Thanks to a goal by Argentine forward Franco Caraccio, the Houston Dynamo finished its participation in the Texas Pro Soccer Festival unbeaten today at Steele High School, tying D.C. United 1-1.
Houston started the game on the offensive, and almost tallied its first goal of the game at the 6th minute of play, when Chris Wondolowski crossed a ball from the left to Richard Mulrooney, who was inside the box. Mulrooney blasted the ball on first touch, only to have former Dynamo goalkeeper Zach Wells block his shot.
Chris Wondolowski had yet another scoring opportunity for the Men in Orange at the 25th minute, with a hard, low shot inside the box that went just wide of Wells' right post.
Both clubs spent the remaining minutes of the first half battling at midfield, partly due to the strong wind currents that affected the Cibolo area throughout the game.
For the second straight game, Houston made nine substitutions at halftime, something that paid off for Dominic Kinnear. At the 53rd minute of play, John Michael Hayden took a free kick that D.C. United goalkeeper Jose Carvallo punched inside the box. It was then that Franco Caraccio scored his first goal as a member of the Houston Dynamo by collecting the loose ball and pushing it to the back of the net.
D.C. United had its first chance to score in the second half at the 71st minute. Roland Kpene got hold of a ball alone inside the box, with only Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad to beat. The Canadian international, however, was able to block Kpene's shot to keep the Black and Red scoreless.
D.C. United's scoring drought would not last long. The Black and Red would tie the match at the 78th minute thanks to a header by Cezar, who connected on a pass from the right by Jamil Walker. Even though the game ended in a 1-1 tie, Houston won the championship of the Texas Pro Soccer Festival by having more goals scored in the tournament (6) than D.C. United (4).
Houston's next game is this Wednesday at Guatemala City's Estadio Mateo Flores against CSD Municipal (Radio: 790 AM; TV: Fox Sports Espanol), as part of the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. Kickoff for that game is set for 9:00 p.m. CT.
D.C. United: Zach Wells (Carvallo, 46') Brian Namoff (Carroll, 46'), Gonzalo Peralta (Thompson, 46') Domenic Mediate (Walker, 46') Marc Burch, Fred (Cordeiro, 46') Devon McTavish (Moose, 46') Rod Dyachenko (Quaranta, 72') Clyde Simms (Murphy, 46'), Luciano Emilio (Cezar, 46'), Jaime Moreno (Kpene, 46').
Houston Dynamo: Pat Onstad, Craig Waibel (Mullan, 67'), Eddie Robinson (S. Wondolowski, 46') Bobby Boswell (Alcaraz, 46') Wade Barrett (Cameron, 46') Richard Mulrooney (Hayden, 46') Ricardo Clark (Hatzke, 46'), Dwayne De Rosario (Ustruck, 46') Corey Ashe (Hall, 46'), Chris Wondolowski (Caraccio, 46'), Brian Ching (Brown, 46').
Goal Summary:
HOU: Caraccio (unassisted), 53'.
Attendance: 800
Weather: Cloudy and windy, 65 degrees.
