The Houston Dynamo saw their bid to claim the Supporters' Shield come to an end Sunday evening, playing to a scoreless draw with D.C. United at Robertson Stadium.
With the single point, the Columbus Crew maintain their 10-point lead atop the MLS overall table and secured the Supporters' Shield, the honor given to the club with the best record in the regular season.
The Dynamo also saw their lead atop the Western Conference cut to just two points against Chivas USA, though Houston has a game in hand. Those two teams will meet in the season finale at The Home Depot Center.
United, meanwhile, remains just two points out of the two available wild card spots with two games left to play, with 34 points on the season.
With both teams coming off good midweek results in the CONCACAF Champions League, the play was relatively sloppy on both sides, save for the efforts of Houston's Dwayne De Rosario and D.C.'s goalkeeper Louis Crayton, as both teams struggled to come to grips with the playing surface and a second game in quick succession.
Crayton (two saves) and Houston 'keeper Pat Onstad (one save) each preserved a shutout to ensure both teams got a point. United also survived playing the final 17 minutes a man down after Bryan Namoff was sent off with a second yellow card.
De Rosario had the best chance for the Dynamo to break the tie in second-half stoppage time when his header off a Corey Ashe cross was stopped by Crayton, who was easily the man of the match for the visitors.
Houston had several good looks like sprinkled throughout the match, but they never challenged Crayton with any sustained pressure.
The second half got ugly, as referee Baldomero Toledo handed out seven yellow cards in all. Dynamo players De Rosario, Eddie Robinson, Geoff Cameron and Brad Davis drew cards, as did United players Namoff and Devon McTavish. After being booked for the first time in the 62nd minute, Namoff received his marching orders in the 73rd minute.
Three minutes later, De Rosario had a good scoring chance turned aside when his bouncing shot was played by Crayton. De Rosario, his teammates and most of the fans in attendance were hoping for a handball when it appeared that Crayton played it that way outside his box.
The Dynamo were looking to take advantage of a United team missing three of its top five scorers to injury and another to suspension. Luciano Emilio (11 goals) missed with a hamstring strain. Marcelo Gallardo (four goals) was out with an MCL strain and Fred (two goals, four assists) did not play because of a strained hamstring.
Adding insult to injury, Jaime Moreno was serving the second game of a two-game suspension because of his conduct in D.C.'s game against Dallas on Sept. 28.
The Dynamo clinched a playoff spot with a 3-1 win at Colorado last week and were looking to solidify their standing in the Western Conference against a D.C. team they had already beaten twice this year. The Orange had lost just once in a span of 13 games and hosted a United team that had lost three in a row and had not found a way to win since Aug. 23 against Colorado.
The first half was monotonous, jerky and without rhythm for both teams. D.C. United actually outshot Houston 3-1, getting two from defender Marc Burch, who recorded the only shot on goal of the match for D.C.
The first came in the 31st minute when D.C. turned things up a notch and had the Dynamo playing on their heels for a few minutes. Burch finished a play with a nice shot that Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad stopped easily.
Dwayne De Rosario had the lone shot for the Dynamo in the first 45 minutes, but Houston actually had three decent scoring chances in the first half.
In the 35th minute, De Rosario fed Mullan with a nice cross, but D.C. defender Greg Janicki -- making his MLS debut -- stopped that play quickly with a good read. Then in the 38th minute, De Rosario was looking to score on a breakaway when he was met by Crayton well outside the box, the United 'keeper sweeping the ball away just before he could shoot.
In the 43rd minute, Nate Jaqua was in the right place, but his header off a Richard Mulrooney corner kick was deflected the wrong way.
The Dynamo will next face the San Jose Earthquakes in Houston on Wednesday, Oct. 15 (9 p.m. ET). United will return to RFK Stadium to face the New England Revolution on MLS Primetime Thursday, Oct. 16 (7:30 p.m. ET).
Andrew J. Ferraro is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
