Cam Weaver scored just before halftime to give the San Jose Earthquakes a lead they never relinquished as they defeated the Houston Dynamo 3-2 on Saturday night at Buck Shaw Stadium.
Weaver's goal capped a wild 14-minute span in the first half when all five goals were scored. Ryan Johnson and Arturo Alvarez scored three minutes apart to give the Quakes a two-goal lead, but the Dynamo responded quickly, with goals from Chris Wondolowski and Brad Davis in a three-minute span to pull level, setting the stage for Weaver's 44th-minute heroics.
Seven of Houston's starting XI had been San Jose Earthquakes before the original MLS club moved to Texas, and the rivalry between the two teams made for a lively match.
After being shutout in their opening game, and struggling to find the target in the game's first half-hour, San Jose broke through in the 30th minute when Weaver pushed a pass through a crowd to Johnson racing into the box from the right side. Pat Onstad came out to cut down the angle, but Johnson slipped a left-footed shot past the Houston goalkeeper that caromed off the left post and into the net.
The Earthquakes doubled their lead just three minutes later, when Alvarez cut in from the right side, dribbling to the top of the box before unleashing a left-footed shot that beat Onstad cleanly inside the right post.
Down 2-0, Houston was quick to answer. In the 34th minute, Stuart Holden burst down the right side, and hit a line drive cross that caught Wondolowski in full stride at the top of the six-yard box. Wondolowski slammed home a header to put Houston on the scoreboard.
A minute later, Wondolowski teed up Brad Davis from 25 yards out, and Davis tied the game with a blast that sailed inside the left-hand post.
Houston then looked to go ahead, forcing San Jose goalkeeper Joe Cannon to get down to stop a Davis shot in the 41st minute, and dive to knock away a long range Ricardo Clark effort in the 42nd.
But it was San Jose who regained the lead just before halftime. In the 44th minute, a Chris Leitch blast from long range hit Weaver near the penalty spot, and Weaver was quickest to react to the loose ball, pushing it past Onstad for a 3-2 San Jose lead.
The second half picked up where the first half left off, with end-to-end action. In the 58th minute, Ramiro Corrales missed wide right from the top of the arc for San Jose. In the 59th minute, Brian Mullan broke in from the left side for Houston, letting fly from the top of the box and missing wide left. In the 61st minute, it was Mullan again, dribbling in on goal and forcing Joe Cannon to come off his line to stop him from six yards out.
The Earthquakes brought on Quincy Amarikwa for Ryan Johnson midway through the second half, and the rookie forward almost got on the scoresheet in the 77th minute, forcing Onstad to kick save his shot from 10 yards out.
Houston's best chance for a late equalizer came in the 85th minute. Davis hooked in a corner kick to Clark making a near post run, but his header went wide right.
San Jose, which won its first game of the season, travels to Kansas City to face the Wizards next Sunday. Houston, with one point from their first two games, will also be on the road next weekend, going to the nation's capital to play D.C. United.
Pete Ratajczak is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
