MLS Records: Vancouver Whitecaps, St. Louis CITY, San Diego FC Make History In Stellar Starts | OneFootball

Several MLS teams are still trying to establish their identities after four weeks of the regular season, but Vancouver Whitecaps FC, St. Louis CITY SC and San Diego FC are far from that.

On Saturday night, each set records for their clubs while joining a few teams in MLS history to start the season as strong as they have.

For Vancouver, a 1–0 win over FC Dallas gave them a fourth straight victory to start the season, setting a franchise record while becoming the seventh MLS team to achieve the mark. They also kept a clean sheet for the second week in a row.

St. Louis, meanwhile, kept a clean sheet by the same scoreline against Seattle Sounders FC, becoming just the third team in league history to string four shutouts to start the season.

San Diego also scored their first home goal, and established their four-game spell as one of the best-ever starts by an MLS Expansion team.

As much as each has been in stellar form, none ranked high in preseason expectations, bringing in new coaches and limited off-season additions in the case of Vancouver and St. Louis, and an entire expansion team for San Diego. Overall, their starts have been a surprise even if the players and coaches might not say so.

While none of the clubs will dream too far ahead, they still see potential improvements in their squads and will have to navigate next weekend’s matches as MLS plays through the FIFA international break.

Whitecaps FC lead MLS in several categories

Andres Cubas has been one of the top defensive midfielders in MLS in 2025 / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Some teams win games; others dominate.

That’s been the key for the Vancouver Whitecaps, who have controlled the pace of play in each of their four wins against the Portland Timbers, LA Galaxy, CF Montreal, and FC Dallas while making the most of their possession.

Through four weeks, the Whitecaps have been in the top three of several statistical categories. They also bring similar aspects of their MLS game to the Concacaf Champions Cup, where they’ve beaten Mexican giants CF Monterrey and are preparing to face another Liga MX side, Pumas, in the quarterfinals.

Some of those categories include expected goals, key passes, shots against, completed passes, shot-creating actions, and touches in the opponent’s penalty area.

Standout Whitecaps FC stats via FBRef

They’ve even hit all those marks while rotating the squad due to fixture congestion and injuries to key players in Ryan Gauld, Jayden Nelson, Sam Adekugbe, and their newest signing, Emmanuel Sabbi.

Sørensen’s new system has not only benefited some of the team’s more prominent players, such as defensive midfielder Andres Cubas and striker Brian White, but it has also allowed others to shine and adapt to new roles.

“I told the players that maybe we have a perfect record, but we're not a perfect team at all,”  said Whitecaps head coach Jesper Sørensen, who has enjoyed a stellar start to his first managerial job outside of Denmark. “Everybody is working their butts off and doing everything they can and we are getting more confident.”

Next week, they will miss Cubas, White, Pedro Vite, and Ali Ahmed, all representing their respective national teams, meaning Sebastian Berhalter, Jayden Nelson, Daniel Rios, and others will become even more critical.

St. Louis CITY SC Thriving Under Mellberg

Ollof Mellberg is getting everything he has hoped for defensively out of his St. Louis CITY SC side. / Joe Puetz-Imagn Images

Olof Mellberg was a passionate defender in his playing days with Sweden, Aston Villa and other clubs, and he’s brought a similar vigor to St. Louis CITY SC’s defensive approach.

With four clean sheets in a row to start the season, they match the previous mark set by the 2007 New York Red Bulls and 2012 Whitecaps.

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Mellberg has set up the unit as a dominant and brave group to lead MLS in blocked passes and shots while playing otherwise low-event soccer through midfield.

While the style may not rank high on the entertainment scale, it’s working for St. Louis, especially now that they’ve figured out how to score goals, hitting the back of the net in a 3–0 win over the LA Galaxy and Saturday’s 1–0 victory over Seattle; a solid shift from two scoreless draws to open the season.

The team has often surrendered possession through its first four games, opting to press its central midfielders, Chris Durkin and Eduard Löwen, to disrupt any potential builds and chances from the opposition. This is not a classic low-block but rather a system to avoid any chances against them.

On the backline, Henry Kessler and Kyle Hiebert have formed a stellar center-back partnership. Each has 22 clearances this season, among the leaders in MLS. Jannes Horn, Tomas Totland, and Conrad Wallem help shore up the back five.

All before mentioning former Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Burki, who made nine saves in three games, before Benjamin Lundt made one save on Saturday.

Next week, they’re up against the high-flying Philadelphia Union, who have scored 10 goals in their first three MLS matches, going a perfect 3–0–0.

San Diego FC Join Best Expansion Teams

San Diego FC celebrates their first goal at Snapdragon Stadium by midfielder Onni Valakari / Chadd Cady-Imagn Images

Fans at Snapdagon Stadium still have not been able to celebrate a home win, but San Diego FC joined illustrious company with their Saturday night 1–1 draw with Columbus Crew SC. The result, which came with their first home goal, keeps them undefeated with two draws and two wins, making them just the second-ever MLS Expansion Team not to lose one of their first four games.

The only other? St. Louis CITY, the club now leading the charge for defensive football.

Head coach Mikey Varas and San Diego now look ahead to next weekend's clash away to Austin FC, before taking another crack at finding their first victory at home on March 29, when they host California rivals, LAFC.

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