San Diego FC closed the gap to Western Conference leaders Vancouver Whitecaps with a 4-2 win over Minnesota United in MLS on Saturday.

San Diego came from behind twice to put some breathing space between themselves and third-place Minnesota.

Christopher McVey's early own goal was quickly canceled out by Anders Dreyer's long-range effort, though Kelvin Yeboah had put the Loons back in front in the 38th minute.

Dreyer got his second of the match from the penalty spot in the 66th minute after Anthony Markanich's handball, and San Diego did not look back from there.

Substitute Milan Iloski also scored a brace, as well as hitting the post. He headed the visitors in front 75 minutes in before sealing the victory in stoppage time with a stunning solo goal, which saw him beat Wessel Speel one-on-one.

It sees San Diego move onto 33 points, three clear of Minnesota, and just two points behind Vancouver, who were beaten 2-1 by the Columbus Crew.

The Whitecaps were on an 11-match unbeaten streak in MLS but failed to overcome a deficit for a second time in the match.

Ibrahim Aliyu got the hosts off to a perfect start, netting after just two minutes, though they were soon pegged back as J.C. Ngando improvised to turn Daniel Rios' delivery past Evan Bush.

However, Diego Rossi's 23rd-minute goal was enough to seal the Crew's first win in seven as they moved up to fourth in the East.

Philadelphia Union, the Eastern Conference leaders, scored a stoppage-time winner to beat Charlotte FC 2-1 and maintain their advantage at the top.

Jesus Bueno had given the Union the lead in first-half stoppage time, though they were pegged back in the 78th minute by Wilfried Zaha's fifth MLS goal of the season.

However, substitute Markus Anderson snatched the win with a 98th-minute volley to make it 10 games without defeat on the bounce. 

FC Cincinnati kept pace with them as Kevin Denkey's 23rd-minute strike was enough to earn them a 1-0 victory over the New England Revolution, who saw their nine-match unbeaten streak at home ended.

Nashville SC are keeping pace, though, sitting third, just one point behind Cincinnati after their 2-0 victory over Chicago Fire, while Orlando City beat Colorado Rapids 1-0 and are just three points off second.

Data Debrief: New boys still flying high

Mikey Varas said he wanted his San Diego side to keep their feet on the ground after their brilliant start, and they continued that against Minnesota.

They had 15 shots overall against Eric Ramsay's side, getting seven of those on target, the most against Minnesota this season. They also accumulated 3.0 expected goals (xG), which they overperformed.

Nobody has more goal involvements in MLS than Dreyer this season, as he took his tally up to 16 for the season (eight goals, eight assists), edging in front of Lionel Messi (15).