SAN DIEGO (AP) — Anders Dreyer scored in the second half and Pablo Cisniega made three saves to lead expansion team San Diego FC to a 1-0 win over Minnesota United in the Western Conference semifinals Monday night at a packed Snapdragon Stadium.
San Diego hosts the second-seeded Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday with a chance to qualify for MLS Cup at stake. Fifth-seeded New York City FC will play third-seeded Miami in Saturday’s first game for the Eastern Conference title.
Dreyer, the Rookie of the Year and Best Eleven winner, used the assist. Corey Baird and Jeppe Tverskov scored the goals, finding the back of the net in the 72nd minute. The 27-year-old midfielder from Denmark had 19 goals and 19 assists during the regular season, helping San Diego earn the top seed. He has four goals and two assists in his first four playoff appearances.
It was Tverskov’s fourth appearance and first postseason goal contribution. It was Baird’s first three assists in the postseason this season. He had previously scored one goal in 10 playoff games with three different clubs.
Sisniega, who started only four games in the regular season for San Diego, earned his second clean sheet in his second postseason start. he made a great save They were held scoreless in the 64th minute.
Dane St. Clair didn’t have a save in his 11th career playoff start for fourth-seeded Minnesota United, which suffered a second consecutive loss in the conference semifinals in its sixth postseason appearance since entering the league in 2017.
Coach Mikey Vallas’ San Diego team set an MLS record for an expansion team with 19 wins and 63 points en route to first place.
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