SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Coming off a win against Houston Dynamo FC over the weekend, San Diego FC is now the proud owner of two Major League Soccer records in its inaugural season — one for the most wins (18) and points (60) by an expansion team, and another for the league's all-time record in annual retail sales.
If someone were to tell you this is how the inaugural season was going to go, you would've said what?
"Yes! We'll take it," said Tom Penn, the team's CEO.
That was the first question ABC 10News asked Penn on Monday. In the first year, Penn admitted, he didn't know what kind of results the club would get.
Penn said he's not surprised at the results.
“San Diego loves soccer. It thrives here," he said. "It always has. It’s sort of in our DNA in San Diego County, and now we get a chance to express it in the men’s game.”
The men have held up their end of the bargain too, totaling 18 wins and 60 points so far this season, the most by any expansion team in MLS history.
That breaks the previous record of wins (17) set by St. Louis City in 2023 and points (57) set by LAFC in 2018.
“You put that together and nobody can take it away," Penn said. "We can still add on it at Portland in our final game.”
SDFC is scoring big off the pitch too, breaking the all-time MLS record for annual retail sales, "selling more merchandise at Club-controlled stores than any other team in league history," the team's website said.
The team has clearly wasted no time weaving into the fabric of the community.
“They’re really a mirror of what’s happened on the pitch," Penn said. "Our players came and gelled together and have gotten better through the season, and our supporters have done the same. That’s the secret surprise in all of this.”
SDFC also set a Snapdragon Stadium attendance record (34,506) in the first home match and averaged 28,064 fans per match (excluding Leagues Cup), the website stated.
All of this coming in year one.
Which begs another question — how does this make you feel about the future?
“Super exciting because we’re just getting started," Penn said.
SDFC has one more regular season game on the road against the Portland Timbers on October 18th.
Then, it's playoff time. You can find a breakdown of the bracket and format under the Playoff Hub tab on the team's website.
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