San Diego FC embracing 'pressure' ahead of match vs. Atlanta

Field Level Media|published: Fri 19th September, 09:07 2025

Sep 13, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego FC head coach Mikey Varas motions to referee Tori Penso after the game after being issued a yellow card during the second half at Snapdragon Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Chadd Cady-Imagn Images

San Diego FC head into Saturday afternoon's match at Atlanta United in the thick of the battle for the Supporters' Shield while closing in on the MLS record for most points by an expansion team.

San Diego (17-8-5, 56 points) leads second-place Minnesota United by two points in the Western Conference with four matches to go. The expansion side also trails the Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia Union (17-7-6, 57 points) by just one point in the battle for the Supporters' Shield.

"I feel like it's a goal, yeah," San Diego midfielder Jeppe Tverskov said. "I feel that we can comfortably say that we have been putting together good performances that puts us in this position. It's not pressure for us, because if you want to be at the top and compete, there's pressure to win every game."

San Diego is one point shy of Los Angeles FC's expansion record of 57 points in 2018 and is an MLS-best 10-4-0 in road matches this season. No other MLS team has reached double digits in road victories.

Atlanta United (5-13-11, 26 points) officially was eliminated from playoff contention with a wild 5-4 loss to the Columbus Crew last Saturday. Atlanta is in 13th place in the East, just two points above last-place CF Montreal.

Atlanta fell behind 5-0 in the first 39 minutes to Columbus, which received a hat trick from Diego Rossi. But Atlanta rallied for four consecutive goals after that, including a brace by forward Jamal Thiare, plus had a couple of scoring chances in extra time to nearly pull out a draw.

"That was the strangest game I've seen in my life, I think," Atlanta coach Ronny Deila said.

He said his team will approach its final matches "full of energy" and with an eye on preparing for the 2026 season.

"The boys are trying every day to get better," Deila said. "We need time now to get ready for next season and also to give ourselves self-confidence and belief. ... We need to go and win games. We need to get better in every phase of what we do."

--Field Level Media