San Diego FC Falls 1-0 to Houston Dynamo FC at Shell Energy Stadium
MLS San Diego FC

San Diego FC Falls 1-0 to Houston Dynamo FC at Shell Energy Stadium

Published on April 23, 2026 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
San Diego FC News Release


HOUSTON - San Diego FC (SDFC) fell 1-0 to the Houston Dynamo at Shell Energy Stadium on Wednesday night. Ibrahim Aliyu scored in the 35th minute for the home side as SDFC, reduced to 10 men, suffered its fourth straight MLS Regular Season loss. SDFC pushed for an equalizer in the dying moments of the match, which ended with both teams down to 10 men. SDFC went a man down after forward Amahl Pellegrino was shown a red card in the 79th minute, while Houston's Ondřej Lingr was ejected in stoppage time.

SDFC will now return to Snapdragon Stadium to host the Portland Timbers on Saturday, April 25 at 6:30 p.m. PT for its third MLS match in seven days. Tickets for Saturday's match are available at SanDiegoFC.com/Tickets.

Goal Scoring Plays:

HOU - 1-0 - Ibrahim Aliyu (Ondřej Lingr), 35th minute: Aliyu sent a right-footed shot from the right side of the penalty box after taking a pass from Lingr to end a series of passes that came through the right flank.

Postgame Notes:

With tonight's 1-0 loss against Houston Dynamo, SDFC suffered its fourth straight defeat in the 2026 MLS Regular Season.

SDFC now has a 3-4-2 2026 MLS Regular Season record with 11 points.

SDFC is 19-11-6 all-time against Western Conference teams in MLS Regular Season play.

SDFC now holds a 22-13-8 all-time MLS Regular Season record.

SDFC is now 1-2 all-time against Houston Dynamo.

SDFC is 1-3-1 on the road in the 2026 MLS Regular Season.

SDFC completed 804 passes compared to Houston's 301 tonight.

SDFC outpossessed Houston 65-percent to 35-percent tonight.

SDFC remains at 102 goals across all competitions (MLS, Leagues Cup, Concacaf Champions Cup).

SDFC is now 5-6-2 across all competitions in 2026 (MLS Regular Season 3-4-2, Concacaf Champions Cup 2-2).

SDFC has now gone six straight MLS matches without a win.

SDFC's current winless streak marks the first time in Club history that it has gone six MLS Regular Season matches without a win (Last MLS win came March 7 vs. Sporting Kansas City).

SDFC has now gone without a win in its last seven matches across all competitions. Its last win came against Deportivo Toluca F.C. (March 11) in the Concacaf Champions Cup.

Forward Lewis Morgan made his fourth MLS start for SDFC tonight. He also made his sixth MLS appearance with the Club.

Onni Valakari and Anders Dreyer are the only players to play in all 43 of SDFC's regular season and five post-season matches for a total of 48 MLS career appearances each.

Goalkeeper Duran Ferree made his eighth MLS start tonight.

Newcomer Osvald Søe made his fourth career MLS start and his fourth with SDFC. He also made his sixth consecutive MLS Regular Season appearance. He has played in SDFC's last seven matches, including two consecutive appearances in the CCC.

Forward Alex Mighten was on the starting XI tonight for the second time this MLS Regular Season, making his sixth appearance.

Midfielder Alejandro Alvarado Jr. made his return to the pitch tonight, coming on as a substitute for Oscar Verhoeven in stoppage time (90+1). Alvarado last played in 2025 and missed the rest of the season with an injury. He last played June 25, 2025 at Vancouver Whitecaps.

Defender Ian Pilcher returned to action after missing four MLS Regular Season matches. He came on as a substitute for Osvald Søe in the 78th minute tonight. Pilcher had missed five matches across all competitions. His last match played was a Concacaf Champions Cup affair against Toluca on March 18.

Defender Christopher McVey returned to the Starting XI tonight after serving a one-match red card suspension.

Forward Amahl Pellegrino, who returned to action last week off an injury, will miss the next MLS Regular Season match after being ejected tonight.

SDFC has had seven red cards in its last eight matches across all competitions (two red cards vs. Toluca on March 11, one at Toluca on March 18, one vs. Real Salt Lake on March 22, one at San Jose on April 4 and one vs. Minnesota United FC on April 11 and tonight vs. Houston Dynamo)

Match Information

2026 MLS Regular Season

San Diego FC vs. Houston Dynamo FC

Wednesday - Shell Energy Stadium (Houston, TX)

Scoring Summary:

HOU (1-0) - Ibrahim Aliyu (Assisted by Ondřej Lingr), 35'

Misconduct Summary:

HOU- F Andrade (caution, 14')

SD - Aníbal Godoy (caution, 38')

SD - Amahl Pellegrino (ejection, 79')

HOU - Franco Negri (caution, 90+3)

SD - Ian Pilcher (90+7)

HOU - Ondřej Lingr (ejection, 90+7)

Lineups:

SAN DIEGO FC: GK Duran Ferree; D Osvald Søe (Ian Pilcher, 78'), D Oscar Verhoeven (Alejandro Alvarado Jr., 90+1), D Manu Duah, D Christopher Mcvey; M Onni Valakari, M Jeppe Tverskov -C-, M Aníbal Godoy(Marcus Ingvartsen, 66'); F Anders Dreyer, F Alex Mighten (David Vazquez, 78'), F Lewis Morgan (Amahl Pellegrino, 66')

Substitutes Not Used: GK CJ Dos Santos, F Bryan Zamblé, M Bryce Duke, F Emmanuel Boateng

TOTAL SHOTS: 10; SHOTS ON GOAL: 1; FOULS: 11; OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES; 1

HOUSTON DYNAMO FC: GK Jonathan Bond; D Antonio Carlos -C-, D Franco Negri, D Agustin Resch, M Diadie Samassekou (Artur, 66'); M Mateusz Bogusz (Lawrence Ennali, 75'), M Guilherme (Ezequiel Ponce, 66'), M Agustin Bouzat (Hector Herrera, 77'); F Ondrej Lingr, F Ibrahim Aliyu, F Felipe Andrade (Erik Sviatchenko, 90+1)

Substitutes Not Used: GK Jimmy Maurer, D Sam Vines, M Duane Holmes, F Nick Markanich

TOTAL SHOTS: 11; SHOTS ON GOAL: 2; FOULS: 10; OFFSIDES 2; CORNER KICKS: 1; SAVES: 1

Referee: Rubiel Vazquez

Assistant Referees: Chris Elliott, Jose Da Silva

Fourth Official: Calin Radosav

VAR: David Barrie

AVAR: Tom Supple

Weather: 70-degrees, Partly Cloudy

Attendance: 15,838

All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial

SDFC HEAD COACH MIKEY VARAS

Opening Statement:

"First thought is obviously very disappointed about the result, because we're in a tough moment right now, and there's no hiding from that. That's my responsibility. But what I would say is I like this game from a playing perspective, I think we played a very mature game, very stable game. We dominated a lot of the game played away from home on two days rest and put them very deep. We didn't conceive very many chances. They took the chance that they got. This is football. We know that we can create a little bit more, but at the end of the day, I think it was a very stable performance, and it was a step in the right direction. So, we're going to take that, and we'regoing to make sure that we don't take any steps back, because we need to keep taking steps in the right direction, because ultimately, we're here to win games."

On saying he is responsible for recent results:

"I reference that because I'm the leader of the group, and it's my job to set conditions for the team to be successful. And if we don't win, I'm the first one to take put my hand up."

On what it means to get some injured players back:

"Huge. We got guys coming back. There's a disappointed feeling. But I think I said three games ago, no silver linings, and that one and this one there is, we got guys coming back. The team is starting to play better, starting to not give up the big chances that we were giving up, and we're headed in the right direction. And what I would say is we're going to be there when it counts. And right now, we're going through some growing pains. We have a very young roster. We've dealt with a lot of like, tough injury situation. We've also dealt with some weird calls from the referee, also some very unlucky place it's very unlucky that [Amahl Pellegrino] clips this guy, and we end up with another red card. It's just the moment that we're in. And the most important thing is that we are calm inside, but we're also taking responsibility and making sure that we're moving in the right direction. And I would say the silver lining is, is that we're starting to play better. We're getting more players back and the group is very, very hungry to get back to our best."

On Manu Duah playing at left back tonight:

"I thought Manu had a strong performance, and I think the whole team did now, though it's about having those strong moments every single second of the game, because ultimately, Houston didn't create very much at all, and we get caught a little bit flat footed on a ball in behind and not reading that situation well. And out of nothing, we're down 0-1, and that's not on money, that's not on money, that's a that's a team thing. That's a Mikey thing first, but the most important message that I'm trying to deliver here is that his performance was strong. The team's performance was strong, but now it's about the little details. Having every single moment buttoned up. Don't not back. Press one time. Don't be caught ball watching one time. Challenge yourself over and over, action on action, to make the right play, whether you're able to make the play or the other opponent makes a better play than you. That's okay. That's normal. That's out of our control, because you also play against someone else. But let's make sure that we are always making the play we're supposed to make, and then we do it to the best of our abilities."

On what the team needs to do to create more chances on offense:

"From the offensive standpoint, we create a lot as a team, and we've scored a lot of goals this year. You know, it was more this year, this game specifically, I asked them to stabilize the game, and they did that really well. They did exactly what I asked them to do. The consequences of that was we were a little bit less vertical than we've been in the past, and we're still finding our rhythm. You know, everybody knows who we are when we'reat our best, and the ball is flying, and there were little sparks of it today, which is a really good sign, but we still haven't quite found it yet. The most important thing is that we're buttoning up all the phases of play, making sure that we're making the plays and the responses to plays that we're supposed to make in every single situation, because we know when our rhythm comes back and that little touch and that little connection comes back, we're going to be able to take advantage of that moment and really start to fly."

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