 of San Diego FC celebrates as time expires in a 1-0 win against Minnesota United in the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs at Snapdragon Stadium on November 24, 2025 in San Diego, CA. (K.C. Alfred \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n
The match\u2019s lone goal hit high notes, too.<\/p>\n
SDFC forward Corey Baird ran down a through pass near the end line and heeled the ball backward to a perfect spot.<\/p>\n
Dreyer ripped a left-foot shot, beating the league\u2019s top goalkeeper inside the near post.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had just one thing on my mind: hitting it as hard as possible,\u201d said Dreyer.<\/p>\n
Making it a trifecta of excellence, the defense recorded its second consecutive shutout behind a few top-notch plays.<\/p>\n
Right back Ian Pilcher\u2019s clearout near the goal-line, in the 48th minute, may have been SDFC\u2019s top defensive play of the year. A goal would\u2019ve allowed Minnesota United to do what it does best \u2014 shepherd a lead to the finish line.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so well-deserved,\u201d said Tverskov, commending Pilcher\u2019s hard work behind the scenes and Pilcher\u2019s adjustment to moving from center back.<\/p>\n
![\"Jeppe](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SUT-L-sdfc-1125-mm-006.jpg\")
Jeppe Tverskov #6 of San Diego FC reacts after a call in favor of Minnesota United during the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs: Conference Semifinals at Snapdragon Stadium on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025 in San Diego, California. (Meg McLaughlin \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n
Goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega, delivering a reprieve in the 64th minute, bought more time for SDFC\u2019s offense to break through against Minnesota\u2019s well-coordinated defense.<\/p>\n
Though he lost his footing, Sisniega recovered quickly to block a Minnesota shot. And Pilcher, in protecting the 1-0 lead, denied the visitors a breakout near midfield by smartly taking down a player, well worth the yellow card.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just defended with heart the whole game through,\u201d Tverskov said. \u201cWe did very well, considering this team is so dangerous on almost every set piece.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, on balance, it was another festival of football \u2014 SDFC midfielder Luca de la Torre\u2019s phrase \u2014 in Mission Valley.<\/p>\n
![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SUT-L-sdfc-1125-006.jpg\")
San Diego, CA \u2013 November 24: Luca Bombino #27 of San Diego FC takes a shot on goal against Minnesota United during the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs at Snapdragon Stadium on November 24, 2025 in San Diego, CA. (K.C. Alfred \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n
But there was a significant flaw in the presentation.<\/p>\n
The pitch at Snapdragon Stadium, beaten up by the San Diego State-San Jose State football game two days earlier, was not worthy of a playoff match in America\u2019s top men\u2019s soccer league.<\/p>\n
It was far too bumpy. And Sisniega said he slipped on sand, nearly enabling Minnesota to score a cheap goal to say nothing about increasing injury risk.<\/p>\n
Ramsay praised SDFC, but deemed the subpar pitch an unfortunate aspect to the match.<\/p>\n
Before he answered questions from reporters, Tverskov brought up the pitch, calling it the worst home surface of the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe pitch needs to go,\u201d Tversko said. \u201cThere\u2019s no in between.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SUT-L-sdfc-1125-022.jpg\")
San Diego, CA \u2013 November 24: San Diego FC coach Mikey Varas, center, and players celebrates after a 1-0 win against Minnesota United in the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs at Snapdragon Stadium on November 24, 2025 in San Diego, CA. (K.C. Alfred \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n
Ramsay said SDFC actually would\u2019ve benefited the most from a good-quality surface, noting that San Diego, which led the MLS in ball possession this season, tends to \u201cdominate the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dreyer was kinder than Tverskov and others about the pitch, saying bumpy surfaces are part of the sport.<\/p>\n
It appears that neither a shoddy field, sickness nor jet lag can deter Denmark\u2019s Dreyer, who in recent days was shut down by a virus that had him throwing up eight days ago in Europe. From last Monday through Wednesday, he was plagued by headaches.<\/p>\n
Then he boarded the long flights back to San Diego.<\/p>\n
He said he wasn\u2019t at full speed on Monday. But when Baird teed him up, he looked as sharp as he has all year.<\/p>\n
Next, Dreyer will lead SDFC against Vancouver for the third time. SDFC won in Canada and the teams played to a tie in Mission Valley. But this time, German star forward Thomas M\u00fcller will be with Vancouver.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe good news,\u201d said Dreyer, \u201cis I can relax a little bit\u201d in the next few days.<\/p>\n
SDFC fans may need some time to recover, too. Come Saturday, they\u2019ll be ready.<\/p>\n
MLS Western Conference Final: No. 1 San Diego FC vs. No. 2 Vancouver Whitecaps<\/p>\n
When:<\/strong> 6 p.m. Saturday<\/p>\n TV:<\/strong> AppleTV<\/p>\n Radio:<\/strong> 760-AM, 1700-AM (Spanish)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The party will rage on. San Diego FC, rewarding and feeding off another loud capacity crowd, beat Minnesota…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":403199,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,1370,3549,15520,7264,221,62,7289,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-403198","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-latest-headlines","12":"tag-san-diego","13":"tag-san-diego-fc","14":"tag-sandiego","15":"tag-soccer","16":"tag-sports","17":"tag-top-stories-sdut","18":"tag-united-states","19":"tag-united-states-of-america","20":"tag-unitedstates","21":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","22":"tag-us","23":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115609413730519069","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=403198"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403198\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/403199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}