With several playoff scenarios on the line, it was a night for the spectacular that saw the Houston Dynamo put away the Los Angeles Galaxy with a compelling 3-1 victory.
The three-point triumph was celebrated and cherished by the Dynamo, while the Galaxy could have quite frankly cared less. Having already clinched the Supporters’ Shield, Los Angeles rested nearly all of its starters, which paved a much easier route to victory for Houston against the league’s most feared opponent. None of that mattered, though, as the Dynamo concluded the MLS regular season with a rather satisfying second-place finish in the Eastern Conference.
Over 30,000 fans in attendance, the Dynamo’s sixth-largest crowd in franchise history, watched the team cap off an impressive 7-2-4 streak in its last 13 games. A sluggish start was suddenly offset when Houston’s Adam Moffat buried a first-rate finish from 38 yards deep in the 27th minute. Moffat found a sliver of space and unleashed a bullet into the upper 90 past outstretched Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, one of two Galaxy regulars featuring for the team.
The 1-0 Dynamo lead was doubled just minutes after halftime. Brad Davis lined up a free kick, which Moffat headed down to the feet of Bobby Boswell. The Dynamo defender rocketed a shot into the right side of the net to tally his career-high fifth goal of the season and bring him into a four-way tie for the team’s top-scorer nod.
Flash forward to the 74th minute when the real magic would occur. Like he has done all season, Davis delivered a fine-looking cross for his teammate to snap into the goal. This time, however, that teammate was Carlo Costly, the Honduran international who soared over Dasan Robinson to flick a header past Ricketts on the far post. The goal was Costly’s first as a Dynamo player and welcomed him into the company of his 16 other teammates whom have tallied for Houston this season. Davis charted his 16th assist on the play to lift him above David Beckham to secure sole ownership of the MLS assist title.
Before the night was over, the Galaxy managed to salvage a quick tick of success when 16-year-old Jack McBean drove a shot past Houston goalkeeper Tally Hall inside the 18-yard box after a skilled setup from Chad Barrett. In his MLS debut, McBean became the youngest player to play, start, and score for the Los Angeles franchise.
Still, the conceded goal could do little to dampen the night, especially for Houston’s headman. Coach Dominic Kinnear notched his 100th career MLS regular season victory, a feat achieved by only four other coaches before him. Kinnear’s 100-67-81 record earns him the fourth-highest winning percentage (.567) of any coach in MLS history.
The Dynamo’s victory also marks the team’s first triumph over the loaded Galaxy club since October18, 2008. Los Angeles had previously showed off a 5-0-1 advantage over Houston in the three-year gap that elapsed the Dynamo’s winning performances.
For Houston, the playoff compass will point East to a date against the Philadelphia Union on Oct. 30th. The Dynamo will return home on Nov. 3 to close the series. Meanwhile, Los Angeles will benefit from a break while the team awaits the lowest wildcard seed for a conference semi-final match at its home ground.
