San Diego FC will play its first road match of the 2026 MLS regular season this Saturday, March 7.

SDFC will face Sporting Kansas City at Children’s Mercy Park for their third game of the season.

San Diego has had a magnificent start to 2026, defeating Montreal and St. Louis in its first two MLS games. The Southern California club outscored MLS opponents 7-0 so far this season with consecutive shutouts.

SDFC practicing in the San Diego winter preparing to keep their early streak going! Ahead by 2 points in the Western Conference, what are your thoughts on this upcoming game against Kansas City? @EVT_News pic.twitter.com/IdHLv4OdYU

— Elijah Nicolas (@eejay) March 5, 2026

In all competitions, SDFC outscored opponents 11-2, conceding just two goals to Liga MX team Pumas UNAM. San Diego has a busy week ahead, facing current Liga MX champs Toluca in the CONCACAF Champions Cup on March 11.

Mikey Varas may want to alternate some players against a Kansas City side that finished dead last in the Western Conference in 2025. KC began the year with a 3-0 road loss against the San Jose Earthquakes and is coming off a 2-2 draw against the Columbus Crew at home.

Team captain Dejan Joveljic scored both goals for Kansas City and will be the key player in the attack to watch on the opposition for this match. The Serbian striker scored 18 goals last season and will need to be marked tightly to ensure a positive result from this clash.

SDFC kept Joveljic in check last year as Kansas City was shut out in the two games they played. San Diego defeated the Midwestern side 2-0 on the road and will seek another positive result like this.

This has the potential to be a game where players like Alex Mighten and Ian Pilcher receive a start. While Mikey Varas said that he will not necessarily prioritize any competition this year, given the opponent, it is a good opportunity to make some changes to the lineup.

Varas also confirmed during the week that Lewis Morgan will be available off the bench for this game.

As expected, the offense has relied heavily on Anders Dreyer. The Danish forward has already scored a goal and provided three assists in MLS play this year. However, the big surprise in the attack has been Marcus Ingvartsen, who has scored two goals and provided two assists.

This type of production comes as a surprise from Ingvartsen, given his injury issues and inconsistencies in 2025. It will be interesting to see the lineup Varas decides to put out.

Toluca has to be approached with a fully fit squad, and this Kansas City side does not present a tough task, even with the home-field advantage.

San Diego tallied 37 road points last year, which was an MLS record, tying the 1998 LA Galaxy and 2024 Inter Miami squads. SDFC is strong at home, but proved to be even more menacing on the road in 2025.

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.