Nobody saw this one coming.
The last-place Houston Dynamo stunned the playoff-chasing San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium on Friday night, earning their first road win of the season via an early goal from Ricardo Clark and a thumping header from center back David Horst just after the break.
The second tally of the night set off a wild sequence that will surely be talked about in the days ahead. Victor Bernardez clawed one back for the hosts with a smart finish just minutes after Horst's finish, and the Quakes were certain they'd scored another one in the interim.
Backpedaling Houston goalkeeper Joe Willis blocked, then batted the ball away from his own goal line with some angles suggesting that it had crossed the entirety of the line first. But no goal was given and despite a furious late rally by San Jose, Dom Kinnear's side suffered an untimely loss -- just their second at Avaya to date this season -- to his former club.
San Jose Earthquakes (7-7-10, 31 points) vs. Houston Dynamo (5-10-9, 24 points)
MLS Regular Season
August 19, 2016 – Avaya Stadium – San Jose, Calif.
Attendance: 18,000
Scoring Summary:
HOU: Ricardo Clark 4 (unassisted) 6
HOU: David Horst 3 (Cristián Maidana 4) 50
SJ: Victor Bernárdez 1 (Alberto Quintero 4) 54
Houston Dynamo: Joe Willis; Sheanon Williams, David Horst, Raúl Rodriguez, Jalil Anibaba; Collen Warner, Ricardo Clark ©; Boniek GarcÃa (Eric Alexander 86), Cristián Maidana (Andrew Wenger 59), Alex Lima; Mauro Manotas (Will Bruin 64)
Unused Substitutes: Tyler Deric, Keyner Brown, Agus Garcia, Erick Torres
TOTAL SHOTS: 7 (Ricardo Clark 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (David Horst, Jalil Anibaba, Ricardo Clark and Will Bruin tied with 1); FOULS: 22 (Collen Warner 4); OFFSIDES: 1 (Mauro Manotas 1); CORNER KICKS: 3 (Eric Alexander2); SAVES: 4
San Jose Earthquakes: David Bingham; Cordell Cato, Marvel Wynne, Victor Bernárdez (Chad Barrett 82), Jordan Stewart; Alberto Quintero, Anibal Godoy, Darwin Cerén, Shea Salinas (Henok Goitom 69); Quincy Amarikwa, Chris Wondolowski ©
Unused Substitutes: Andrew Tarbell, Shaun Francis, Andres Imperiale, Kofi Sarkodie, Tommy Thompson
TOTAL SHOTS: 16 (Alberto Quintero and Quincy Amarikwa tied with 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Cordell Cato, Victor Bernárdez, Alberto Quintero, Shea Salinas and Chris Wondolowski tied with 1); FOULS: 11 (Quincy Amarikwa 5); OFFSIDES: 1 (Quincy Amarikwa 1); CORNER KICKS: 12 (Anibal Godoy 6); SAVES: 2
Misconduct Summary:
HOU: Jalil Anibaba (caution) 18
SJ: Jordan Stewart (caution) 48
HOU: Joe Willis (caution) 54
SJ: Victor Bernárdez (caution) 55
HOU: Boniek GarcÃa (caution) 86
Referee: Robert Sibiga
Assistant Referees: Jeremy Hanson, Cameron Blanchard
Fourth Official: Baldomero Toledo
