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San Diego FC squandered a two-goal lead in 13 disastrous minutes Wednesday night. Then it nearly pulled off a stunning comeback of its own.
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Gabriel Pirani scored in the 86th minute, rescuing a 3-3 draw against the Houston Dynamo before 18,650 at Snapdragon Stadium, but another missed opportunity left SDFC’s playoff hopes hanging by a thread.
San Diego (8-12-9) remained in 12th place in the Western Conference with 33 points, five behind Colorado for the final playoff spot with five regular-season matches remaining.
Wednesday opened a pivotal six-game stretch, including three matches at Snapdragon Stadium, for a club that won the West with an expansion-record 63 points last season.
For a brief stretch, San Diego looked capable of reversing its fortunes.
Houston goalkeeper Jonathan Bond denied Cédric Bakambu from point-blank range in the 10th minute after a clever pass from Onni Valakari. But Bond fouled Bakambu inside the penalty area 10 minutes later, and Anders Dreyer converted the ensuing penalty kick with his left foot for his 12th goal.
Two minutes later, Valakari sprung Bakambu on a counterattack. The veteran striker buried a right-footed shot into the upper left corner for his third goal of the season, doubling San Diego’s advantage.
The celebration barely had time to subside.
Guilherme pulled Houston within 2-1 in the 24th minute, finishing a pass from Lawrence Ennali with his left foot for his 15th goal.
Mateusz Bogusz equalized spectacularly in the 33rd, executing a right-footed bicycle kick from the center of the penalty area into the bottom right corner. Guilherme and Agustin Bouzat assisted on Bogusz’s seventh goal.
Four minutes later, Guilherme completed the stunning turnaround with his second goal of the night, striking right-footed from outside the penalty area for his 16th of the season.
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Bond preserved Houston’s lead in first-half stoppage time, diving right to turn away a powerful Dreyer shot from outside the box.
San Diego nearly equalized in the 50th minute when Dagur Thorhallsson struck the right post with a left-footed shot after another pass from Valakari.
The breakthrough finally came in the 86th. Dreyer delivered a corner kick, Manu Duah attempted a putback, and Pirani finished the loose ball with his left foot from close range.
Pirani nearly won it three minutes later, sending a right-footed attempt narrowly wide of the left post. Bond then denied Duah’s header off a Jeppe Tverskov cross in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
SDFC dominated possession, 60.1%, and outshot Houston 18-10, including 6-3 on target. Bond finished with three saves.
Dreyer, Kieran Sargeant and Aníbal Godoy received second-half yellow cards.
The draw extended San Diego’s winless streak to seven matches after it had conceded 17 goals in its previous five games.
Houston (13-9-7) remained in fifth with 46 points, while SDFC faces an increasingly difficult postseason path.
San Diego visits the LA Galaxy and former star Hirving “Chucky” Lozano on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson.
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This story was originally published October 14, 2026 at 10:17 PM.