Houston Dynamo eliminated from playoff contention after loss to San Diego
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
The Houston Dynamo knew going into Saturday night’s match at Shell Energy Stadium against San Diego FC that they had to win. FC Dallas beat the LA Galaxy earlier in the afternoon meaning Houston would be eliminated if they drew or lost to San Diego.
Head coach Ben Olsen was forced to make some changes to the starting lineup. Jack McGlynn suffered a foot injury in last week’s loss to Nashville and will miss the remainder of the season. Duane Holmes got the start in McGlynn’s place in midfield. Eri Sviatchenko was suspended after receiving a red card in that Nashville match and Antonio Carlos paired Pablo Ortiz as the Dynamo center backs.
The Dynamo knew they had to win and they got off to a good start, getting the games opening goal in the 15th minute. An Ondrej Lingr set piece was cleared to the top of the box where Griffin Dorsey put the ball back into the mix. The ball fell to Lingr, again, and he crossed in front of goal. A deflection fell kindly for left back Felipe Andrade and he poked in the opening goal to put Houston ahead 1-0.
Ezequiel Ponce tried a shot from range in the 21st minute that San Diego goalkeeper CJ dos Santos got down to parry away. San Diego’s best chance of the half came when Hirving Lozano fired on goal, but Jonathan Bond made a low save to keep the Mexican star out.
The Dynamo took the 1-0 lead into half time but it wasn’t long after the second half began that the lead was gone. Anders Dreyer drove into the box and played a ball across goal in the 50th minute. Second half sub Amahl Pellegrino looked to get onto the end of it but went down. VAR had the referee go to the monitor for a look and Felipe Andrade cut off the path of Pellegrino and tripped him up. A penalty was awarded and Dreyer buried it in the 53rd minute to tie the match at 1-1.
Houston knew they had to score again to win the game to keep their season alive. Ponce had numerous chances in the 62nd minute but couldn’t get a shot on target. The game then exploded to life in the final five minutes.
First, in the 85th minute, Dreyer led a San Diego counter. The ball into the box deflected off Pellegrino back into the path of Luca De La Torre unmarked. He finished to put San Diego ahead 2-1, leaving the Dynamo needing two goals.
Houston found one just a minute later when substitute Sergio Santos picked up an errant touch by San Diego and drove in on goal. He buried his first goal for the club, in the 87th minute, to make the score 2-2 and give the Dynamo a lifeline.
That lifeline was short-lived however. Dreyer received the ball all alone in the box and played a one-two with Pellegrino around Bond before slotting home to put San Diego back in front, 3-2 in the 89th minute, and put a nail in the coffin of the 2025 Dynamo season.
Twelve minutes of second half stoppage time were added, with Houston needing to score twice. Lawrence Ennali had one shot that didn’t test dos Santos much and that was all the Dynamo could muster in the attack as their season faded away. San Diego added a fourth goal in the final moment of the match, with Pellegrino finishing on a break, to make the final score 4-2.
The loss officially eliminates the Dynamo from playoff contention with one match to play in the regular season. A lot will be said about this season in the coming days and weeks and a lot can be blamed on the failure that the 2025 season was. This game, and loss, seemed to sum up the season pretty well. Injuries, suspensions, late goals, missed chances. That is what ultimately did Houston in both on this night and for the year as a whole.
