FC Dallas remains winless in Houston after a dramatic 3-3 tie with Houston Dynamo on Sunday afternoon. After leading for much of the game and almost all of the second half, a late equalizer by Houston midfielder Geoff Cameron gave the Hoops their first point of the season.
After leading 2-1 at halftime on a pair of goals from Kenny Cooper, who answered a Franco Caraccio goal, an own goal pulled the Dynamo level. But barely a minute later, Houston native Arturo Alvarez found the back of the net to give the Hoops hope, until Cameron struck in stoppage time.
The Hoops had an early scoring opportunity on a corner kick by Dax McCarty in the 13th minute. Midfielder Andre Rocha outleaped the Houston defense and looked to have a sure goal, but his header bounced up and deflected off of the crossbar and back into play.
Houston struck first, when Dynamo midfielder Corey Ashe collected a loose cross from midfielder Dwayne De Rosario and sent it back into the box for Caraccio.
Caraccio's header found the back of the net in the 21st minute with no interference from FC Dallas goalkeeper Dario Sala. Sala was tangled up with Brian Ching, whose leaping attempt at the ball carried him into the 'keeper, but no foul was called.
At the other end of the field, Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad had to leave the game in the 28th minute after a collision with Hoops defender Blake Wagner. The two players both jumped for the ball and collided in mid-air, sending Onstad to the turf with an injured shoulder.
Cooper evened the score with a lob over Dynamo goalkeeper Tony Caig in the 35th minute. A well-placed through pass from Andre Rocha sprung Cooper and allowed him to get a step on the defense for the goal.
Cooper notched his second goal 10 minutes later on a play that began with a leading pass from Arturo Alvarez to Juan Toja, who was streaking through the right side of Houston's defense. Toja centered the ball to Cooper at the top of the box and Cooper sent a low shot to Caig's right. The Dynamo 'keeper got a hand on the ball, but it bounced under his arm and into the net.
Houston tied the score in the 56th minute, when De Rosario penetrated the right side of the Hoops' defense and dropped the ball off for Geoff Cameron, whose low cross was aimed for Ching at the back post.
Drew Moor was with Ching at the post, and the ball deflected off Moor, bouncing off his knee past Sala into the goal for an own goal.
Less than a minute later, Pablo Ricchetti's through pass led Alvarez past the Houston defense for a 1-on-1 with Caig. Alvarez poked the ball past Caig on the 'keeper's right side for the go-ahead goal, the third shot to beat Caig in a row since his entrance into the match.
Caig did rebound to make three saves down the stretch, setting the stage for the late heroics by Houston. Cameron launched a scorching shot from just outside the box that slid just under the crossbar in the first minute of added time, leaving the teams with a 3-3 tie.
FC Dallas will return to Pizza Hut Park to face the New York Red Bulls at Sat., April 12 (7:30 p.m. CT). The Houston Dynamo next face the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions' Cup semifinal against Costa Rica's Deportivo Saprissa when they travel to the Central American country on Wed., April 9 (9 p.m. CT).
Lucas Ogden-Davis is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
