in the first game of 2006 away from home (April 15), a span of six games. The Wizards had been shutout in three games running, to go with their losing skein.
Dynamo took the lead after just 21 minutes. A corner kick sailed through the goalmouth and bounced off Eddie Robinson at the back post for his second goal of the year. But the Wizards put an end to their 310-minute scoreless run just two minutes later, a corner whipped in, flicked on by Sasha Victorine at the near post and Josh Wolff headed home at the far for his first goal since returning from the World Cup.
But Houston took command of the game with two goals in 10 minutes after the interval. Brad Davis put Dynamo in the lead in the 56th minute with a terrific free kick, hooking in a shot from the right, some 30 yards from goal, inside Bo Oshoniyi's left-hand post.
Then Brian Ching scored his third goal in as many games, receiving the ball at the top of the area with his back to goal, before turning on his marker and firing a shot into the roof of the goal (66).
The Wizards pulled a goal back three minutes from the end on another corner kick. This time Jimmy Conrad got forward to head home for his second goal on the season, but it wasn't enough to put an end to Wizards midseason slump.
Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear made one change to the team that defeated Chivas USA 3-1 at home the previous Saturday. Brad Davis returned to the team for the first time since June 10, coming in on the left of midfield as Wade Barrett returned to his fullback role and Kevin Goldthwaite returned to the substitutes' bench.
Here's Kinnear's team (4-3-1-2): Pat Onstad - Craig Waibel, Ryan Cochrane (Adrian Serioux 68), Eddie Robinson, Wade Barrett - Brian Mullan (Kelly Gray 80), Ricardo Clark, Brad Davis (Stuart Holden 65) - Dwayne De Rosario - Alejandro Moreno, Brian Ching. [Substitutes Not Used: Ronald Cerritos, Kevin Goldthwaite, Zach Wells, Chris Wondolowski]
"I think we knew going into the game tonight what Dallas did in the afternoon. You need to make sure that you keep pace with them," Kinnear said. "To come here and get three goals, the way the guys fought from the first minute to the 90th minute was excellent. I think we deserved to get three points for sure. In the end I think the chances we created were good and we were deserving of the three goals. We were defensively strong enough to keep them off and it was a great victory for us."TEAM NEWS
It was the first victory on the road for Dynamo since April 29 - but they haven't lost on their travels since their first away game of the season, a 2-0 loss at D.C. United on April 15. "We have lost just once away from home so far this year, going 2-1-5 on the road," Kinnear said We are competitive away from home as well as at home."
Davis's freekick goal was his first goal on the campaign, and made sure it would be a good homecoming for the St. Charles, Mo. product.
"In that area I feel real comfortable, so I stepped up, I struck it, and it felt well. I am in my hometown so all my family is here and it was a great goal all around," Davis said. "That is 100 percent my shot. From around the box, I am going to take that shot. I knew I was going to hit that ball without anyone touching it. From that angle we have been practicing and I feel comfortable hitting that ball. It is a part of my game that I work on a lot and I cherish it."
Davis also credited the work done by the front-runners in creating his goal. The strike pair of Alejandro Moreno and Brian Ching then combined to complete the scoring 10 minutes after Davis struck.
"Alejandro did well and got fouled which was a big part of our game. Even on the corner kicks, we are good at set pieces. We have a lot of guys that can attack and score," Davis said. "Alejandro and Brian did a good job tonight and worked their butts off. Alejandro did a good job and got a foul called.
Each team scored two goals from set pieces - three of them (one for Houston) coming on corners. "That is the way the game goes sometimes. If you look at soccer, a lot of the goals are scored on set pieces and today that is the way it went," Ching said. "I think we created a lot of opportunities through the run of play; we were just unlucky most the time. It is good to finish one off."
The win extended the Dynamo unbeaten streak to eight games, second-best in MLS this season, behind D.C. United's current 13-game streak. "It shows the character of this team," De Rosario said to the Houston Chronicle. "It shows Houston's a hard team to beat. To beat us, you've got to beat us good."NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
The New England Revolution went down to defeat for the second time in three games, suffering a stunning 3-1 loss to Real Salt Lake last Saturday at Gillette Stadium. The Revolution now have 24 points from 18 matches and are still in second place in the Eastern Conference, trailing D.C. United now by a full 20 points. They are four points ahead of the third-place tie between the Kansas City Wizards and Chicago Fire.
