San Diego FC Tops Houston Dynamo FC 4-2

HOUSTON, TX. (Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025) – San Diego FC (SDFC) earned a thrilling 4-2 comeback victory over Houston Dynamo FC at Shell Energy Stadium. With the win, SDFC now holds an 18-8-6 on the year and sets new MLS expansion team records for most wins (18) and most points (60) in a single season.

Houston struck first in the 15th minute, as Felipe Andrade converted a left-footed shot from the center of the box, assisted by Junior Urso. The Dynamo took a 1-0 lead into halftime.

SDFC responded in the 49th minute after forward Amahl Pellegrino was brought down in the box by Houston defender Pablo Ortiz. Anders Dreyer stepped up and converted the penalty with a left-footed finish in the bottom-right corner past Houston goalkeeper Jonathan Bond, leveling the score at 1-1.

In the 85th minute, SDFC pulled ahead 2-1 after a well-worked move between Willy Kumado and Pellegrino resulted in a left-footed finish from the center of the box. Just two minutes later, Houston equalized, capitalizing on a turnover outside the area to beat goalkeeper CJ Dos Santos and bring the score to 2-2.

SDFC responded immediately. In the 89th minute, Dreyer scored his second goal of the night, finishing off another combination with Pellegrino to make it 3-2.

SDFC capped the performance with a stoppage-time insurance goal (90+13) from Amahl Pellegrino, who found the net with a left-footed shot following an assist from Jeppe Tverskov. The goal sealed the 4-2 win and extended SDFC’s unbeaten road streak to nine consecutive matches.

Next, SDFC will travel to Providence Park to face the Portland Timbers on MLS Decision Day, closing out its inaugural regular season on Saturday, October 18. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. PT, with live coverage on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, San Diego Sports 760 AM (English), and TUDN 1700 AM (Spanish).

HOU – 0-1 – Felipe Andrade (Junior Urso) 15^th minute: Following a set piece, midfielder Ondrej Lingr played a square ball from the top of the six-yard box back into the middle, where midfielder Junior Urso redirected the ball into the path of defender Felipe Andrade, who finished a left-footed shot in front of goal.

SD – 1-1 – Anders Dreyer (Penalty Kick) 53^rd minute: Dreyer converted from the spot with a left-footed effort, beating Houston goalkeeper Jonathan Bond to the lower-left hand corner after Houston defender Pablo Ortiz was called for a foul on substitute Amahl Pellegrino inside the box.

SD – 2-1 – Luca De La Torre (Amahl Pellegrino, Willy) 85^th minute: A trio of substitutes combined for the go-ahead goal in transition late. Defender Willy played in a low cross from the right side of the pitch into the box for Pellegrino. His touch fell straight into the path of De La Torre, who finished in the middle of the box with his left foot.

HOU – 2-2 Sergio Santos (Lawrence Ennali) 87^th minute: Ennali forced a turnover of the SDFC backline that fell into the path of Santos just outside the 18-yard box. Santos dribbled into the box and scored with a left-footed shot into the right corner to level the match for Houston.

SD – 3-2 Anders Dreyer (Amahl Pellegrino) 89th minute: After a block near the corner flag,

De La Torre collected the ball inside the 18-yard-box. He found Dreyer near the penalty spot, who played a give-and-go with Pellegrino that caught Bond off his line and Dreyer fired a right-footed shot that put San Diego back in front.

SD – 4-2 Amahl Pellegrino (Jeppe Tverskov) 90 +13th minute: After two assists and drawing the foul that earned the prior penalty kick, Pellegrino scored his first SDFC goal in the dying moments of the match. Captain Jeppe Tverskov played Pellegrino through on the left side, who finished back across goal into the bottom right corner with a right-footed finish.

·       With tonight’s 4-2 win against Houston, San Diego FC recorded its 18^th win of the season, extending its unbeaten streak on the road to nine consecutive games.

·       SDFC now holds the league’s record for Most Points by an Expansion Team 60 points, surpassing LAFC’s 2018 record with 57 points (16-9-9).

·       SDFC now holds the league record for Most Wins by an Expansion Team (18 wins), surpassing St. Louis City’s 2023 record with 17 wins (17-12-5 record)

·       SDFC is 11-4-1 on the road this season, tying the MLS single season record for most road victories in a single season in the post-shootout era, set previously by CF Montréal in 2022 and Inter Miami CF in 2024.

