FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - After not conceding a goal in league play since June 10, Houston Dynamo fell back into the habit quickly at Gillette Stadium, as the New England Revolution and Houston finished all square at 3-3 after a pulsating contest of the two conference leaders.
Pat Noonan breached the Dynamo's defense for the first time in 726 minutes when he chipped Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad to give New England the lead in the 32nd minute. But the second stanza saw five goals in a whirlwind half of action appropriate for the two conference leaders.
Dwyane De Rosario fired home from 27 yards four minutes after the break before Taylor Twellman restored the Revolution lead with a 51st-minute finish. Brian Ching gave the visitors the lead with goals in the 60th and 61st minutes before Shalrie Joseph concluded the scoring with a 67th-minute penalty after De Rosario handled a Steve Ralston free kick.
Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear was forced to leave Ricardo Clark back in Houston after he injured his ankle in Thursday's All-Star Game, handing a start to Richard Mulrooney in defensive midfield. Nate Jaqua earned a start with Brian Mullan ruled out with a facial fracture. Brad Davis remains out with knee sprain with Stuart Holden continuing down the left hand side.
Revolution manager Steve Nicol returned from All-Star Game duty with nary an injury to ponder. James Riley continued at left back, relegating Avery John to a spot on the bench.
The two sides were noted for cagey starts to contests between the them, but New England spurned a pair of chances inside the first 10 minutes.
Onstad summoned up Ken Dryden-like skills in flashing out his left peg to deny Twellman in the sixth minute. Craig Waibel's square ball set up the chance, but Onstad did well to rescue the effort.
Ralston showed why he holds the league record for assists two minutes later by curling his through pass around the Houston defense to Noonan. Noonan's pass into the central channel found a sliding Twellman, but he couldn't direct the ball toward the unguarded goal with a prostrate Ryan Cochrane in front.
It was left to both teams to try to find some rhythm as the first half progressed. Houston enjoyed most of the possession but could not create opportunities in front of goal, while New England preferred to play the counter and found space for Andy Dorman to lash over 20 yards from goal.
New England snapped Houston's scoreless streak in the 32nd minute. It had been more than 12 hours since Dynamo had allowed a goal, and they might have wanted this one back as Ryan Cochrane collided with Noonan. Cochrane was left to protest as Twellman's pass found Noonan and Noonan chipped the onrushing Onstad to give the home side the lead.
Seven minutes later, it should have been two after Jeff Larentowicz played a simple ball through the defense. Ralston latched onto it after Eddie Robinson slipped, but Ralston's near post shot was turned aside by Onstad.
If the first half was one of possession and missed chances, the second half was a showcase that included five goals.
De Rosario leveled the proceedings with a stunning strike in the 49th minute. Robinson played a square ball from the left flank. De Rosario picked up his head 27 yards from goal, aimed for the upper right hand corner and unleashed his strike past Matt Reis to tie the game.
Twellman replied two minutes later. Cochrane was again the culprit after he failed to clear and was caught out of position. Noonan tapped the ball around Robinson and Twellman finished the simple chance from six yards.
Dorman created another chance with his heel pass in the 55th minute, but Twellman couldn't connect solidly with his left foot and the chance ended up in Onstad's hands.
Brian Ching, silent through the first hour, popped up to score twice in two minutes to hand Houston its first lead.
Joseph Ngwenya created Ching's first in the 60th minute. Ngwenya turned and ran past Michael Parkhurst to collect the ball, found space along the byeline and slotted back across the goal area to the sliding Ching to poke home.
And it was Ching again who emerged unmarked at the far post to head home a Stuart Holden free kick after Larentowicz fouled him near the left touchline.
Penalty kick drama ensued in the 65th minute as the Revolution found their equalizer. De Rosario was adjudged to have blocked a Ralston free kick with his arms just inside the penalty area to send Joseph to the spot.
After Joseph hesitated on his way to strike his attempt, Onstad jumped off his line, dove to his left and saved the effort as a number of Dynamo players also raced into the area. Referee Kevin Stott spotted an infraction and called for a retake, leaving the Dynamo players incensed and earning Ngwenya a yellow card for dissent.
Joseph made no mistake with his second chance by thumping his shot into the lower left hand side past Onstad in the 67th minute.
The game settled down after the penalty chance, with New England having the two best chances to earn all three points.
Onstad rescued his side again in the 83rd minute after a Wells Thompson shot deflected off Dorman's face and nearly beat Onstad at the near post until the veteran Canadian deflected it onto the post with his fingertips.
Adam Cristman deposited a well-placed knockdown from Twellman over the bar from seven yards in stoppage time to ensure the match finished knotted at 3-3.
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
