Sporting Kansas City 3, Houston Dynamo 3 | 2016 MLS Match Recap

Alicia Rodriguez

Sporting Kansas City took the lead on two separate occasions on Friday night at Children's Mercy Park, but the Houston Dynamo dug deep and put together an impressively gutsy performance in a 3-3 draw.

Raul Rodriguez scored the final equalizer on the last play of the game, heading in the ball off a set play that Sporting goalkeeper Alec Kann couldn't keep out of the net.

The hosts opened the scoring 14 minutes in, as Jacob Peterson sent a blast on goal that was saved by Dynamo goalkeeper Joe Willis. Dom Dwyer attempted to score on the rebound, but was rebuffed in his effort, before Peterson made no mistake with his second attempt to make it 1-0.

Roger Espinoza doubled the lead 12 minutes later, as he stole the ball in Sporting's final third, took a single touch, and unleashed a rocket outside of the box to beat Willis.

But the Dynamo showed signs of life on the attacking end, with young Mauro Manotas scoring his first career MLS goal after receiving a nice pass from Boniek Garcia and finishing with a bouncing off-speed shot at the half-hour mark.

The Dynamo started the second half off the better side, and were rewarded for their efforts with the tying goal just before the hour mark, as Alex latched onto a ball bounding in the box and buried it past Kann.

Sporting regained the lead in the final minutes, as Dwyer scored off a corner kick routine in the 81st minute to make it 3-2. But Rodriguez broke Kansas City hearts with his last-second tally, which rewarded Houston's persistent performance.

Box Score

14' – SKC – Jacob Peterson
26' – SKC – Roger Espinoza
30' – HOU – Mauro Manotas (Boniek Garcia)
59' – HOU – Alex
81' – SKC – Dom Dwyer (Roger Espinoza, Benny Feilhaber)
94' – HOU – Raul Rodriguez (Boniek Garcia)
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Three Things

SOMETHING TO BUILD ON: When Sporting went ahead 2-0 in the first half, it seemed quite likely they would cruise to a win against the last-place Dynamo. But full credit to Houston. While they allowed three goals on the night and allowed their opponent to take the lead twice, the Dynamo attack, so often sputtering this season, came to life, as Manotas opened his MLS account and Alex and Rodriguez supplied veteran's goals to keep their side in the game until the end. Could this help give Houston a nice run to end the season?
TWO POINTS LOST: For Sporting, the result has to be a disappointment. Not only did they lead on two separate occasions, including deep into second-half stoppage time, one would usually figure scoring three goals at home should be enough to get the win. Instead, Kansas City lost an opportunity to put more distance between themselves and the sixth place team in the Western Conference. Their status as a playoff team seems assured at this stage, but the battle for seeding may have taken a hit with this result.
PICK OF THE LITTER: It was the second goal of the night and SKC probably don't want to dwell on this performance too much, but Espinoza's golazo was the most aesthetically impressive of the bunch: