San Diego FC suffered its fourth consecutive defeat, falling 1-0 against the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday, April 22.

SDFC visited Shell Energy Stadium with hopes of a positive result, but has now found a new low on a seven-game winless streak in all competitions.

Six of these seven games have been in MLS play as the Southern California club is now 10th on the Western Conference table. San Diego is now 18th on the general MLS table and is 10 points back of Vancouver in first place, which also has a game in hand.

This result is worrisome, as Houston had been struggling before this result. The Texas-based club had only won one of its last four games in MLS play and had been outscored 11-6 in these games.

Mikey Varas tried another formation for this match with a three-man backline featuring Manu Duah, Osvald Soe, and Christopher McVey. Oscar Verhoeven and Alex Mighten played as wing-backs with a midfield duo of Jeppe Tverskov and Anibal Godoy.

Onni Valakari, Anders Dreye,r and Lewis Morgan made up the attack in Houston while Duran Ferree was in between the sticks. While the formation was a bit different, the usual game plan did not change for San Diego, maintaining a heavy possession-based play.

SDFC controlled 72-percent possession in the opening 45 minutes, but it was Houston who struck on the scoreboard. The lone goal of the match came in the 35th minute in what was a well-constructed scoring drive by the Dynamo, but also very sloppy defending by San Diego on that play.

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

A long ball from Agustin Resch found Ondrej Lingr, who was given enough time in front of three defenders to pass the ball to Ibrahim Aliyu.

Aliyu came in on the right flank with power and speed and fired a shot that found the top left corner of Ferree’s net. The marking and pressure put on by San Diego’s defenders was woeful, as Lingr should not have been given that much freedom to find Aliyu on the wing.

The Chrome and Azul side did not have a single shot on target in the first half and finished the match with just one. The disciplinary issues continued for San Diego as Amahl Pellegrino received a red card in the 79th minute of the match.

Pellegrino went studs up on a challenge on Houston’s Felipe Andrade in what was a clear red card. SDFC now has eight red cards in the last seven games in all competitions, which has been a persistent problem this season.

Houston’s Ondrej Lingr received a red card near the end of the match, which did not have much of an impact on the game.

Houston came away with the 1-0 win in yet another very frustrating game for Mikey Varas and company. All areas where the team has been struggling continued to struggle in this match at Shell Energy Stadium.

SDFC will have another chance to break this winless streak this Saturday, April 25, when the Chrome and Azul side hosts Portland. Mikey Varas had a tremendous debut season, but his future is uncertain if these results continue.

Francisco Velasco

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.