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At this point, San Diego FC doesn't need another encouraging performance. It needs wins.
SDFC heads north to face the LA Galaxy on Saturday night after another frustrating result Wednesday, drawing Houston Dynamo 3-3 at Snapdragon Stadium.
The point kept San Diego's playoff hopes alive, but it was also another massive missed opportunity.
SDFC jumped out to a 2-0 lead behind goals from Anders Dreyer and Cédric Bakambu in the 20th and 22nd minutes. Two minutes later, Houston scored. By the 37th minute, the Dynamo were leading 3-2.
Gabriel Pirani's 86th-minute equalizer rescued a point, but let's call the result what it was: two more points dropped.
San Diego is now 8-12-9 with 33 points, sitting 12th in the Western Conference and five points below the playoff line with only five matches remaining.
As captain Jeppe Tverskov put it after Wednesday's draw:
"The one point here and there is not going to make it for us anymore... It's about getting the three points basically."
That's where SDFC is now.
SDFC's Biggest Problem Is Consistency
What makes Wednesday's result especially frustrating is that we've seen this before.
Against Austin FC, SDFC built a 3-0 lead and somehow walked away with a 3-3 draw.
Against Houston, it happened even faster.
San Diego's opening 22 minutes were some of its best attacking soccer in weeks. The ball moved quickly, Dreyer was getting into dangerous positions and Bakambu continued his strong start with the club.
Then everything changed. Houston scored three goals in 13 minutes.
That follows a 4-1 loss to the Red Bulls in which SDFC conceded three times in a 12-minute span during the first half.
Different matches, same problem.
San Diego's floor is simply too low right now. When this team is playing well, it can look like a playoff team. When its level drops, matches can completely change in a matter of minutes.
Mikey Varas acknowledged as much after the Houston draw.
"We played good enough football in certain stretches of this game that if we can put that together for the whole game, we're a playoff team. And if we don't, then we're leaving a lot to chance."
That's really the story of SDFC's sophomore season. Playing 25 or 30 good minutes isn't enough anymore. Not with five matches left and a five-point gap to make up.
The Attack Is Starting to Produce
For all of SDFC's problems, there are encouraging signs going forward.
Dreyer scored his 12th goal of the season against Houston and now has 25 goal contributions with 12 goals and 13 assists.
He is tied with Marcus Ingvartsen for the team lead in goals and remains the player most likely to make something happen when San Diego needs it.
Bakambu is becoming another important piece. The veteran striker has now scored in consecutive matches, giving him three goals and an assist through his first six appearances for SDFC.
His goal against Houston showed what he can offer. Onni Valakari delivered the ball into the area and Bakambu met it with an excellent volley that went off the crossbar and in.
He gives SDFC a true penalty-box target and another option for a team that can sometimes become too predictable trying to combine through the middle.
With Dreyer creating, Valakari now up to nine assists and Pirani providing another attacking option from midfield, there is enough talent here to score goals.
The problem is making those goals actually matter.
San Diego Has to Learn How to Control a Lead
This is what I want to see change against the Galaxy.
When SDFC gets ahead, it has to understand the moment better.
That doesn't mean abandoning Varas' possession-based style and putting 10 players behind the ball. It means recognizing when the game is becoming too open.
Against Houston, San Diego had complete control and then suddenly allowed the match to turn into an end-to-end contest. The midfield became easier to play through, second balls started falling to Houston and SDFC's defensive structure disappeared.
Tverskov pointed to the team's drop in intensity afterward.
"As soon as we start lowering the intensity, it becomes a problem."
Against the Galaxy, that could be costly. If SDFC pushes numbers forward without maintaining its rest defense, LA has players capable of attacking the space left behind.
San Diego needs to keep possession with purpose, but sometimes the best use of possession is simply making the opponent chase the ball for a few minutes. Not every attack has to become a transition.3
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The Galaxy Have Never Beaten SDFC
If there is one matchup San Diego should feel confident about, it's this one.
SDFC is 3-0-0 against the Galaxy since entering MLS.
The first win came in San Diego's inaugural MLS match, a 2-0 victory at Dignity Health Sports Park in February 2025. SDFC followed that with a 2-1 victory at Snapdragon later that season.
The streak continued earlier this year when San Diego beat LA 3-1. So yes, SDFC has had the Galaxy's number.
LA has dangerous attacking pieces, beginning with Marco Reus. His movement between midfield and defense can create exactly the type of problems San Diego has struggled with when its shape becomes stretched.
Joseph Paintsil brings another challenge with his speed in transition.
And then there is Chucky Lozano.
The former SDFC Designated Player already scored against his old club when the teams met earlier this season. SDFC ultimately won that match, but San Diego knows firsthand what Chucky can do when he gets isolated against a defender with space to attack.
Keeping the Galaxy from turning the match into a transition battle should be one of Varas' biggest priorities.
No More Room for "Almost"
Varas described SDFC's playoff situation after Houston as a mountain that "just got a little bit steeper."
He's right, but eventually you run out of mountain.
San Diego hasn't won in eight consecutive MLS matches. Five games remain, and SDFC is five points below the playoff line. Mathematically, there is still an opportunity. Realistically, the draws have to start becoming wins immediately.
That's what makes Saturday so important.
SDFC knows it can beat the Galaxy. It has done it three times already. The attack is also beginning to show some life, with Dreyer producing, Bakambu scoring in consecutive matches and Pirani making an impact.
But none of that matters if San Diego continues giving away leads.
Varas said the team needs to find its "above-average to good level" and maintain it rather than experiencing the dramatic drops that have defined too many matches this season.
Saturday would be a good time to start. Five matches remain. Five points separate SDFC from the playoff line. If San Diego gets another lead, it has to finish the job.
"Almost" isn't good enough anymore.
