Riding high after earning its first home victory on March 29 against LAFC, San Diego FC will now play two-time MLS Cup champion Seattle Sounders on Saturday at Snapdragon Stadium.

SDFC is in third place in the Western Conference while Seattle has had an unexpected slow start and is in 12th place with only one win over its first six matches.

Seattle has been one of the standard bearers for the league since its inaugural season of 2009, making four straight finals from 2016 to 2019. The Sounders also won the 2022 Concacaf Champions League, becoming the first non-Liga MX team to win that tournament since 2005 and the first MLS team since 2000 to do so.

SDFC comes in tied for the best offense in the conference, along with the Vancouver Whitecaps, having both scored 10 goals, while Seattle has scored eight. On the defensive end, San Diego FC has given up six goals compared to the eight given up by the Sounders, although Seattle’s backline and goalkeeping have improved over the last two games, with only one score being ceded during that span.

SDFC recently acquired the services of forward Milan Iloski to fortify the attack and to complement the likes of Chucky Lozano, Anders Dreyer, Onni Valakari, and Alex Mighten.

“Milan (Iloski) is an attacker who has proven he can score goals and impact the game in the final third throughout his career,” said SDFC sporting director Tyler Heaps.

The Sounders and San Diego FC will face each other again on May 28 at Lumen Field.

Photo by San Diego FC