San Diego FC Forward Milan Iloski Named MLS Player of the Matchday Presented by Michelob Ultra for Matchday 20

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MLS San Diego FC

San Diego FC Forward Milan Iloski Named MLS Player of the Matchday Presented by Michelob Ultra for Matchday 20

June 26, 2025 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
San Diego FC News Release


SAN DIEGO - San Diego FC forward Milan Iloski was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra for Matchday 20 of the 2025 MLS season.

The 25-year-old forward tallied the fastest four goals in MLS history on Wednesday night, scoring four times from the 35th to 47th minute in San Diego's 5-3 win against Vancouver Whitecaps FC (Watch MLS Wrap-Up Discuss Iloski's Performance Here). The victory against a fellow Western Conference contender catapulted San Diego to first place in the conference standings as the first-year club continues its red-hot start with 36 points (11-5-3) through its first 19 matches.

Wednesday marked Iloski's first career MLS start as well as San Diego FC's first-ever hat trick and four-goal performance. He's the 10th player in league history to score three goals in 10 minutes or less as the offensive outburst continued a searing scoring streak for the 25-year-old forward. He's netted seven goals in the last three matches over the course of 135 minutes and now has nine tallies on the season in just 292 minutes. It's the fewest minutes for a player to reach nine goals in league history, surpassing Adama Diomande's nine goals in 472 minutes played in 2018.

San Diego is aiming to become the second expansion team in three seasons to finish first in the conference standings, following St. Louis CITY SC in 2023. It was a statement win for San Diego against Vancouver, who has led the Supporters' Shield race for much of the season. The first-year club returns to action this weekend at FC Dallas on Saturday, June 28 (5:30 p.m. PT, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).

After a scoreless first half-hour to open the clash at the top of the Western Conference standings, Iloski broke the deadlock in the 35th minute. Working down the left side, forward Alex Mighten played it to Iloski, who dribbled through the Vancouver defense before ripping a shot from just inside the 18. Vancouver goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka made the initial save at the left post, but Iloski was there to pounce on the rebound and send it to the opposite side of the net. The second came as All-Star midfielder Andres Dreyer got on the end of a through ball and laid it off for Iloski on the left wing. He dribbled into the box before firing his second past Takaoka in the 37th.

After Vancouver pulled one back in the 43rd, Dreyer drove down the right flank to tee up Iloski's hat trick. He launched a cross into the box and Iloski met it with a diving header from eight yards out to reestablish San Diego's two-goal advantage. The forward's fourth and final came just after the break on a quick attacking run as Dreyer played a through ball downfield to Iloski driving down the right side. After a nice dummy from Mighten, Iloski dashed past the defense and sent it to the middle of the net from 13 yards out in the 47th minute.

With Iloski's Player of the Matchday award, San Diego becomes the first club to have three players win weekly honors this season. Dreyer took home the award for Matchday 1 after bagging a brace in the club's season-opening win against reigning MLS Cup presented by Audi champion LA Galaxy and fellow All-Star Hirving 'Chucky' Lozano took it home for Matchday 11 after scoring twice and adding two assists in a 5-0 win vs. FC Dallas.

The MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra is selected each matchday of the regular season through both media and fan voting in a process conducted by MLS Communications. A panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) comprises 75 percent of the vote, while an Instagram fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio, and online media.

2025 MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra Winners

Matchday Player Club

Matchday 1 Anders Dreyer San Diego FC

Matchday 2 Tai Baribo Philadelphia Union

Matchday 3 Roman Bürki St. Louis CITY SC

Matchday 4 Tani Oluwaseyi Minnesota United FC

Matchday 5 Pep Biel Charlotte FC

Matchday 6 Djordje Mihailovic Colorado Rapids

Matchday 7 Josef Martínez San Jose Earthquakes

Matchday 8 Brian White Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Matchday 9 Dániel Sallói Sporting Kansas City

Matchday 10 Sam Surridge Nashville SC

Matchday 11 Hirving "Chucky" Lozano San Diego FC

Matchday 12 Emil Forsberg New York Red Bulls

Matchday 13 Tai Baribo (2) Philadelphia Union

Matchday 14 Marco Reus LA Galaxy

Matchday 15 Patrick Agyemang Charlotte FC

Matchday 16 Lionel Messi Inter Miami CF

Matchday 17 Lionel Messi (2) Inter Miami CF

Matchday 18 Tom Barlow Chicago Fire FC

Matchday 19 João Klauss St. Louis CITY SC

Matchday 20 Milan Iloski San Diego FC

Check out the San Diego FC Statistics



Major League Soccer Stories from June 26, 2025


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