The Houston Dynamo remain undefeated at BBVA Compass Stadium after defeating Real Salt Lake 5-1 this evening, matching the club record for goals in a game.
The Dynamo began pressing Real Salt Lake from the beginning. In the third minute, forward Mauro Manotas received a pass from midfielder Alex inside the 18-yard box. Manotas fired a shot that was intercepted by defender Justin Schmidt, but in his attempt to clear the ball, Schmidt sent the ball in the back of the net.
The Dynamo did not stop there in the first half and the combination of Alex-Manotas went into effect again, proving why there were nominated to MLS All-Star Game. In the 15th minute, Alex played a short ball to Manotas in a corner. Alex dribbled the ball and from the right side the box into the middle and took a left footed shot to the bottom left corner of the net, extending the orange lead.
Real Salt Lake tried to answer quickly to the Dynamo’s second, but instead found goalkeeper Tyler Deric. In the 16th minute, midfielder Kyle Beckerman passed the ball to forward Jefferson Savarino who took a right-footed shot that was saved by Deric. In the 36th minute, midfielder Albert Rusnák found forward Yura Movsisyan took a shot that was saved by Deric and sent to a corner kick.
As the first half was coming to an end, all of Dynamo forwards participated to extend the lead. Forward Alberth Elis dribbled the ball on the right side of the field passing the ball to forward Erick Torres in the middle of the box, Torres gave the ball to Manotas who with a left-footed shot sent the ball to the right corner of the net and away from goalkeeper Matt Van Oekel.
The offensive power by the home side extended through the second half. In the 52nd minute, Alex played a through ball to Elis on the right side. La Panterita prowled inside the box and crossed the ball to Torres waiting at the back post, who tapped the ball with his left foot and into the net.
Real Salt Lake attempted to shorten the difference in the second half. In the 57th minute, Rusnák had an opportunity that was saved by Deric in the right top corner. In the 63rd minute, forward Joao Plata took a free kick near the 18-yard box. His right-footed shot went straight into the top left corner to make it 4-1.
The Dynamo responded to Real Salt Lake’s goal. In the 68th minute, midfielder Boniek GarcÃa received a ball from midfielder Ricardo Clark and played a long cross from the right side into the middle of the box. Defender Leonardo rose from the scrum and headed the ball into the back of the net.
The Dynamo will continue the 2017 season, presented by 76, on Sunday, June 4 at 9:00 p.m. CDT against Seattle Sounders FC at CenturyLink Field.
Houston Dynamo (7-5-2; 23 pts.) 5-1 Real Salt Lake (4-9-3; 14 pts.)
MLS Week 14
May 31, 2017 – BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston, Texas
Attendance: 14,148
Scoring Summary:
HOU: Justin Schmidt (own goal) 3
HOU: Alex 1 (Mauro Manotas 2) 15
HOU: Mauro Manotas 4 (Erick Torres 2, Alberth Elis 2) 45
HOU: Erick Torres (Alberh Elis 3, Alex 7) 52
RSL: Joao Plata (unassisted) 63
HOU: Leonardo 1 (Boniek GarcÃa 2, Ricardo Clark 2) 68
Houston Dynamo: Tyler Deric; A.J. DeLaGarza, Adolfo Machado, Leonardo, Dylan Remick; Ricardo Clark ©, Juan David Cabezas, Alex (Memo Rodriguez 65); Alberth Elis (Vicente Sánchez 71), Erick Torres, Mauro Manotas (Boniek GarcÃa 62)
Unused Substitutes: Joe Willis, Jalil Anibaba, Kevin Garcia, Andrew Wenger
Total shots: 18 (Erick Torres 5); Shots on goal: 7 (Alex 2); Fouls: 14 (Leaonardo, Juan Cabezas, Ricardo Clark and Erick Torres tied with 2); Offside: 2 (Erick Torres and Vicente Sanhez tied with 1); Corner kicks: 9 (Alex 3); Saves:8 (Tyler Deric)
Real Salt Lake: Matt Van Oekel; Tony Beltran, Aaron Maund, Chris Schuler, Justin Schmidt; Kyle Beckerman© (Omar Holness 74), Sunny, Albert Rusnák; Jefferson Savarino, Yura Movsisyan, Joao Plata (Luis Silva 63)
Unused Substitutes: Reagan Dunk, Luke Mallholland, Lalo Fernandez, José Hernandez, Chris Wingert
Total shots: 16 (Jefferson Savarino and Yura Movsisyan tied with 4); Shots on goal: 9 (Jefferson Savarino 4); Fouls: 9 (Sunny 3); Offside: 4 (Yura Movsisyan 2); Corner kicks: 9 (Albert Rusnak 5); Saves: 3 (Matt Van Oekel)
Discipline:
RSL: Sunny caution (foul) 54
HOU: Juan David Cabezas caution (foul) 56
HOU: Boniek GarcÃa (foul) 79
OFFICIALS
Referee: Ricardo Salazar
Assistant Referee 1: Jeffrey Green
Assistant Referee 2: Frank Anderson
Fourth Official: Ismail Elfath
