Duran Ferree has been San Diego FC’s starting goalkeeper in both of the MLS regular-season games to open the new campaign.

Ferree previously made his MLS debut in San Diego’s last game of 2025 in the Western Conference final against Vancouver.

Pablo Sisniega received a red card in that match, and the young shot-stopper was forced into the match. Sisniega had to serve a one-match ban following that game in the 2026 MLS season opener, and this gave Ferree another opportunity to play.

The 19-year-old goalie kept a clean sheet against the Montreal Impact in a massive 5-0 win for SDFC. Pablo Sisniega had played in two CONCACAF Champions Cup games this year and was set to return against St. Louis City.

To everyone’s surprise, Ferree received the opportunity to start against St. Louis with Sisniega on the bench.

Ferree kept another clean sheet in a 2-0 victory for San Diego at Snapdragon Stadium. The San Diego native has had two saves in each of these opening games and has given Mikey Varas another decision to make every week.

Varas commented on the decision to start Ferree over Sisniega in the game against St. Louis. “If you play well, you have an opportunity to keep on playing. Circumstances opened the door for Duran. He had another fantastic game. I think he had another fantastic game now. Teams that want to come and press us man-to-man. He has a special quality with his composure, range of passing, and his ability to help us solve that puzzle, pretty calmly,” said Varas.

Mikey Varas on the decision to start Duran Ferree over Pablo Sisniega in net. #SDFC@EVT_News pic.twitter.com/YntltkmO9n

— Francisco Velasco (@FranciscoEfV) March 2, 2026

Varas also talked about Sisniega and his role with the team. “At the end of the day, though, Pablo is still our top goalkeeper. He’s going to be fighting for us. One of our values is to embrace competition. We want to be in the high-pressure moments competing against the best, but also within our environment; we love it when other guys are stepping up. It means that now you gotta outdo somebody who is doing really good and that healthy embracing of competition is only going to lead to the team being stronger and the squad being bigger.”

CJ dos Santos started 32 games for SDFC in net last year and now seems to be the third-choice goalkeeper. This is another example of how no one on this squad truly has a starting role secured.

Varas has consistently shifted the fullbacks throughout his tenure at SDFC. Now, it will be interesting to see which goalkeeper ends up with the most minutes in the 2026 MLS season.

Plenty of fans will be rooting for Ferree, given his San Diego ties and having been with the San Diego Loyal.

Francisco Velasco

Francisco, 28, Chula Vista/Tijuana. I have been a Padres fan all my life, did most of the series previews and recaps in the Padres’ 2016 season for EVT. Now I focus more on the local soccer scene. Tijuana Xolos, San Diego FC, San Diego Wave. I have covered Liga MX, MLS, Mexico National Team, USWNT, Copa América and European clubs like Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund.