SDFC shut out in 1-0 defeat to Houston Dynamo, drops fourth straight
Apr 22, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; San Diego FC forward Amahl Pellegrino (90) reacts as a referee displays a red card during the second half against the Houston Dynamo FC at Shell Energy Stadium. SDFC’s two-match road trip ends in back-to-back league losses, falling 1-0 at Shell Energy Stadium on Wednesday night, stretching to a four-game losing streak. Lessons to take, work to do.
pic. twitter. com/fWdmkK8fDt — San Diego FC (@sandiegofc) April 23, 2026 Coming off a 4-2 loss on the weekend in Sandy, Utah, against Real Salt Lake, San Diego's third consecutive loss, SDFC’s winless period grew to six matches in all competitions.
It was the road teams that saw success in this matchup last season, splitting the two-match series, as both clubs ended their road visits with four-goal scored victories in 2025. After a calm offensive start into the game, it was Houston that got onto the scoresheet first off a lethal long ball attack in the 35-minute with forwards Ondřej Lingr and Ibrahim Aliyu connecting for the 1-0 score. Ibrahim Aliyu sends it to the far post to put @HoustonDynamo in the lead!
💥 pic. twitter. com/MdnAGVSYu0 — Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 23, 2026 Starting from an overhead pass falling for Ondřej Lingr between two SDFC defenders, the Czech forward held the ball up at the top of the penalty box and laid off a through ball pass into the area for Ibrahim Aliyu, whose first timed shot blasted into the net, giving the Dynamo the advantage.
Although taking a dominant 65%-35% ball possession lead into the halftime break, SDFC still trailed with their offense unable to create chances off those possession spells, ending the period with zero shots on target. Dynamo’s Lingr had a chance to ice the match in the 74-minute, being played through on goal and rounding SDFC goalkeeping Duran Ferree, only for his shot to be double denied by both goal posts, keeping the match at 1-0 with 15-minutes of regular time remaining. SDFC’s period of bad luck continued to grow with a 79-minute red card given to forward Amahl Pellegrino after catching the head of Dynamo’s Felipe Andrade with a high kick, as the seemingly unintentional but dangerous play confirmed the red card decision, leaving San Diego a player down while chasing a result.
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