San Diego FC will try to prolong their hopes of earning the top seed in the Western Conference on Saturday evening in their season finale against the host Portland Timbers.

San Diego (18-9-6, 60 points) lost its grip on first place last weekend after Vancouver rallied for a 2-1 victory at Orlando City SC.

The expansion side still can earn the top spot in the West bracket with a win and a Whitecaps’ home loss against FC Dallas.

Regardless, San Diego manager Mikey Varas said he believes his team should be confident in the body of work it has put together entering its first playoff appearance.

With 17 goals and 18 assists, Anders Dreyer has mounted a legitimate MVP candidacy in his first season in the league, while helping the team set an MLS record for points in an expansion season.

“I hope that people who watch us play feel that the boys have exceeded expectations,” Varas said. “Because it’s a team that fights every single second of the game. They’re so brave to play. And to play under high levels of pressure and to keep going.”

Portland (11-11-11, 44 points) has won only once in its last nine matches (1-4-4) while sliding down the West table. The Timbers could slip from seventh to eighth place with a loss and a Dallas victory.

That would mean a one-game playoff against the ninth finisher — Real Salt Lake, Colorado or San Jose — instead of a direct path into a first-round series.

For Timbers manager Phil Neville, the most frustrating aspect has been what he sees as a lack of service for center forwards Felipe Mora and Kevin Kelsy. The former hasn’t scored in the league since May, the latter not since late August.

As a team, Portland has eight goals during its nine-match slump.

“I think the thing that we’ve worked on in the last 10 days, I think I’ve made a real point of saying we have a center forward on the pitch that we have to utilize more,” Neville said. “We have to support more, we have to give him (the ball) more.”

–Field Level Media