For a club playing its second game in four days, the Houston Dynamo showed little wear in dispatching FC Dallas 3-1 on Saturday evening at Pizza Hut Park. The Dynamo, who won their fifth game in a row, got two goals from Cam Weaver and another from Richard Mulrooney, while FCD, who saw a four-match unbeaten streak snapped, got their lone score from Drew Moor.
The visitors drew first blood in the 12th minute. Houston defender Andrew Hainault kept the play alive, chasing a ball down near the touchline. Hainault then laid the ball off to Brian Mullan, who spotted Weaver streaking toward goal inside the FCD box.
Mullan's cross was dead on and Weaver did the rest, knocking it into the net to give Houston a 1-0 advantage. It was Mullan's first assist of the year and Weaver's first goal for the Dynamo. He assisted on the game-winner in Houston's 1-0 win against Chivas USA on Wednesday, just one day after he was acquired in a trade with San Jose.
Mulrooney doubled the lead for Houston in the 37th minute under somewhat unfortunate circumstances for the home side. After a corner by Stuart Holden, who had the lone goal in Wednesday's win, was headed out of the box by FCD's Kenny Cooper, the ball fell right to the feet of Mulrooney.
The veteran defender then saw his opportunity and took it. With FCD goalkeeper Ray Burse screened on the play, Mulrooney's blast from about 20 yards out found the left side of the goal and added to Houston's lead. It was his first goal of 2009.
FCD outshot Houston 7-5 in the opening half and also had several chances of note. A ninth-minute shot by Jeff Cunningham went wide right. In the 24th minute, David Ferreira sent a great ball to Andre Rocha but his header went high.
Leading scorer Kenny Cooper had two shots in the first 45 minutes. In the 33rd, Cooper received a great ball from Dave van den Bergh but his header went wide left and another effort just before the break went to the right of goal.
Houston coach Dominic Kinnear employed much of the same first 11 from Houston's win earlier in the week except for two changes. Midfielder Brad Davis, who leads MLS with seven assists, was given the night off in favor of Corey Ashe and Wade Barrett replaced Craig Waibel in the starting lineup. Davis did come on in the 84th as a late-game substitute for Mullan.
For the most part, FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman employed an identical first 11 as on Sunday, when FCD played San Jose to a 2-2 draw. However, there were two changes. In the midfield, Rocha came in on the right with Alvaro Sanchez injured. In the back, Kyle Davies made his MLS debut at center back and Moor moved from central defense to right back, where Marcelo Saragosa started last weekend.
Each coach made a change to begin the second half. Kinnear brought on the speedy Dominic Oduro, who was playing his first game against FCD, where he played from 2006 through 2008. On the other side, Hyndman decided to bring on Brek Shea in favor of Cunningham.
Weaver made his first bid for a brace in the 55th minute but saw two shots turned away by Burse. His first, a header, was denied, but Weaver stormed in to put away the rebound, only to be stoned by Burse at close range. The FCD 'keeper then covered the ball to end the sequence.
In the 62nd, Hyndman made a tactical switch, bringing on midfielder Eric Avila for Anthony Wallace, signaling a shift into a more attack-minded 3-5-2 formation.
The move paid dividends almost immediately, except that it was the Dynamo that cashed in. Weaver netted his second goal in the 63rd after a great feed from Ashe. Oduro held possession on the left flank long enough to find Ashe, who quickly slotted it to Weaver, who converted for the second time on the evening. Weaver's night was done in the 81st when Ade Akinbiyi came on for him.
FCD managed to draw one back in the 67th when Drew Moor headed home for his career-best third goal of the year. Van den Bergh started things off with a corner, which was punched out of the box by Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad.
Onstad's punch was corralled by Avila, who quickly flicked the ball back into the Houston box. Moor connected with the top of his head, sending the ball into the right side of the net to make it 3-1. It was the FCD defender's third career goal against the Dynamo.
The win gives Houston 27 points, which ties them with Chivas USA for the most in the Western Conference. Depending on how the Red-and-White fare Sunday against Columbus, the two-time MLS Cup champions could either remain tied for the top spot or fall back to second in the table.
Both clubs return to the field next Saturday with Houston traveling to Giants Stadium to face the New York Red Bulls while FCD will play host to Columbus in a game broadcast by Fox Soccer Channel.
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
