CJ dos (a Cero) Santos

Philadelphia native CJ dos Santos and San Diego FC had themselves a debut on Sunday night, announcing themselves to Major League Soccer with a 2-0 win over defending MLS Cup champions LA Galaxy.

Dos Santos, a 24-year-old Philadelphia native, made three saves to record the clean sheet for the expansion side, handing the Galaxy their first home loss since 2023. The clean sheet was the first of Dos Santos’ MLS career which had been limited to just two first team starts with Inter Miami over three seasons after returning to the U.S. from Benfica in Portugal.

Prior to signing with Benfica, dos Santos played for the Philadelphia Union Academy and was with FC Delco, Philadelphia SC and Fox Chase SC in his younger years. He’s also featured for United States youth national teams.

Dos Santos is one of three former Philadelphia Union academy keepers to earn starts in the opening weekend of the MLS season. Matt Freese started for NYCFC in their 2-2 draw with Inter Miami and Zack Steffen, who is also an FC Delco alum, started and recorded a clean sheet in a scoreless draw for the Colorado Rapids. Tomas Romero dressed for NYCFC but as Freese’s backup for the match.

CJ d🚫s Sant🚫s pic.twitter.com/AHE1zwBowe

— San Diego FC (@sandiegofc) February 24, 2025