San Diego FC’s season of firsts will unofficially begin on Saturday.
SDFC will take on New York City FC in the expansion club’s first-ever exhibition game, part of the Coachella Valley Invitational. The match will be streamed live at noon at SanDiegoFC.com and on the team’s mobile app.
A spring training of sorts for Major League Soccer and National Women’s Soccer League teams, the Coachella Valley Invitational features 26 matches spread over seven sessions. Competition began Wednesday with five matches at the Empire Polo Club. The SDFC exhibition is the second of four matches scheduled for Saturday.
San Diego FC will two more play exhibitions in Indio, both of which will also be streamed online and in the app — Wednesday’s match against the against the Portland Timbers and a Feb. 15 tune-up against the New York Red Bulls.
San Diego FC plays its opening regular-season match on Feb. 23 against the LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. San Diego’s first home match, against St. Louis City FC, will take place March 1 at Snapdragon Stadium.
The club announced this week that it will hold nine “Celebration Nights” at Snapdragon: Opening Night (March 1), Youth Club Night (April 26), Military Appreciation Night (May 3), Kids Night (May 17), Summer Kickoff Night (May 31), Stars & Stripes Night (July 5), Pride Night (Aug. 23), Hispanic Heritage Night (Sept. 13) and Fan Appreciation Night (Sept. 27). Tickets are available at SanDiegoFC.com.
