CARSON, Calif. -- The Houston Dynamo took sole control of second place in the Western Conference on Saturday evening, downing Chivas USA 2-0 at the Home Depot Center. The Dynamo continue to be a thorn in the Red-and-White’s side, extending their unbeaten streak against the Goats to an impressive 11 games.
Brad Davis was the hero of the night, notching both a goal and an assist for the visitors as they earned their first win on the road this season. The loss halts a three-game unbeaten streak for Chivas USA and hands the team its second loss at home this season.
Houston leapt out to an early lead, netting twice within the first 10 minutes. The first goal came in the fourth minute when Brian Mullan clipped a long ball over the top into the path of Davis. With goalkeeper Zach Thornton off his line, Davis slid and put a tantalizing chip over his head and into the back of the net.
The Dynamo doubled their lead just four minutes later. It was Davis involved again, this time lofting a perfect corner kick into the Goats’ area that was met by Dynamo center-back Adrian Serioux. Blown marking by Jonathan Bornstein left the Canadian international with plenty of space to hit his towering header past Thornton and double Houston’s lead.
Chivas started pushing back around the quarter-hour mark, but failed to rekindle the chemistry that had served them so well in their previous three matches. The Goats looked tepid in the attack, struggling to settle into a good passing tempo. They tested Houston goalkeeper Pat Onstad—who on the night became the oldest player ever to appear in an MLS game—only once, in the 38th minute, when Mariano Trujillo drilled a low shot from outside the box that skipped just wide of the right goalpost.
Buoyed by second-half substitute strikers Maicon Santos and Chukwudi Chijindu, Chivas’ offense finally came to life in the final 20 minutes. The Red-and-White pushed forward and started probing for small holes in the Houston defense.
However, Houston absorbed the pressure well, relying on dominating play in the box from Serioux and team captain Bobby Boswell. The only close call came in the 84th minute, when Onstad parried a line drive from Kljestan over the bar.
Kljestan had one more go at Onstad in the 90th minute, blasting a shot from the left side that just missed the top left corner of the net. But that was as good as it got for Chivas on the night.
The win puts Houston’s record at 4-3-1, six points off the LA Galaxy’s Western Conference-leading pace. Chivas USA slip down into fifth place with an away game at the undefeated Columbus Crew next weekend.
Scoring Summary:
HOU – Brad Davis (Brian Mullan) 4’
HOU – Adrian Serioux (Brad Davis) 8’
Misconduct Summary:
CHV – Mariano Trujillo (caution) 37’
HOU – Mike Chabala (caution) 42’
Chivas USA: Zach Thornton, Jonathan Bornstein, Michael Umana, Dario Delgada, Mariano Trujillo, Jesus Padilla (Chukwudi Chijindu 52’), Blair Gavin, Ben Zemanski, Gerson Mayen (Marcelo Saragosa 45’), Sacha Kljestan, Justin Braun (Maicon Santos 73’)
Houston: Pat Onstad, Mike Chabala, Adrian Serioux, Bobby Boswell, Craig Waibel, Richard Mulrooney, Lovel Palmer, Brad Davis (Ryan Cochrane 88’), Brian Mullan, Dominic Oduro (Luis Landin 64’), Corey Ashe (Samuel Appiah 72’)
Referee: Abbey Okulaja
Referee's Assistants: Adam Garner; Jeff Hosking
4th Official: Baldomero Toledo
Time of Game: 1:52
Weather: Clear-and-64-degrees
Attendance: 12,577
