FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - As one streak ends for Houston Dynamo, another continues.
New England snapped Houston's league-record shutout streak at 726 minutes when Pat Noonan scored in the 32nd minute Sunday, but Dynamo extended their unbeaten streak to 11 matches with a 3-3 draw with the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium.
"It was a good result for us," Dynamo midfielder Dwyane De Rosario said. "I'm glad that no one came out of it with a red card."
It was a pulsating contest that was end to end in a second half that saw five goals, a disputed penalty, and one match-preserving save from Dynamo 'keeper Pat Onstad.
After a first stanza that was heavy on possession and low on quality chances, there was little inkling of the barrage of goals that lay in wait in the second half.
But after De Rosario's 27-yard strike to start the second half, the game opened up and an onslaught of goals ensued in a match that many expected to be tight and decided by the odd goal.
"I just hit it," De Rosario said of his goal. "I tried to duplicate it later in the second half, but that didn't go so well."
Taylor Twellman scored soon after to restore the New England lead before Brian Ching scored twice in two minutes (60th and 61st) to give Houston the lead.
"We got at their back three and they got at our back four," Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear said.
And then the drama hit.
"We gave up a bad penalty shot," De Rosario said.
Steve Ralston tried to curl in a free kick in the 64th minute only for the service to hit De Rosario in the arm. De Rosario and the rest of the Dynamo players were not happy, but referee Kevin Stott pointed to the penalty spot. If Dynamo were displeased with the initial call, they were infuriated after Pat Onstad saved Shalrie Joseph's effort but was adjudged to have left his line early as a number of Houston defenders also raced into the box before the kick was taken.
Stott whistled the infraction and gave Joseph a shot at redemption. Joseph slammed home to tie the match.
It took some time for Houston to settle back into the match and vent its frustration with the call.
"There was some drama in the second half," Kinnear said. "That helped it be choppy."
While Onstad's penalty stop was voided, the veteran Canadian 'keeper preserved the tie in the 83rd minute with a dive to his left to push a deflected Wells Thompson effort on to the post.
"Pat made some good saves," Kinnear said.
For Onstad, it was a matter of preserving the one streak that truly matters: the unbeaten streak that puts points on the board for Dynamo.
"We have eight wins and three draws in the last 11 games," Onstad said. "Hopefully, we'll start a new [scoreless] streak."
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
