Houston Dynamo Win Again, Take Down San Diego 1-0
(image via Aldo Canale)
The Houston Dynamo’s busy schedule continued on Wednesday night as they hosted San Diego FC at Shell Energy Stadium. Houston was looking to keep the momentum going after back-to-back wins in all competitions. This was the third meeting all-time between the two clubs, with each winning on the road in 2025.
Head coach Ben Olsen made three changes to the starting eleven that won 1-0 in Orlando on Saturday. Aliyu Ibrahim, Ondrej Lingr, and Agustin Bouzat came into the lineup. San Diego dominated possession early and for most of the first half. The away side held onto the ball and knocked it around in their midfield but couldn’t find any real scoring opportunities.
The Dynamo, holding less than 30% possession for most of the half, made it pay off with a goal in the 35th minute. A long ball over the top was collected by Lingr and he held position. The Czech attacker held the ball at the top of the box as Aliyu made a run in on the right side. Lingr laid it off and Aliyu smashed his shot into the top corner to put Houston in front 1-0.
San Diego dominated the stat sheet but took the lead into half time. The Dynamo scored first, for the third straight match, and after winning the other two, were hoping to keep that going for a third time.
The away side once again dominated possession in the second half but Houston found chances. Lingr was played in and managed to hit both posts with a shot in the 74th minute. Substitute Ezequiel Ponce followed it up but his shot was blocked.
San Diego’s task was made more difficult in the 79th minute when they were reduced to ten men. Substitute striker Amahl Pellegrino tried to bring down a ball over the top but instead made contact with his cleats into Felipe Andrade’s face. Referee Rubiel Vazquez had no hesitation and pulled out a straight red card.
Even down a man, San Diego continued to hold possession as they pinned the Dynamo in, trying to find an equalizer. Anders Dreyer had a shot in the 90th minute that Jonathan Bond got down to save. Onni Valkari had an attempt two minutes later but Agustin Resch did brilliantly to get down and block the shot.
The final few minutes of stoppage time got nervy after the Dynamo also went down to ten men. Lingr was fouled trying to dribble away from a San Diego defender.
The Dynamo will now make the short trip west to Austin to take on their in-state rival at Q2 Stadium on Saturday night.
