Summary
The Dynamo earned a road tie on artificial turf but came close to earning a victory. Corey Ashe set up fellow substitute Chris Wondolowski for the go-ahead goal in the 78th minute, but John Wolyniec netted for New York in the 88th minute to break the Dynamo’s 491-minute shutout streak and steal points away from Houston.
Notes
The Houston Dynamo ran their unbeaten streak to five games (3-0-2) with a 1-1 tie against the New York Red Bulls Saturday night at Giants Stadium, the Dynamo's second regular season draw against the Red Bulls this year.
New York midfielder Jorge Rojas was ejected in the 35th minute for an elbow at the head of the Dynamo's Brian Mullan, giving Houston a one-man advantage for the remainder of the game.
Substitute Chris Wondolowski made it pay off when he volleyed in his second goal of the season, assisted by Corey Ashe and Brad Davis, in the 78th minute. Ashe's pin-point cross was his first assist since October 7, 2008, against San Francisco F.C. in CONCACAF Champions League play. For Davis, the assist was his fourth of the MLS season and fifth in all competitions.
The Houston Dynamo's MLS season-best shutout streak ended at 491 minutes when New York tied the game with a scrappy goal in the 88th minute. From the clearance of a corner kick Dane Richards played a blind ball over his head back into the box, where John Wolyniec stayed onside and turned at the top of the six-yard box to finish low past Pat Onstad and tie the match.
The 1-1 tie keeps Houston tied for third place in the Western Conference with Colorado, pending the results of this weekend's other games. Houston and Colorado both have 12 points, while Real Salt Lake has 10 and Los Angeles 9.
Wondolowski's goal was the 7,000th goal scored in Major League Soccer history. The Dynamo also scored the league's 6,000th goal back in 2007, when Brian Ching scored against New England on July 22.
Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad made a season-high five saves but came up just short of earning a fifth consecutive shutout. New York goalkeeper Jon Conway made seven saves, including full-length dives on Geoff Cameron in the first half and Stuart Holden in the second half, to keep New York in the game.
The Dynamo played without four regulars (Eddie Robinson, Wade Barrett, Richard Mulrooney, Brian Ching) due to injury. Ching was held out of the game as a precaution after experiencing tightness in his hamstring, but he was available on the substitutes' bench.
Multiple Dynamo players reached milestones in the game, including: Ade Akinbiyi (first Dynamo, MLS start); Mike Chabala (first MLS start); Brad Davis (90th Dynamo start); Stuart Holden (95th Dynamo appearance); Craig Waibel (140th MLS appearance); Pat Onstad (175th MLS start); and Brian Mullan (195th MLS start).
Houston Dynamo (3-2-3) vs. New York Red Bulls (2-5-3)
May 16, 2009 -- Giants Stadium, East Rutherford NJ
Scoring Summary:
HOU -- Chris Wondolowski 2 (Corey Ashe 1, Brad Davis 4) 78
NY -- John Wolyniec 1 (Dane Richards 1) 88
Houston Dynamo -- Pat Onstad, Andrew Hainault, Bobby Boswell, Geoff Cameron, Mike Chabala (Corey Ashe 75), Brian Mullan, Ricardo Clark, Stuart Holden, Brad Davis (Craig Waibel 91+), Ade Akinbiyi (Chris Wondolowski 67), Kei Kamara.
Substitutes Not Used: Tally Hall, Brian Ching, Danny Cruz, Julius James.
New York Red Bulls -- Jon Conway, Carlos Johnson (Jeremy Hall 26), Kevin Goldthwaite, Mike Petke, Alfredo Pacheco (John Wolyniec 82), Sinisa Ubiparipovic, Seth Stammler, Albet Celades (Dane Richards 74), Jorge Rojas, Juan Pablo Angel, Macoumba Kandji.
Substitutes Not Used: Danny Cepero, Danleigh Borman, Carlos Mendes, Juan Pietravallo.
Misconduct Summary:
HOU -- Ade Akinbiyi (caution; Reckless Foul) 27
NY -- Jorge Rojas (ejection; Serious Foul Play) 35
NY -- Juan Pablo Angel (caution; Dissent) 36
NY -- Mike Petke (caution; Dissent) 90
gameSumLabel">Referee: Baldomero Toledo
gameSumLabel">Referee's Assistants: Sean Hurd; James Conlee
gameSumLabel">4th official: Chris Penso
gameSumLabel">Attendance: 14,647
Weather: Cloudy-and-69-degrees
All statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial
