Expansion club San Diego FC will look to build on a historic opening win when they play their first-ever home match against St. Louis City on Saturday night.
San Diego (1-0-0, 3 points) pulled off one of the biggest upsets in league expansion history, defeating the defending MLS Cup champion Los Angeles Galaxy 2-0 in Carson, Calif., on Sunday thanks to a pair of second-half goals by Anders Dreyer.
Coach Mikey Varas acknowledges that as surprising as the opening win was, he views it as a mere appetizer compared to the emotions of more than 30,000 fans who are expected to watch the first home match for the league’s 30th club.
“All of us are honored by the opportunity,” Varas said, “and at the end of the day, we also cherish the responsibility that comes with it. And it’s a big responsibility, because we know the club will be here 100 years from now, but we won’t. But the steps that we take now are going to be pushing this club on a trajectory.”
Expansion clubs typically struggle to contend for the playoffs in their first season. Belying that statement, however, is Saturday’s opponent. St. Louis finished atop the Western Conference in its inaugural campaign just two seasons ago.
But St. Louis (0-0-1, 1 point) regressed in 2024 in part due to a dismal 1-8-8 away record that led to the midseason dismissal of manager Bradley Carnell. His successor, Olof Mellberg, has made improving that away record one of his first goals in the club’s third season.
“I don’t think we should compare too much with last season,” Mellberg said. “We’ve worked really hard this week with a really good game plan for Saturday’s game, and we feel confident in that. And I think that’s what the players need, to feel that they have a good plan.”
Mellberg’s squad settled for a scoreless draw against the visiting Colorado Rapids in its opener, despite dominating the flow of the game.
Joao Klauss and Simon Becher each forced Rapids goalkeeper Zack Steffen into multiple saves, and St. Louis goalkeeper Roman Burki was not forced to make a single save.
–Field Level Media
