Taxi Fountas scored his second MLS brace and D.C. United grabbed a 2-0 win over Houston Dynamo FC under the rain at Audi Field Saturday night.
Steve Birnbaum denied Houston from notching the opening goal by blocking Darwin Quintero's shot off the line in the 24th minute.
D.C. took the lead on a corner kick in the 35th minute when Julian Gressel sent the ball at the top of the box for Fountas. The Greek striker chose finesse over power and gently sent the ball in the back of the net.
Fountas added a second in the 43rd minute with a powerful strike inside the 18-yard box after wrestling for the ball with Adam Lundqvist.
Bill Hamid was substituted out in the 49th minute due to an ankle injury sustained in the first half. Rafael Romo made his first MLS appearance in relief, completing the shutout.
- THE BIG PICTURE: D.C. United are back to winning ways and move to a winning 4-3-0 record at Audi Field this season. However, a tough blow for United is Bill Hamid, who tried to stay in the game after an ankle injury but needed to sub out minutes into the second half. The Dynamo now move to a three-game losing skid and will head back to Texas to keep their US Open Cup run alive.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: A perfectly-executed corner kick strategy. Julian Gressel sent the ball for Taxi Fountas, who gently sent the ball in the back of the net for D.C. United’s opening goal.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Taxi Fountas did what he had to do. The Greek international notched his second brace in MLS and that’s all D.C. United needed to grab all three points.
Next Up
- DC: Tuesday, May 10 vs. New York Red Bulls | 7:30 pm ET (ESPN+) | US Open Cup Fourth Round
- HOU: Wednesday, May 11 at San Antonio FC | 8:30 pm ET (ESPN+) | US Open Cup Fourth Round
