A day ahead of the Fourth of July, the Houston Dynamo treated fans to a fireworks show on the pitch as they poured in four goals in a 4-0 victory over the New York Red Bulls at BBVA Stadium.
Houston took the lead in the 39th minute after forward Alberth Elis dribbled past Kyle Duncan on the right flank. The Honduran international found Mauro Manotas with a low centering pass to the heart of the box for Manotas’ seventh goal of the season.
With the goal, Manotas passed Brad Davis for third on the club’s career goalscoring list with 42. Elis now leads the team in assists with seven this season and passed former Dynamo forward Will Bruin for fifth on the club’s all-time assist list with 21.
Midfielder Tomás Martínez doubled Houston’s lead in the 56th minute, moments after hitting the crossbar. Elis won a corner kick after he controlled the rebound along the right flank. Defender Adam Lundkvist’s corner kick was cleared by the Red Bulls defense, but the ball fell to Martinez outside the box. The Argentine’s shot skipped past everyone inside the box into the bottom corner of the near post for his third goal of the campaign.
Houston’s third goal of the evening came in the 71st minute after forward Romell Quioto found Elis at the far post. The Honduran headed the ball across goal for his sixth goal of the season. Elis capped the scoring with his second goal of the night, this one the result of a 40-yard solo run through the heart of the Red Bulls defense, in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
Led by center backs Maynor Figueroa and Kiki Struna along with goalkeeper Joe Willis, the Dynamo back line kept a clean sheet for the second time this season and the first since April 27, a 2-0 win over Columbus. Willis finished with three saves en route to his 32nd career win and his 17th career clean sheet.
Houston returns to the road this weekend for their inaugural meeting with FC Cincinatti at Nippert Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CDT and fans can watch the match live on KUBE 57 or TeleXitos 47.2. Fans are also invited for Soccer Day in EaDo on Sunday as the club hosts a watch party outside BBVA Stadium for the FIFA Women’s World Cup, Copa America and Gold Cup finals.
