San Diego FC visits Houston Dynamo on six-game winless streak
MLS
San Diego FC is currently on its worst-ever run, a six-game winless streak in all competitions. Five of the six games in this slump have been in MLS play, and SDFC is now on a three-game losing streak.
San Diego lost 4-2 at Real Salt Lake and previously lost 2-1 to Minnesota. The Southern California club has conceded nine goals in the last three games and has only scored three goals of its own.
Duran Ferree is now a topic of concern as the young goalkeeper has had some significant miscues as of late. Pablo Sisiniega started the year fruitfully in net, and CJ dos Santos was the undisputed starter for a large portion of 2025.
There is competition between the sticks for San Diego, as it is unclear if Ferree will start this next game. Ferree has not been the lone concern in the backline, as San Diego’s defensive game as a whole has suffered.
A big contributing factor to these defensive struggles has been the severe disciplinary issues. One of the few positives from the recent loss to Salt Lake was that there were no red cards for San Diego.
SDFC picked up six red cards in six games before that match, as Christopher McVey and Manu Duah had not been able to play together much. The centre-back pairing will finally be available to play together in this match in Houston.
Anders Dreyer and Marcus Ingvarten lead San Diego with seven goal contributions this season, and both scored in the previous game in Utah. However, the offense has been far too inconsistent to make up for the massive defensive issues.
Some narratives continue to focus on Hirving Lozano and his impact since his separation from the squad. While his impact is now being seen a bit more, it is clear that there needs to be a significant investment from the club for the remaining DP slot.
Teams around MLS are more comfortable playing against Mikey Varas’ possession-heavy style, and adjustments are necessary. While a lot of spotlight can be thrown on the offense, the defensive struggles are clearly what have been costing this team more.
The Houston Dynamo has only won one of its last four MLS games and is in a position below SDFC on the Western Conference table. This is a golden opportunity for a bounce back for Varas’ team.
Houston is coming off a 1-0 win at Orlando, and the other two wins this season have been against Chicago and Portland at home. Guilherme has been the big standout for Houston this season with nine goal contributions.
This is tied for second-best in Major League Soccer with five goals and four assists in just seven games played. The Brazilian playmaker sits right behind the strike,r and a majority of the offensive distribution will go through him.
Stopping Guilherme is the only way to stop the Texas-based club on the attacking front and will be one of the keys to this game. Apart from the Brazilian player, there are other notable players on Houston like former Mexico international Hector Herrera and former Cruz Azul forward Mateusz Bogusz.
Former SDFC fullback Franco Negri is also on the team and started in the last game against Orlando for Houston.
If San Diego plans on turning this season around, this will be the ideal spot to do it against a struggling Dynamo team. If San Diego losses then serious and very hard questions will need to be asked about management moving forward.
Francisco, 28, Chula Vista/Tijuana. I have been a Padres fan all my life, did most of the series previews and recaps in the Padres’ 2016 season for EVT. Now I focus more on the local soccer scene. Tijuana Xolos, San Diego FC, San Diego Wave. I have covered Liga MX, MLS, Mexico National Team, USWNT, Copa América and European clubs like Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund.