SAN DIEGO — San Diego FC’s inaugural Major League Soccer season ended one win short of the MLS Cup after a 3-1 loss to Vancouver on Saturday in the Western Conference Final before 32,502 fans at Snapdragon Stadium.
The Whitecaps struck early, with Brian White scoring in the eighth minute and adding another in first-half stoppage time. An own goal by San Diego FC goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega in the 11th minute put the expansion club in a 3-0 hole.
No. 1-seed San Diego pulled one back in the 60th minute on a right-footed shot from Hirving “Chucky” Lozano, but Sisniega’s straight red card in the 79th minute halted the momentum as San Diego pushed for a comeback with 10 men.
Despite the defeat, San Diego closed its debut season with an MLS-record 63 points for an expansion team, 19 regular-season wins and a trip to the Concacaf Champions Cup.
San Diego FC became just the second expansion club in league history to reach a conference final.
San Diego FC head coach Mikey Varas said his team refused to fold after a disastrous start.
“Down 0-3, you get to decide who you are,” Varas said. “These guys came out, kept fighting, got one back and believed we could make it 3-3 until the final whistle.”
Lozano, who entered at halftime and scored his second playoff goal, said the team tried to seize control after the break.
“The goal gave us a chance at a comeback, and that’s what we tried to do,” Lozano said. “We only came up with one, but my teammates put in a great effort. This is futball.”
San Diego out-possessed Vancouver 51% to 49% and completed more passes, but managed just four shots on target. The loss was only the club’s 11th across all MLS competitions this season.
Varas praised the supporters who packed Snapdragon Stadium for every postseason match.
“The fans were the best tonight,” he said. “They pushed us along, even in a hard moment.”
San Diego ends the year 20-9-4 against Western Conference opponents across regular-season and postseason play, finishing 2025 as one of the most successful expansion teams in league history.
San Diego FC defeated Minnesota United FC 1-0 to advance to the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs Western Conference Final. Earlier this month, San Diego defeated the Portland Timbers 2-1 in a Round One best-of-three playoff series to reach the semifinals.
