Houston Dynamo defender Patrick Ianni was making his first career MLS start. He wound up with his first goal -- the game-winner -- in a 1-0 Dynamo victory against Kansas City.
"We were able to compose ourselves a little better in the second half," Ianni said. "Stuart laid a great ball in, fortunately I was on the end of it.
"They (the veterans) told me to relax, to do what I do," Ianni said.
What Ianni did was to put a cap on a defensive effort that went up and down the field. The defensive lockdown stopped a Wizards team that hadn't been shut out in 20 matches.
"It was a great goal for us," said Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear. "We told the guys at halftime with the heat, and the way the game was being played, it might come down to some extra effort."
The defensive effort stretched from the forwards all the way back to the defenders, Kinnear said.
Ianni had missed from a previous corner kick by an inch or so, but his powerful header left little doubt it was bound for the net. It was the punctuation mark on an excellent effort in a well-played match.
Goalkeepers are always heroes in shutouts. Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad made a solid save in stopping Wizards forward Yura Movsisyan. Onstad came out of the box to stop Movsisyan, and wound up with the striker's knee in his nose. A foul was called on Movsisyan for the play, but Onstad got enough of the ball to knock it away.
Onstad admittedly was suffering from some jet lag. He had played with the Canadian national team in their disheartening loss to the USA in the CONCACAF Gold Cup in Chicago on Thursday.
"I just came from Chicago for a day in Houston, gave my kids a kiss and hopped a plane to Kansas City," Onstad said. "I'm looking forward to getting home. It's been a long couple of weeks for myself. It's nice to see everyone (and) get a great win."
Ianni was excited to get his first start. He listened to the veterans and credited them for helping him to his biggest day as a professional.
"To put that goal in was icing on the cake to me," Ianni said.
It took both teams quite a while to get a piece of the net. It was that kind of game. There were plenty of sports drinks to be consumed after a match played in 87-degree heat with 53 percent humidity. And of course, there was the victory cake.
Thomas Foote is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
