After two dominant wins against USL Championship teams Phoenix Rising and Sacramento Republic by a combined 8-0 to open pre-season play, San Diego FC will get its first taste of Major League Soccer competition starting Saturday, Feb. 8 in the Coachella Valley Invitational versus NYCFC.

The 2025 Coachella Valley Invitational is a three-week pre-season soccer event that will host clubs from the MLS and NWSL, including the San Diego Wave, at the Empire Polo Club in Indio.

NYCFC played its first match of the tournament on Wednesday against Sporting Kansas City, which ended in a scoreless draw.

San Diego FC has been led by the efforts of forward Irving Chucky Lozano who has three goals during the pre-season including a brace in the closed-door meeting versus Sacramento on Feb. 1. NYCFC finished in sixth-place of the Eastern Conference standings last season and made it to the semifinals before being knocked out by its rival the New York Red Bulls.

San Diego FC will also play against the Portland Timbers on Feb. 12 and the Red Bulls on Feb. 15 before opening the regular season on the road versus MLS Cup champion LA Galaxy on Sunday, Feb. 23.

SDFC will play its first home game at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday, March 1 against St. Louis SC. The match between San Diego FC and NYCFC will be live-streamed on the SDFC mobile app.