Injuries threaten SDFC’s dream season on eve of conference semifinal vs. Minnesota
Dante Ulanday - News Moderator 
Reality may be biting into San Diego FC‘s dream-like inaugural season, as the club sits two victories away from a trip to Major League Soccer’s championship match.
Health concerns have cropped up for three of SDFC’s top players on the eve of the team’s Monday semifinal versus Minnesota United at Snapdragon Stadium.
Starting goalkeeper CJ dos Santos continues to recover from the fractured cheekbone he suffered Nov. 1 versus Portland, and the team recently got more bad news, this time regarding star forwards Anders Dreyer and Hirving Lozano.
Lozano had to exit in the 44th minute of the friendly between El Tri and Uruguay on Saturday in what a Mexican National Team spokesperson described as “muscular overload of the hamstring” which also led to El Chucky being scratched from the lineup for the friendly versus Paraguay on Tuesday.
It’s not the first time Lozano has had hamstring problems this season. He suffered a hamstring injury in the first half of the March 1 St. Louis City match, keeping him out for a few weeks.
Teammate Anders Dreyer is also dealing with a health issue, though undisclosed, that Danish national team head coach Brian Reimer said had left the MLS Most Valuable Player candidate and Newcomer of the Year winner “feeling unwell.” It kept Dreyer from making the trip for a World Cup Qualifying match versus Scotland on Tuesday.
Despite the uncertainty, SDFC, the west’s top seed, remains a strong favorite over Minnesota, according to the oddsmakers, at -180 to advance and play in the Western Conference final. The winner will take on either LAFC or the Vancouver Whitecaps, which will play at BC Place on Saturday.
“From day one, these guys have gone for it every single game,” said San Diego FC head coach Mikey Varas. “It’s about staying consistent. Continuing to do the things that we’ve done that have put us in this position and then trying to take a few learning lessons from each game as well.”
R u ready for some football? pic.twitter.com/PXzRQr8Ah0— San Diego FC (@sandiegofc) November 18, 2025
Dreyer and Lozano, though he missed one of the three Portland games (but not due to injury), have accounted for seven goals so far this post-season with two coming courtesy of penalty kicks.
The clubs met twice during the regular season and Minnesota, the conference’s No. 4 seed, may take heart from the results. Each side won on the road.
In the first match, on June 14 at Allianz Field, San Diego emerged victorious 4-2, thanks to braces from Dreyer and forward Milan Iloski. Minnesota had its revenge Sept. 13 with a 3-1 win at Snapdragon that also snapped a six-game unbeaten streak for SDFC.