·       SDFC is 6-8-2 when allowing first goal.

·       SDFC is 16-7-4 against Western Conference teams this season.

·       SDFC controlled possession, holding 58% of the ball compared to Houston’s 42%.

·       SDFC had 540 passes completed compared to Houston’s 277.

·       Designated player Anders Dreyer has started all 33 MLS Regular season matches this season.

·       Designated player Anders Dreyer registered his 16^th and 17^th goal of the regular season and now has a combined 35 goals and assists through 33 matches.

·       Forward Amahl Pellegrino registered his third start for SDFC and registered one goal and two assists on the night.

·       Pellegrino registered his first SDFC goal and his first and second SDFC assists.

·       Pellegrino now has an MLS regular season career 51 appearances (30 starts) and has registered nine goals and six assists.

·       Defender Manu Duah made his 12th MLS start and 13th appearance for SDFC. He has a total of 17 appearances with the club across all competitions. He also appeared in three 2025 Leagues Club matches.

·       SDFC was without defender Luca Bombino, goalkeeper Duran Ferree and midfielder Pedro Soma as all three players are on national team duty with the U.S. Under-20 for the 2025 FIFA World Cup taking place in Chile from Sept. 27-Oct. 19.

SDFC will travel to face the Portland Timbers on Saturday, Oct. 18 at Providence Park. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. PT, with live coverage on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, San Diego Sports 760 AM (English), and TUDN 1700 AM (Spanish).

Match Information
2025 MLS Regular Season
San Diego FC (17-9-6, 57 pts) vs. Houston Dynamo FC (9-14-9, 36 pts)

Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025 – Shell Energy Stadium (Houston, Texas)

HOU (1-0) – Felipe Andrade (Assisted by Junior Urso) 15’

SD (1-1) – Anders Dreyer (PK) 53’

SD (2-1) – Luca De La Torre (Assisted by Amahl Pellegrino and Willy) 85’

HOU (2-2) – Sergio Santos (Assisted by Lawrence Ennali) 87’

SD (3-2) – Anders Dreyer (Assisted by Amahl Pellegrino) 89’

SD (4-2) – Amahl Pellegrino (Assisted by Jeppe Tverskov) 90 +13’

HOU – Ezequiel Ponce (caution, 39’)

HOU – Bench (caution, 55’)

SD – Aníbal Godoy (caution, 77’)

SD – Aiden Harangi (caution, 78’)

SD – Ian Pilcher (caution, 83’)

HOU – Lawrence Ennali (caution, 90 + 1’)

Lineups:
SAN DIEGO FC: GK CJ Dos Santos; D Franco Negri (D Ian Pilcher, 46’), D Christopher McVey, D Manu Duah, D Aiden Harangi (D Willy, 84’); M Onni Valakari, M Jeppe Tverskov –C–, M Aníbal Godoy (M Luca De La Torre, 84’); F Hirving “Chucky” Lozano (F Amahl Pellegrino, 46’), F Corey Baird (F Alex Mighten, 75’), F Anders Dreyer (D Paddy McNair, 90’)

Substitutes Not Used: GK Pablo Sisniega, F Emmanuel Boateng, F David Vazquez

TOTAL SHOTS: 15; SHOTS ON GOAL: 6; FOULS: 17; OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES; 3

HOUSTON DYNAMO FC: GK Jonathan Bond; D Felipe Andrade, D Antonio Carlos, D Pablo Ortiz, D Griffin Dorsey; M Artur –C–, M Junior Urso (F Sergio Santos, 80’), M Ondrej Lingr (F Gabe Segal, 87’); F Lawrence Ennali, F Ezequiel Ponce, F Duane Holmes (F Amine Bassi, 67’)

Substitutes Not Used: GK Jimmy Maurer, D Femi Awodesu, D Ethan Bartlow, M Diadie Samassekou, M Erik Duenas

TOTAL SHOTS: 16; SHOTS ON GOAL: 5; FOULS: 19; OFFSIDES 1; CORNER KICKS: 1; SAVES: 2

Referee: Drew Fischer

Assistant Referees: Andrew Bigelow, Felisha Mariscal

Fourth Official: Guido Gonzales, Jr.

VAR: Daniel Radford

AVAR: Fabio Tovar

Weather: 84-degrees, Mostly Sunny

Attendance:  20,732