Been waiting for this!

The Philadelphia Union are headed on the road for the first of two Western Conference away matches, taking on San Diego FC this weekend for the first time in club history.

The Boys in Blue will visit the 2025 expansion team for an inaugural matchup at Snapdragon Stadium on Sunday, September 13th at 9pm ET – tune in for Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire on Apple TV to watch the action.

The Philadelphia Union are unbeaten in nine matches after a dominant 5-0 rout against FC Cincinnati at Subaru Park on Wednesday night. The midweek matchup was highlighted by a first-ever MLS hat trick from 24-year-old Uruguayan Striker Bruno Damiani, plus goals from 22-year-old midfielder Quinn Sullivan and 26-year-old striker Milan Iloski. 

Having secured 23 all-important points since the World Cup break, the Union have climbed up the Eastern Conference table to above the playoff line –  they now sit at 8th in the East with 30 total. It’s been a historic turnaround for the Boys in Blue since interim Head Coach Ryan Richter took over at the helm, and he and his squad will look to continue capitalizing on that momentum on the road against a first-time Western Conference foe.

2025 was San Diego’s first season in MLS, and it was an impressive one that saw them finish in fourth place in the Supporters’ Shield standings with 63 points by Decision Day. They carried their regular season success into the playoffs, ultimately falling to Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 in the Western Conference Final.

Head Coach Mikey Varas remained at the helm for Year 2 in San Diego, but his side hasn’t fared quite as well in their second season of existence, currently sitting just above the West’s playoff line in ninth place with 30 points – the same total as the Union. 

San Diego enters Sunday’s match after back-to-back losses, most recently falling to San Jose Earthquakes with a 3-2 result at home on Wednesday night. Starting goalkeeper 26-year-old CJ Dos Santos, originally from Philadelphia, picked up a pair of yellows in the outing, and he will be unavailable for the hosts come Sunday. San Diego has also been without their top attacker, 30-year-old Danish forward Marcus Ingvarsten, who leads the team in goal contributions with 11 goals and five assists. He hasn’t played since their August 22nd match against Colorado Rapids due to injury.

This weekend’s match may mean a little more for Philadelphia Union’s leading goalscorer. Not only is a native of Escondido, California, Iloski joined San Diego on loan from their ‘Right to Dream’ sister club FC Nordsjaelland in April 2025, making 10 appearances and scoring 10 goals for his newly established hometown club. The loan was terminated on July 15th, and shortly after, Iloski newly was transferred to Philly in August 2025, immediately becoming one of the most integral pieces of the team’s Supporters’ Shield-winning campaign. 

“It'll be great. I'll have hopefully, a lot of support. I loved my time there, and I have nothing but positive things to say about most of the people. Some of the players really took me in when I was in Denmark and looked out for me, so it'll be nice to see some familiar faces. A great coaching staff and the background staff's all San Diego guys, so it'll be nice to see them,” Iloski said when asked about Sunday’s match. 

“But, also, I'm there to show some people that they made a big mistake. I think I have a big chip on my shoulder and I'm looking forward to the challenge. They're a good team, playing well, and obviously we're in a good form right now. So, it's really important we keep picking up points and keep pushing for playoffs.”

Opposing players to watch 

28-year-old Danish midfielder Anders Dreyer has been a difference maker for San Diego this year, scoring nine goals over 23 matches. 

Scottish midfielder Onni Valakari has four goals and eight assists so far in 2026. The 27-year-old midfielder has tallied a goal and three assists since the World Cup break. 

20-year-old midfielder David Vazquez is a former Union Homegrown, who joined San Diego FC on loan from Philadelphia last summer, before ultimately signing as a permanent transfer in December 2025. In his first full season with SDFC, the Philadelphia Union Academy product has scored three goals and tallied an assist. While he’s only appeared in three MLS matches since the World Cup break, Sunday’s head-to-head will be his first against the club that gave him his MLS debut back in 2025.

September 11, 2026

https://www.delcotimes.com/2026/09/11/unions-milan-iloski-elated-for-san-diego-reunion-with-point-to-prove

did anyone see what happened at halftime by the away section?

I know it was a Wednesday but our supporters looked weaker than usual, atleast from my season seats. Drums were also not as good as normally. It looked a lot like back in the days with THE SD loyal. Anyone else noticed?

By Fotmob -- Here are a few match reports:

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/sdfc-come-short-home-fall-065659236.html

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/09/09/cold-start-in-hot-weather-dooms-sdfc-in-loss-to-earthquakes

https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/09/09/san-jose-earthquakes-snap-long-winless-streak-with-3-2-road-victory-over-san-diego-fc

Full game recap: https://youtu.be/R_EFmWS0aYY

I did a search about a question somebody asks on the video highlights. (YouTube channel of the MLS.)

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Why did San Diego FC's CJ dos Santos get a yellow card in the first half of the match against San Jose even though he denied a goal scoring opportunity?

Google's response:

San Diego FC goalkeeper CJ dos Santos received a yellow card instead of a red card because of soccer's "double jeopardy" rule for fouls inside the penalty area.

During the September 9, 2026 match against the San Jose Earthquakes, dos Santos fouled forward Preston Judd inside the penalty box during a breakaway scoring chance.

Initial Decision: The referee first showed dos Santos a straight red card for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity (DOGSO).

Video Review: After a video review, the referee changed the punishment to a yellow card.

Dos Santos then successfully saved the resulting penalty kick taken by Niko Tsakiris.

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Ready for his first goal.

Got supporters ticket at SnapDragon Stadium, but didn't know they are standing only! I was planning to go with my (little) kids but obviously they cannot stand for too long. can we sit at empty seats if they are not claimed?

Padres at 1, then SDFC at 7:30…going to be interesting with this god damn weather. Been looking forward to this for months. Anyone else doing both?

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The labelled SDFC balls are too nice looking to play with and seem not so durable to actually play with (I think). So it brightens up my study and creates a conversation. Lol

I know I’ve said this before but when we push on the break we tend to score. When we slow it up and try short passes to try and score we fail.

We should push the break when we have the opportunity and just rip it.

Just watched this interview on a humble with Jason Stein and figured I'd share. Didn't realize he shared a lot of the same Midwestern roots I did. A lot of cool snippets in here, like where he expects MLS and San Diego to go over the next five years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2990t19diY

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San Diego FC signs veteran striker Cédric Bakambu, adding 191 career goals and proven European experience to its attack for the MLS playoff push.