LAST MATCH
Real came visiting with just one win ever on their travels and no victories at all since June 3, while the Revolution had lost just once since June 3 while moving into second place in the Eastern Conference.
But the visitors took the lead after 16 minutes. An over-long cross was chased down by Jeff Cunningham on the left flank, and he hooked a cross back into the area where Chris Klein beat James Riley to the ball and poked it past Matt Reis.
Cunningham then scored a wondrous goal in the 52nd minute, on a dribbling run across the entire width of the field through numerous watching Revolution defenders. After slaloming through the static defense he beat Reis to the far post with a sizzling drive.
Then just three minutes later Jason Kreis made it 3-0 for RSL, after a corner sailed over the goalmouth scrum. Kreis was able to calmly settle the ball before firing a skimming shot that nestled into the far side netting.
The Revolution replied almost immediately, when Andy Dorman slipped Taylor Twellman in behind the Real defense, and he made no mistake for his eighth goal of the season (57), but that was as close as New England got.
Revolution boss Steve Nicol made two changes to the team that defeated the Chicago Fire 2-1 at Toyota Park the previous weekend. Clint Dempsey was suspended and Avery John returned to the substitutes' bench, with José Cancela and Pat Noonan coming back into the team as Nicol readjusted his lines.
Here's Nicol's team (3-4-1-2): Matt Reis - Michael Parkhurst, James Riley, Jay Heaps - Steve Ralston, Jeff Larentowicz, Shalrie Joseph, Andy Dorman - Jose Cancela (Joe Franchino 46) - Taylor Twellman, Pat Noonan (Kyle Brown 58). [Substitutes Not Used: Avery John, Tony Lochhead, Willie Sims, Doug Warren, Danny Wynn]
"We defended like schoolboys and finished like schoolboys. The first goal was a great cross and a great run. That's a good goal for them. But up until then, we had all the possession - and I thought we would score with all the possession - but we didn't really make any clear chances. After the goal, we made some chances ... I can't remember a game where we had so many balls in the box and were unable to get anybody on the end of it. Give them credit: they defended well, the two center backs. Second goal - schoolboys - just defending like schoolboys. The third goal was just one of those crappy balls - the ball falls and it goes through five or six people. It's just a crappy goal, which happens when you have the night we had." TEAM NEWS
Originally Dempsey was to be suspended for two matches for violent conduct in the Chicago match on July 8, but after a hearing conducted by MLS Commissioner Don Garber, the ban was reduced to just the one match.
"Losing Clint kind of threw us into a predicament because we practiced that way and all of a sudden, he's taken off," defender Jay Heaps said to The Boston Globe. "We went with it anyway, without his dynamics on the ball. In that same breath, three in the back is something we were unbelievable at last year and we've done well [at times] this year. It's just a matter of getting back to that form."
The Revolution outshot Real 13-7 and limited them to just five shots on target - but three hit home. "If we can limit every team we play to five shots on goal then we'll be happy but, when you close someone down, you have to be in his face and putting him under pressure. I would've liked to have played against us tonight," said Nicol.
The Revolution were most aggrieved by Jeff Cunningham's 52nd-minute goal, where he waltzed through the Rev defense to score the second goal.
"It can't happen," said Heaps. "(Cunningham) went by two, three, four guys without anyone placing a boot on him, or grabbing his shirt or pulling him down. They do it to us so I don't feel like it's impolite to take them down. That's something we are going to have to start to do and be accountable for that. The three of us across the back could all have done better."
On Wednesday, the Revolution played to a 1-1 draw with Scottish Premier League champion Celtic FC at Gillette Stadium. Rocco Quinn gave Celtic the lead 10 minutes from full time when he knocked home a rebound, but with almost the final kick of the game, Ryan Latham hammered home a volley to give the Revolution the draw.
Here's Steve Nicol's team : Matt Reis (Doug Warren 45), Jay Heaps, Michael Parkhurst, James Riley, Andy Dorman (Kyle Brown 67), Shalrie Joseph (Tony Lochhead 74), Jeff Larentowicz, Steve Ralston (Ryan Latham 59), Clint Dempsey (José Cancela 68), Pat Noonan (Avery John 59), Taylor Twellman (Willie Sims 73)
