The Houston Dynamo and Kansas City Wizards swapped offensive chances for 90-plus minutes, but defense held the trump card as the teams finished with a scoreless draw Saturday night at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.
Both goalkeepers did their part to ensure the teams would end scoreless on the night, Kansas City goalkeeper Kevin Hartman making five saves and Dynamo goalkeeper Tony Caig, pressed into action by the injury to Pat Onstad, made four.
Both teams played smothering defense in what was a well-played match. Each side tried to make opportunities on goal, but it was a struggle for both throughout.
The Dynamo nearly opened the scoring in the seventh minute. A deflection off Kansas City forward Scott Sealy made Hartman leap and stretch his body to parry the ball over the crossbar.
Sealy almost put one in the Dynamo goal too, seconds later. Wizards forward Claudio Lopez made an excellent pass to find Sealy open in the middle of the field in front of the goal in the eighth minute. But Sealy's shot also went high over the crossbar.
Dynamo midfielder Ricardo Clark, making his first appearance in a league game for the Orange, was shown a yellow card for an intentional hand ball about 40 yards out in the 15th minute.
An excellent defensive stand was made by the Dynamo in the 31st minute. The back line surrounded Sealy, forcing a pass upfield to midfielder Kurt Morsink. Morsink's shot accurate and on goal, but handled by Caig.
Caig continued his excellent play, coming out of the goal to squelch another run by Sealy. Caig reached the ball before Sealy could reach the long pass from Morsink.
Houston playmaker Dwayne De Rosario took an excellent feed from forward Franco Caraccio and unloaded a blast on goal in the 41st minute. Hartman knocked the ball over the crossbar.
The 45th minute saw a free kick from Lopez that bent and faded toward the near post. Caig made a diving block and the save preserved the tie heading into halftime.
Down the stretch, each team had close chances to grab a late winner. Sent through by De Rosario, Brad Davis made a run down the center of the park, initially getting a shot past Hartman. Hartman slowed the shot, turned around and grabbed the shot as it rebounded off the near post.
In the 84th minute, Caig came rushing off his line to stop a long ball aimed for substitute forward Ivan Trujillo. Then in the 89th minute, a free kick by Morsink found its way through the pack and was headed by Sealy -- but his effort went over the net.
Thomas Foote is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
