With draw at home, SDFC becomes first MLS team to clinch ’25 playoff spot

San Diego FC s Hirving Chucky Lozano sends a cross kick in the second half Chris Stone Times of San Diego San Diego FC and the Portland Timbers battled to a draw Saturday at Snapdragon Stadium but the club still became the first organization in MLS to clinch a playoff spot this season Having gained one point during the scoreless draw the expansion side - - now leads the Western Conference with points one spot ahead of Minnesota United FC - - points San Diego is also trailing the Philadelphia Union by a single point in the race for the Supporters Shield the annual award given to the club with the most of points accrued in theregular season Although Saturday s tournament ended in a draw San Diego could have been up - if not for a couple of officers calls both involving Anders Dreyer First in the th minute a goal by SDFC was overturned due to Dreyer being offside Then in the st minute another goal by Dreyer was nullified by an offside call against him by the leaders San Diego s three latest member acquisitions two of whom joined the club this week all played with two of them getting substantial minutes Winger Corey Baird an Escondido native who was acquired by San Diego from FC Cincinnati earlier this month was in the starting lineup replacing the injured Marcus Ingvartsen But his SDFC debut was marred during the st minute when he left the match due to an apparent hamstring injury Also getting minutes but as substitutes were new center back Leo Duru and forward Amahl Pellegrino Duru is on loan from English Football League organization Blackburn Rovers F C through June with a permanent purchase option He s a player we have been monitoring for several months and is a defender with exceptional physical attributes SDFC Sporting Director Tyler Heaps mentioned of Duru who s -foot- and weighs about lbs We look forward to supporting his rise and seeing him continue to grow in his professional journey Duru came in during the th minute and played the remainder of the match Pellegrino was acquired from the San Jose Earthquakes in exchange for He appeared in matches five starts for the Earthquakes this season tallying two goals and two assists He came in during the nd minute and played to the final whistle In the post-match press conference San Diego head coach Mikey Varas revealed that although his squad is disappointed to emerge from the Portland match with no goals it doesn t take away from the company s larger goal of learning and improving Association captain Jeppe Tverskov announced that he and the gang are confident regarding its chances in the postseason but not necessarily pleased with the match We re happy to get in the playoffs but right now the emotions are based on the competition so it s mixed emotions Tverskov remarked If we play the way we ve done the whole season I don t see why we shouldn t be able to complete with the rest of the teams in the playoffs he announced Dreyer announced that qualifying for the playoffs is amazing and doing it so early is nice while also expressing disappointment in not getting a supremacy against the Timbers This day we craved three points but we didn t get it he commented Every time we re playing in front of these fans we want to win Saturday s match was first-ever meeting between San Diego and Portland which is fighting to make the playoffs The Timbers now have a - - record with points good for sixth place in the Western Conference table San Diego and Portland play again the final week of the regular season on Oct in Portland It s a competition that could make or break Portland s shot at the playoffs depending on how the rest of their season plays out Up next On Aug SDFC faces Los Angeles FC on the road before returning to Snapdragon Stadium for a Sept encounter against Minnesota United FC and then a friendly against Liga MX s Club Tijuana on Sept Mexican Independence Day Notes On Aug San Diego released that it has waived defender Hamady Diop Diop who made his season debut March totaled minutes played in seven appearances with the club