HOUSTON (AP) — Anders Dreyer scored two goals, Amahl Pellegrino added a goal and an assist, and San Diego FC beat the Houston Dynamo 4-1 on Saturday night to finish the best regular season by an expansion team in MLS history.
San Diego (18-9-6) leads the Western Conference with 60 points and has a three-point lead over second-place Vancouver, which plays San Jose on Sunday. Los Angeles FC set the previous mark for an expansion club with 57 points in 2018.
Houston (9-15-9) was eliminated from playoff contention.
Dreyer, who converted from the penalty spot in the 53rd minute, rolled a short pass to Pellegrino, who tapped it back to Dreyer for a first-touch finish from just outside the 6-yard box to five San Diego the lead for good in the 89th minute.
Luca de la Torre came on in the 84th minute and scored in the 85th to give San Diego a 2-1 lead, but Santos — who was acquired Sept. 2 off waivers from Cincinnati and made his second appearance off the bench for the Dynamo — responded in the 87th to make it 2-2.
Felipe Andrade scored on a sliding first-touch finish — off a low volley played into the area by Ondřej Lingr — to give Houston a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute.
Pellegrino capped the scoring in the 13th minute of stoppage time.
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