Mikey Varas on San Diego's winless run: 'We're not hiding behind our problems'

Mikey Varas has stressed that San Diego FC are neither running from nor hiding behind their current problems as they look to end an eight-match winless run when they face Seattle Sounders in MLS.

With only four weeks of the regular season remaining, San Diego sit 12th in the Western Conference on 34 points, just five points behind Colorado Rapids, who occupy the final play-off spot.

San Diego made a strong return from the World Cup break, yet they have not celebrated an MLS victory since August 30, recording four draws and four defeats in that period.

In their last outing, San Diego twice came from behind to earn a 2-2 draw against LA Galaxy and keep their play-off hopes alive, and head coach Varas knows his side must turn things around quickly if they are to reach the end-of-season finals.

Speaking after the Galaxy match, Varas said: "We generated 2.6 expected goals (xG) against Galaxy, while our opponents were held to 0.6. Mathematically you should win that game, but we're not winning. That's why I say the performance was good, but definitely not good enough. None of us are hiding behind that, and we're not pretending everything is fine. We need wins, and we need them very quickly. I believe we're on the way to taking the right steps."

Things look brighter for Seattle Sounders. After a superb surge following the World Cup break, they sit seventh in the Western Conference, although they have gone without a win in their last two matches. A 1-0 defeat to FC Dallas was followed by a 1-1 draw with CF Montreal, but Seattle still hold a six-point cushion over 10th-placed Real Salt Lake.

Captain Cristian Roldan said his side have no intention of becoming complacent and are ready for a tough battle:

"The next four games will define our entire season. We're on the edge of making the play-offs or not. All four of our remaining games are against tough opponents. If we don't come into these games mentally and physically ready, they'll tear us apart. We have to fight like we're playing a play-off game, and we're going to show everyone what this team can do in difficult atmospheres."

Players to watch

San Diego FC – Anders Dreyer

With his goal against LA Galaxy, Anders Dreyer reached his 19th MLS match with a goal contribution this season, moving into a share of third place in the league in that category. Since the start of last season, the Dane ranks second with 41 matches featuring a goal contribution, just behind Lionel Messi (44 matches).

Seattle Sounders – Sebastian Gomez

Sebastian Gomez scored his second goal of the season on Saturday, becoming only the fourth Under-21 player in Sounders history to score more than once in a single season.

Form and head-to-head

The last time San Diego hosted Seattle at Snapdragon Stadium, in April 2025, they won with a clean sheet. San Diego are looking to add Seattle to the list of teams they have beaten at home without conceding in back-to-back regular-season meetings, and last weekend they scored their ninth penalty goal of the season.