If it’s true that what comes around goes around, then Hunter Freeman’s tally in the 86th minute that lifted the Dynamo over the New England Revolution made up for both short and long term injustices. While a road drought would be understandable, the Houston Dynamo have had a difficult time outplaying New England at Robertson Stadium, having posted an 0-4-1 record and registering a lousy two goals during the stretch.
Indeed, the outlook appeared dim for the Dynamo as Revolution veteran captain Matt Reis turned away six of Houston’s shots on goal and the New England defense stepped up big to clear two would-be goals off the line. When Brad Davis’s 57th minute shot seemed to have rolled over the goal line but was controversially waved off, the story line seemed to have been written for another Houston heartbreak that would leave the team’s offense drained and disconcerted.
It took one part luck and one part the Hand of God to eventually will the ball to break the Revolution’s goal line plane. Brad Davis desperately drove his 11th and final corner kick into the New England box to see Cam Weaver’s powerful header ricochet straight up off the crossbar. Freeman used all of his 5’11” frame to outmuscle the crowd of defensemen and push the descending rebound over the line, perhaps with a little more of his arm than would normally be appreciated.
The goal certainly wasn’t the prettiest of Houston’s 27 shot attempts on the night that resulted from an utter offensive blitz, but it was the one that solidified three points for the home team and locked the Dynamo into a three-way tie for second place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Rookie Will Bruin, coming off a performance against Vancouver that yielded his first professional goal, was the one to provide the attacking flair early on. In just the 4th minute, it appeared as if Bruin would extend his goal scoring streak when Reis surrendered a rebound off of Davis’s left-side blast. The ball found Bruin’s feet, but his far post strike was brilliantly cleared off the line by another MLS rookie, defender AJ Soares. In the 15th minute, Weaver delivered a pinpoint cross to Bruin whose header somehow rocketed just wide of the far post. Bobby Boswell was able to land his point-blank header on frame, only to be denied by the swift reflexes of Reis.
New England trotted into the locker room at halftime knowingly fortunate to be on level ground considering the squad’s futile offensive efforts lulled Dynamo goalkeeper Tally Hall into a sleepy, one-save outing.
Houston’s attack wasted no time napping, however. The Dynamo took turns pestering the New England goal with shots in the second half. Danny Cruz slotted Bruin into a one-on-one opportunity against Reis right before Cruz was forced off with a bone bruise in his right knee in the 74th minute. The Revolution recorded its best effort in the following minute when defender Franco Coria launched a 65-yard blast that nearly caught Hall snoozing off his line.
Just when New England was quite relishing the idea of walking away from Robertson Stadium with a consolation point despite its poor performance, Davis earned the corner kick that would end with Freeman notching his first MLS goal since he scored against FC Dallas as a member of New York some four years ago.
The Texas native’s first goal for the Dynamo carried the franchise to its first home victory over New England and second regular season victory against the formidable Revolution. It leaves Houston to face the Chicago Fire on the road this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The Fire has dropped three-straight matches to Seattle, Portland, and the Los Angeles Galaxy respectively. A Dynamo team on the rise will look to extinguish any of Chicago’s hopes for resurgence. The Dynamo was tripped up in Chicago last year but holds a 3-1-1 all-time record at Toyota Park. The team’s newfound attack hopes to breathe life into its sails to make it an unprecedented three straight victories for the Men in Orange.
