The Houston Dynamo took sole control of second place in the Western Conference on Saturday evening, downing Chivas USA 2-0 at The Home Depot Center. The Dynamo continue to be a thorn in the Red-and-White’s side, extending their unbeaten streak against the Goats to an impressive 11 games.
Brad Davis was the hero of the night, notching both a goal and an assist for the visitors as they earned their first win on the road this season. The loss halts a three-game unbeaten streak for Chivas USA and hands the team its second loss at home this season.
Houston leapt out to an early lead, netting twice within the first eight minutes. The first goal came in the fourth minute, when Brian Mullan clipped a long ball over the top into the path of Davis. With goalkeeper Zach Thornton off his line, Davis slid and put a tantalizing chip over his head and into the back of the net.
The Dynamo doubled their lead just four minutes later. It was Davis involved again, this time lofting a perfect corner kick into the Goats’ area that was met by Dynamo center-back Adrian Serioux. Blown marking by Jonathan Bornstein left the Canadian international with plenty of space to hit his towering header past Thornton and double Houston’s lead.
Chivas started pushing back around the quarter-hour mark but failed to rekindle the chemistry that had served them so well in their previous three matches. The Goats looked tepid in the attack, struggling to settle into a good passing tempo. They tested Houston goalkeeper Pat Onstad — who on the night became the oldest player ever to appear in an MLS game — only once, in the 38th minute, when Mariano Trujillo drilled a low shot from outside the box that skipped just wide of the right goalpost.
Buoyed by second-half substitute strikers Maicon Santos and Chukwudi Chijindu, Chivas’s offense finally came to life in the final 20 minutes. The Red-and-White pushed forward and started probing for small holes in the Houston defense.
However, Houston absorbed the pressure well, relying on dominating play in the box from Serioux and team captain Bobby Boswell. The only close call came in the 84th minute, when Onstad parried a line drive from Kljestan over the bar.
Kljestan had one more go at Onstad in the 90th minute, blasting a shot from the left side that just missed the top left corner of the net. But that was as good as it got for Chivas on the night.
The win puts Houston’s record at 4-3-1, nine points off the LA Galaxy’s Western Conference-leading pace. Chivas USA slip down into fifth place with an away game at the undefeated Columbus Crew next weekend.
Houston Dynamo (4-3-1) vs. Chivas USA (3-4-1)
May 8, 2010 -- The Home Depot Center, Carson, CA
Scoring Summary:
HOU -- Brad Davis 3 (Brian Mullan 1) 4
HOU -- Adrian Serioux 1 (Brad Davis 3) 8
Houston Dynamo -- Pat Onstad, Craig Waibel, Adrian Serioux, Bobby Boswell, Mike Chabala, Brian Mullan, Richard Mulrooney, Lovel Palmer, Brad Davis (Ryan Cochrane 88), Corey Ashe (Sammy Appiah 72), Dominic Oduro (Luis Angel Landin 64).
Substitutes Not Used: Tally Hall, Brian Ching, Danny Cruz, Andrew Hainault.
Chivas USA -- Zach Thornton, Jonathan Bornstein, Michael Umaña, Darío Delgada, Mariano Trujillo, Jesus Padilla (Chukwudi Chijindu 52), Blair Gavin, Ben Zemanski, Gerson Mayén (Marcelo Saragosa 45), Sacha Kljestan, Justin Braun (Maicon Santos 73).
Substitutes Not Used: Dan Kennedy, Carlos Borja, Jorge Flores, Jose Macotelo.
Misconduct Summary:
CHV -- Mariano Trujillo (caution; Dissent) 37
HOU -- Mike Chabala (caution; Delaying a Restart) 42
gameSumLabel">Referee: Abbey Okulaja
gameSumLabel">Referee's Assistants: Adam Garner; Jeff Hosking
gameSumLabel">4th official: Baldomero Toledo
gameSumLabel">Attendance: 12,577
Weather: Clear and 64 degrees
All statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial
