Gabriel Pirani provided the final touch on an 86th-minute equalizer from a corner kick and San Diego FC salvaged a 3-3 draw against the visiting Houston Dynamo on Wednesday night.
Anders Dreyer scored his team co-leading 12th goal from the penalty spot and Cedric Bakambu also scored early for San Diego, which saw its brief two-goal advantage turn into a 3-2 deficit by halftime.
Guilherme scored his 15th and 16th goals of the season and Mateusz Bogusz also found the net on a spectacular bicycle kick for Houston, which is also winless in its past five matches (0-2-3).
Guilherme and Bogusz also picked up assists for the Dynamo (13-9-7, 46 points), who finished the night in fifth place in the Western Conference. San Diego (8-12-9, 33 points) sits in 12th, five points beneath the playoff line.
Guilherme’s brace was his first multi-goal performance since scoring both goals in a 2-1 win over the Chicago Fire in his MLS debut and Houston’s season opener. But it ultimately wasn’t enough to secure victory due to the Dynamo’s shaky late set-piece defending.
Dreyer served an in-swinging corner kick with his left foot. Houston goalkeeper Jonathan Bond tried to punch the ball clear but failed to make contact. San Diego substitute Anibal Godoy scrapped with a Houston defender at the back post to keep the play alive before Pirani poked it home from close range.
Much earlier, Houston turned a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead in the space of 13 minutes.
Guilherme got his first in the 24th minute after Houston played through San Diego’s press and attacked down the right.
Lawrence Ennali provided the cross toward the penalty arc, and Guilherme had time to compose himself with his first touch before firing a left-footed, deflected shot past CJ dos Santos.
Bogusz leveled with his 33rd-minute acrobatics, taking Guilherme’s early diagonal ball off his chest with his first touch before snapping off an overhead kick finish that beat dos Santos low to his left.
Guilherme completed his brace in the 37th minute with his own exceptional finish, controlling a San Diego half-clearance with his thigh before firing a right-footed half-volley inside the right post from 23 yards out.
–Field Level Media
