San Diego FC's harder second act
The expansion team that finished first in the West last year is 12th and chasing a wild-card spot. The sophomore season is teaching the club what the first one didn't.
MISSION VALLEY: The storybook is over, and the real season has begun. San Diego FC's inaugural 2025 campaign ended with the club first in the Western Conference, 19 wins and 63 points, and a berth in the 2026 Concacaf competition, the best expansion season in recent MLS memory. Year two has been the comedown: through September 26, the club sat 12th in the West at 8-11-8 with 32 points, chasing a wild-card spot with the stretch run underway.
The numbers tell the shape of it. On September 5, after a 1-0 loss at Orlando, the club was 8-9-6 in MLS play with 30 points, 12-12-6 across all competitions. A 2-2 draw at Inter Miami on September 20 kept the points ticking but not the climb. The attack that overwhelmed expansion-year opponents, 47 goals through 27 matches, is still producing; the difference is that the league has had a full offseason to study it.
The adjustment tax
Every successful expansion team pays it. Year one brings the element of surprise and a roster built with nothing to lose. Year two brings game film, targeted offseason departures, and opponents who circle the date. The clubs that survive the sophomore season are the ones that rebuild the roster's depth while the starters are still good, rather than after they decline.
The consolation is structural. Snapdragon Stadium is full, the academy pipeline is real, and the club's front office has shown it can identify talent. Finishing first in the West bought something more durable than a banner: proof of concept, for the city and for the league, that San Diego is a soccer town. The second act is harder. That is what second acts are for.
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