SDFC draw 3-3 with Houston in wild six-goal night
Key takeaways
- San Diego FC led 2-0 early. Houston went up 3-2. Then San Diego scored late to draw 3-3.
- Gabriel Pirani scored in the 86th minute. His late goal saved one point for San Diego.
- San Diego sits five points below the playoff line. The team has now gone seven games with no win.
San Diego FC and Houston Dynamo drew 3-3 on Wednesday night. A draw means both teams finish with the same score. Each team gets one point.
The game took place at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego. It was a regular season game in MLS. MLS is Major League Soccer.
It is the top pro soccer league in the United States. The regular season is the main set of league games. It comes before the playoffs.
San Diego led 2-0 early in the game. Houston then scored three goals before halftime. San Diego scored late to tie the game at 3-3.
What happened
San Diego started fast. The home team scored twice in the first 22 minutes. Anders Dreyer scored first from the penalty spot.
A penalty is a free shot from a set spot. It comes after a foul near the goal. Dreyer scored in the 20th minute.
It was his 12th goal of the season. He shares the team lead for goals. Two minutes later, Cedric Bakambu made it 2-0. His shot hit the crossbar and bounced over the line.
The crossbar is the top bar of the goal. It was his third goal of the season. San Diego looked in full control.
Then Houston took over the game.
Guilherme scored in the 24th minute. Lawrence Ennali sent in the cross. A cross is a pass from the side into the box.
The box is the area right in front of the goal. Guilherme fired a shot past goalkeeper CJ dos Santos. The shot took a deflection on its way in.
A deflection means the ball changed path off a player. Mateusz Bogusz tied the game in the 33rd minute. He controlled a pass with his chest.
Then he scored with a bicycle kick. A bicycle kick is a kick in midair while falling back. It was one of the best goals of the night.
Guilherme scored again in the 37th minute. He controlled a loose ball with his thigh. Then he fired a shot from 23 yards out.
The ball went inside the right post. Houston led 3-2 at halftime. The visitors had turned a 2-0 gap into a 3-2 lead.
They did it in just 13 minutes.
San Diego pushed hard in the second half. Houston sat back and tried to counter. A counter means a fast attack after a stop.
San Diego kept the ball and made chances. The tying goal came in the 86th minute. Dreyer sent in a corner kick.
A corner kick is a kick from the corner of the field. Houston goalkeeper Jonathan Bond tried to punch the ball clear. He missed the ball.
Anibal Godoy kept the play alive at the back post. The back post is the far side of the goal. Gabriel Pirani poked the ball home from close range.
The score was 3-3. The game ended at that score.
Why it matters
The point keeps San Diego alive in the playoff race. The playoffs are the end-of-season games. They pick the league champion.
Teams must finish high to reach them. San Diego now has 33 points. The record is 8 wins, 12 losses, and 9 draws.
The team sits in 12th place. It sits five points below the playoff line. Colorado holds the last playoff spot.
San Diego came into the night four points back. The gap grew by one point. The late goal stopped a worse night.
A loss would have left San Diego six points back.
Last Saturday, San Diego lost 4-1 on the road. The loss came against the New York Red Bulls. San Diego had not played at home for a month.
The last home game was Sept. 13. That game was against the Philadelphia Union. Before this game, San Diego had two points from six games.
Now the winless run is seven games long. A winless run means games with no win in a row.
Houston also stays winless. The Dynamo have no win in five games. Their record in that run is two losses and three draws.
Houston has 46 points. The record is 13 wins, 9 losses, and 7 draws. The Dynamo sit in fifth place in the West.
The West is short for Western Conference. It is one of two groups in MLS. For Houston, the draw feels like two points lost.
The team led late and gave up the tying goal. Late set-piece defense cost Houston the win. A set piece is a planned restart like a corner kick.
Guilherme was the star of the night for Houston. He scored twice and set up one more goal. A brace means two goals by one player in one game.
His two goals were his 15th and 16th of the season. It was his first two-goal game since his MLS debut. In that debut, he scored twice against the Chicago Fire.
Houston won that game 2-1. Other MLS games this week also had late drama. San Jose tied Real Salt Lake late.
Across the Atlantic, Shakhtar Donetsk also fought back late to win in London. The playoff race stays tight across the league.
Columbus Crew beat Charlotte 3-1.
What happens next
San Diego plays next on Saturday night. The rival is the LA Galaxy. The game is on the road.
It will take place at Dignity Health Sports Park. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p. m.
San Diego wants to close the gap on the Galaxy. San Diego needs wins now. Draws alone will not close a five-point gap.
The team must turn late fight into full wins. Houston must fix its late defense. The Dynamo gave up a late goal from a corner.
That has cost them points. Fans can watch for one key question. Can San Diego score first and hold a lead?
The team did the hard part on Wednesday. It fought back from behind. Now it must learn to protect a lead.
Saturday will show if this draw was a turning point. A win would cut the gap and lift belief. A loss would make the playoff climb much steeper.
For now, San Diego has one more point and one more reason to fight.
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