Houston Dynamo 1, LA Galaxy 4 | 2016 MLS Match Recap

Alicia Rodriguez

The LA Galaxy took an impressive result on the road on Friday, defeating the Houston Dynamo 4-1 at BBVA Stadium.

The Dynamo wasted no time in opening the scoring, as a short corner kick eventually resulted in a cross into the box by Alex, with defender David Horst waiting at the back post and heading it home in the very first minute of the game.

But that lead was short-lived, as just three minutes later Giovani Dos Santos capitalized on a defensive mix-up by the Dynamo and hit a breakaway shot past Joe Willis to make it 1-1. A misplayed clearance in the box in the 21st minute then led to the next goal, when Baggio Husidic buried a ball bouncing around in the 6-yard box.

Ten minutes later, LA's two Designated Players on the field teamed up for a terrific goal. Steven Gerrard, serving as captain for the night, played a ball diagonally across the field up to Dos Santos, who took the ball down inside the box and eluded a defender with a nifty move before finishing the shot emphatically for his second of the night.

Gyasi Zardes finished the scoring just a few minutes after the break, as his tap-in off Sebastian Lletget's low cross effectively put the game to bed for the Galaxy.

Box Score

1' - HOU - David Horst (Alex, Cristian Maidana)
4' - LA - Giovani Dos Santos
21' - LA - Baggio Husidic
31' - LA - Giovani Dos Santos (Stephen Gerrard)
49' - LA - Gyasi Zardes (Sebastian Lletget, Giovani Dos Santos)
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Three Things

WHEN IT RAINS...: LA have won three games so far in MLS this season, and a trend is starting to emerge in those games -- when the Galaxy win, they score a lot. This is the second game they won by a 4-1 scoreline, matching their season-opening win against D.C. United, and the other win was a 3-1 affair over San Jose. This was the first win of the season on the road for LA, but it seems like when they're feeling it in 2016, they're really feeling it.
...IT POURS: Meantime, Houston are showing a worrisome trend so far this season. Despite taking the very quick lead, this is the third game in six in which they've conceded at least three goals and the second time they've allowed four goals in a game. Unsurprisingly, they've got just one point in those three matches. Will Houston coach Owen Coyle have to make some changes on the defensive side of the ball?
STAR POWER: Dos Santos was the Man of the Match for his performance, opening his 2016 account and scoring a brace and an assist. The best of the goals in this game was his second, with the long switch from Gerrard and the work the Mexican international does to finish it. It's worth repeat viewings.