San Diego downs Minnesota, makes MLS Western Conference Final in debut season

San Diego's defense dug deep

Dreyer and company have won most of San Diego's headlines this season, but its defense—a young, largely unheralded lineup of domestic and international prospects—deserves a shout too. Luca Bombino, Manu Duah, Christopher McVey and Ian Pilcher won this match for San Diego by keeping their heads on a swivel during Minnesota's deadly counters.

Spare a thought, incidentally, for Pilcher, who stepped into this defensive line late in the regular season. He doesn't have Bombino's youth, Duah's height or McVey's international pedigree, but he's quietly grounded San Diego throughout these playoffs, and his second-half slide to prevent a certain Minnesota goal just might've been the play of the evening. Not bad going for a draft pick in his rookie season.

Passing beat bunkering, and it did so with style

Each of MLS's 30 clubs brings a unique soccer identity to the league. Columbus believes in fluid waves of movement. Austin believes in a brick wall defense. San Jose believes in utter chaos. But no two teams are further apart on the aesthetic spectrum than San Diego and Minnesota: the former believes in graceful, endless passing while the latter believes in organized, defensive bunkering.

Both styles are valid, and both have their supporters. But fans of smooth, crisp soccer will undoubtedly rejoice to see that San Diego's beautiful game won out over Minnesota's militant approach.

San Diego will host the Vancouver Whitecaps in the Western Conference final on Saturday, Nov. 29. The winner of that match will represent the West in the 2025 MLS Cup final.