How San Diego went from expansion afterthought to cup contender

SAN DIEGO — When one single goal can be the difference between glory and failure, taking risks isn’t for everyone in soccer.

Across the globe, some teams are specifically built to avoid any hints of hazard. Knowing that on-the-field pragmatism can pay off with conservative bets, it’s tempting for many tactical architects to play with caution. In a sport that’s demonstrated time and time again to be fickle, clubs often suppress uncertainty by putting their front office and coaching trust on tried-and-true names.

San Diego FC, the latest expansion side in MLS, is not one of those teams.

“We came in this league, and we did a ton of analysis, and there are so many different ways to win in football, and I think one of the things we wanted to try to ask ourselves was: ‘Could we win in a different way,'” sporting director Tyler Heaps said to ESPN. “I know it was a tremendous amount of risk.”

There were serious doubts from MLS insiders ahead of San Diego’s debut earlier this year.

While there was praise for the hirings of Heaps as the youngest sporting director (33) in the league last August, and first-time club head coach Mikey Varas, there were also worries about how much of an immediate impact they would be able to make. With both strategists aiming for an adventurous-but-dicey style of play that would embrace tactical pressure from the get-go, and place a significant amount of responsibility on a modest roster that aimed to uplift inexperienced players, the team was predicted to finish dead last in the Western Conference by MLS’ in-house experts.

The consensus from understandably wary skeptics? The ambitious newcomers had much to prove.

And yet, months later, through not only inviting jeopardy, but thriving within it, San Diego is now one win away from MLS Cup.

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Moments after San Diego earned a tense 1-0 home win over Minnesota United in its Western Conference semifinal on Monday, “All the Small Things,” a popular track from local pop-punk legends Blink-182, was blasted over the loudspeakers at Snapdragon Stadium. The song is an easy crowd pleaser — an instant dose of nostalgic euphoria for residents of “America’s Finest City” — but also an apt nod to the expansion side that has in fact gotten so many small things right.

“It starts with a vision: Who do you want to be,” Varas said to ESPN. “Having huge ambitions, but having convictions because it’s not easy, and it’s never a linear path. There’s always going to be ups and downs, but having convictions to stay steady in all the moments, has really been important.”

Throughout 2025, SDFC have been unwavering in how they’ve wanted to play the sport. When they go forward, they do so by luring in opposing players who could win the ball back in dangerous areas, before deftly moving past them. In the opposition’s half, through darting runs from league MVP finalist Anders Dreyer and Mexico superstar Hirving “Chucky” Lozano, they’re more than happy to commit numbers forward in their possession-heavy approach, which also leaves them vulnerable off counters.

Those convictions have undeniably created some nervy moments across their debut season, and as for Monday, their playoff run almost came to an end.

Following a scoreless first half against a highly defensive Minnesota, San Diego defender Ian Pilcher needed to make a goal-line clearance during a transition moment in the 47th minute. In the 48th, the opposition then recovered possession while San Diego was attempting to build in its own half, leading to a threatening shot just wide of its own net.

“I love being on the ball, and I love building out of the back … regardless if [there’s] been mistakes or not, we’ve stuck to it,” defender Christopher McVey told ESPN. “We play our way. Sometimes it doesn’t go our way, but we always stick to it.”

The San Diego way is also the way of Right to Dream, a global academy network that has its roots in Ghana. Later expanding to Denmark, Egypt and most recently San Diego as part of the ownership group for MLS’ latest franchise, Right to Dream focuses heavily on player development through a similar style of play that’s being utilized by Varas and his squad.

Pulling the strings behind the scenes is Heaps, who has coupled Right to Dream’s approach with his own data-heavy blueprints that have helped bring in under-the-radar signings. Before his role with San Diego, he previously had recruitment and analysis gigs with AS Monaco, U.S. Soccer and elsewhere within Right to Dream. When Heaps — husband to U.S. women’s international Lindsey Heaps — was in college, the movie “Moneyball” inspired him to chase his own set of dreams.

“It’s why I changed my major to mathematics, and I was always very good in the subject,” said Heaps, who was a young 20-something bartending on the side more than a decade ago. “I wanted to work in sport.”

It’s tough to argue against his powerful roster cocktail of underestimated additions, young prospects and reliable stars who have sent countless MLS teams in a stupor after the final whistle. Kicking things off with a stunning 2-0 away win over 2024 champions LA Galaxy, San Diego went on to finish atop of the Western Conference in 2025, while also setting MLS’ single-season records for most points (63) and wins (19) for an expansion team.

In the playoffs, and with a defensive line that has an average age of just 22 years old, it has also committed to its promise of entrusting young members of the roster, thereby adding more to its depth that has grown with each passing game.

“We have a strong foundation for a really healthy and competitive culture, with a group of players that are really committed to the style of play and winning,” Varas said.

“We have such a good locker room,” McVey added. “That’s also a recipe for success.”

That balanced recipe has also meant staying true to SDFC’s persistent messaging of the group over any individual. On one of the walls at their training ground, there’s a bold and unmistakable text that reads: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

This idea was recently put to the test in October through San Diego’s most high-profile risk to date. Following reports of a locker room altercation, Lozano, the face of the franchise, was left off two game-day rosters, including their first-ever playoff game against the Portland Timbers.

Even without Chucky, San Diego won both games: 4-0 and 2-1.

The winger took to social media and apologized for his actions, before returning in November and providing a goal and assist in the final two matches of a Round 1 series win over Portland. Immediately after that first game and goal back, the Mexican star celebrated by kissing the San Diego badge.

“It goes back to having a clear vision of who you want to be … and being consistent with it,” Varas said of managing the Lozano situation. “That’s what you have to do in the quote-unquote easy times, and quote-unquote hard times, in the highs and in the lows.”

Although the face of the franchise has returned and featured in the past three matches, the most boisterous applause at Snapdragon Stadium on Monday had nothing to do with Lozano. Instead, they were for another game changer who has been much more pivotal.

With the clock ticking in the second half of the Western Conference semifinal that challenged San Diego’s convictions even further, all signs seemed to point to an inevitable draw, extra time and possibly a penalty shootout. The unprecedented run could soon end — that is, until Dreyer stepped up in the 72nd minute.

After a clever backheel assist from forward Corey Baird, Dreyer rushed up and pummeled a shot from short range that sent Snapdragon Stadium into the loudest and most ear-piercing eruptions of cheers in 2025. In the press box, the venue slightly swayed for a brief second during the raucous scenes — a shockwave of sorts that followed Dreyer’s sonic boom of a hit.

By the final whistle, the one single goal was all SDFC needed.

With the victory under its belt, San Diego secured a much-anticipated Western Conference final this Saturday vs. the Vancouver Whitecaps, placing it just one positive result away from a championship game in its debut year.

“We’ve had a good season, but we want more,” captain Jeppe Tverskov said to media after Monday’s win. “Sometimes as a player, you also have the feeling that you have something special within your team, and I think we are on that wave right now. We feel it all.”

No matter what happens against Vancouver, or in a possible final, San Diego’s wager has paid off. Getting all the small things right, it could end up becoming a new audacious model for MLS — especially when considering its next steps when it comes to player development.

Either way, leadership knows what it has to do — it’s been the same game plan since Day 1.

“How do we make sure that this is not a fluke, and how do we make sure that this isn’t just a one-time thing?” Heaps asked rhetorically. “Taking bigger risks.”