It had been a slow march for the Houston Dynamo as the team traipsed into the 2011 season with a lowly 0-2-1 record and a less than spectacular offensive showing. Houston’s return to the home front, however, sparked the attacking fireworks as the visiting Vancouver Whitecaps bit the bullet in a justified 3-1 defeat.
The veteran colonel combo of defender Bobby Boswell and captain Brad Davis led the Dynamo division in a guerilla attack late in the first half that saw three goals exchanged in a five-minute span. Houston destroyed its season-high shot total by rocketing 20 shots, with 5 of those landing on frame.
Forward Cam Weaver picked up where he left off after registering the lone goal in the Dynamo’s previous regular season match against the New York Red Bulls. Davis cleverly flicked back Boswell’s third corner kick in as many minutes to an alert Weaver, who punched the ball inside the far post past Whitecaps goalkeeper Jay Nolly in the 37th minute. Houston’s high was instantly upturned when Vancouver playmaker Davide Chiumiento slotted a ball to the unmarked Brazilian sensation Camilo da Silva Sanvezzo. The striker converted a point blank shot over Dynamo goalkeeper Tally Hall’s head from 10 yards out to claim his third goal of the season and bring the Whitecaps level with Houston in the 38th minute.
Nevertheless, the last laugh of the first half would go to the Dynamo, courtesy of an unlikely offensive source. Boswell proved his worth by slicing through the Vancouver box and one-timing an adroit feed from Danny Cruz into the near post. The goal was Boswell’s first since notching a goal against Toronto FC on July 18, 2009. The Dynamo carried a well-deserved 2-1 lead into the locker room having outshot the visitors 9 to 3 through 45 minutes of play.
Houston hit the field running in the second half, sensing a need to depress an already depleted Vancouver lineup. The neighbors to the North were without offensive powers Eric Hassli and Gershon Koffie due to red card suspensions. Terry Dunfield was absent due to injury, and captain Jay DeMerit bowed out at half time with an injury of his own.
Despite the offensive flurry, the Dynamo would have to call upon rookie phenom Will Bruin to dash the Canadians’ hopes. Davis brilliantly capped off a three-assist night by leading Bruin onto a long distribution toward open territory on the left flank. Nolly bravely rushed 25 yards off his line but could not out-sprint the nimble 21-year-old Indiana University alum to the ball. Bruin touched the ball wide past Nolly and assuredly buried a shot into a wide-open Whitecap net. The 76th minute goal was Bruin’s first as a professional.
Houston endured the remaining 15 minutes of play quite unthreatened to nab its first victory of the 2011 campaign. The three-point performance catapulted the Dynamo from the Eastern Conference basement and into fourth place, one slot below the team’s next visiting foe, the New England Revolution. The Dynamo (1-1-2) will welcome the Revolution (1-1-3) into Robertson Stadium for a 6 p.m. kick-off on Sunday, April 17. New England drew 1-1 at Vancouver with a stoppage time strike and fell 2-0 to MLS’s only remaining undefeated squad, Real Salt Lake, in its previous match. This weekend’s game leaves the Dynamo with a daunting agenda: defeat New England for the first time ever at home, record the team’s first shutout on the season, and win back-to-back games—a feat that took the entirety of the 2010 season to accomplish. Eight of the nine Eastern Conference squads currently carry one-win records. The same sharp-witted attack will have to be undoubtedly present for the Dynamo to break free from the pack of mediocrity and establish itself as a conference favorite.
