San Diego FC ignites late offensive surge in 4-2 victory over the Houston Dynamo

San Diego FC continues to dominate on the road, growing their away unbeaten streak to nine games after a Saturday Shell Energy Stadium 4-2 win over the Dynamo, setting a new record for wins and points by an expansion side in the MLS. 

SDFC came into the Saturday showdown against the Houston Dynamo not only in search of the three points, but for some revenge as they tasted home defeat to this same club back on July 5 in a 4-3 thriller.

The race for the top of the Western Conference remained looming for San Diego FC, as Minnesota and Vancouver just trailed in the standings.

Houston got onto the scoreboard first at Shell Energy Stadium, with defender Felipe Andrade putting his chance away in front of goal in the 15-minute.

The opportunity started from a set piece, as after some recentering and loose ball possession in dangerous areas for Houston, midfielder Ondřej Lingr found Andrade inside the box as he got the sliding finishing touch to go up 1-0. 

SDFC trailed going into the locker room break, finally breaking through in the second half after being awarded a penalty for a 49-minute tripping inside the penalty area by defender Pablo Ortiz on Amahl Pellegrino. 

Who else but SDFC star forward Anders Dreyer to step up to the spot, as he buried the 53-minute penalty attempt into the bottom right corner. 

Dynamo goalkeeper Jonathan Bond guessed the correct way but was unable to meet the power and drive from Dreyer’s attempt as the game stood level at 1-1. 

SDFC looked to have gotten the late winner in the 85-minute, with a counterattack and cross into the box being touched by Amahl Pellegrino as midfielder Luca de la Torre met the loose ball near the penalty spot with a first-time finish into the center of the goal to make the match 2-1 for SDFC. 

Only minutes after, the Dynamo had a moment of their own with forward Sergio Santos taking advantage of the sloppy playing out from the back by SDFC, gaining possession and finding the back of the net in the 87-minute, equalizing the game at 2-2 after only being on the field for seven minutes.

But the late arriving goal party wasn’t don’t yet, with Dreyer certainly getting the match winner in the 89-minute from a perfect one-two passage of play with Amahl Pellegrino to play around the opposing goalkeeper and slot his shot into the goal for the 3-2 scoreline. 

After adding two goals to his impressive goal contribution total, Anders Dreyer lifted his goals plus assists numbers of the 2025 MLS season to 35. 

SDFC left no doubt to finish the match, with Amahl Pellegrino played in behind and curling a low shot around the stretching Dynamo’s Jonathan Bond, as he placed his shot into the bottom right side netting to close the game out at 4-2 in the 90+13 minute. 

A super-sub performance for Amahl Pellegrino, recording two assists, winning a penalty, and scoring his first goal for the club, playing a vital role in the SDFC comeback win after being subbed into the match after the halftime break.

A record-breaking victory for the Azul y Chrome, as they set a new MLS record for most wins (18) and total points (60) in a regular season by an expansion team.  

SDFC head coach Mikey Varas spoke at the post-match press conference about the impact the substitutes made on the winning result against Houston and the new set league records for expansion team wins and points. 

“We always talk about game changers coming in and making a difference, because this is about the collective. It's not about one person or two people. It's not even about me. You know, I'm one small part of this huge project, and I'm just so happy for the guys who came on.”

“You have to celebrate that. 60 points. Nobody can take that away from us, that's written down right now until somebody else breaks it.”

“And that's a huge testament to these guys and how they work, how they believe in us, how they commit to being great teammates, to being top professionals, to showcasing their talent, to having that fighting spirit, and on top of that, we did it our way.”

“We're here to win, but how we win and who we win with matters, and those guys exemplified that, and I think that you have to celebrate that.”

The 4-2 victory at Shell Energy Stadium also extended SDFC’s current unbeaten streak away from Snapdragon Stadium to nine matches, with their last road game loss taking place back on May 28, in a 1-0 loss to the Seattle Sounders at Lumen Field.

SDFC finished the night remaining at the top of the Western Conference with 60 points. 

San Diego FC closes out their 2025 regular season campaign on the road, visiting the Portland Timbers at Providence Park on Oct. 18 for their final match before the MLS playoffs begin.

The final matchday of the 2025 MLS regular season sees all Western Conference clubs and games set to kick off at 6 p.m., ensuring synchronized finishes for postseason seeding throughout the conference.