It took nearly the entire match, but the Houston Dynamo finally broke through as Brian Ching's goal extended the Orange's unbeaten streak to an MLS-high 11 matches Saturday in a 1-1 draw with Real Salt Lake at Robertson Stadium.
After being held scoreless for 89 minutes and playing the final 32 with a man advantage, Ching, who entered the game to start the second half, scored with a header and kept Houston from losing its first game since April 4 at D.C. United.
Ching and Mullan saved the day and scored one of the prettiest goals of the season to give the Dynamo sole possession of first place in the Western Conference standings.
The single point from the draw also ensured Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear will guide the MLS All-Stars against Everton FC in the MLS All-Star Game on July 29, to be played at Real Salt Lake's Rio Tinto Stadium.
Mullan flew down the right side of the field to collect a pass from Ching and waited for the unmarked striker to get open on the receiving end. Mullan then floated a perfect cross high above the defense, and Ching flew to the ball, putting a bullet header past Real goalkeeper Nick Rimando.
Fabian Espindola scored the only goal of the game for Real Salt Lake in the first half and Rimando made three saves, including his biggest one of the match in the 72nd minute, when he denied Brad Davis on a penalty kick.
Davis earned the penalty when he was fouled by Rimando inside the box. But the shot he tried to put in the far right corner was easily stopped by Rimando, who looked poised for another shutout.
Due to the temperature on the field, play was stopped for a water break in the 26th minute. Many of the fans had no idea what was going on, and Onstad came racing across the field to voice his displeasure at referee Jair Marrufo.
Two minutes later, the hydration paid off for the visitors when Espindola stayed with a loose ball and fired a shot that looked destined to be wide of the far post. The Dynamo's Bobby Boswell was in the wrong place, and that ball hit him before changing directions and ending up in the back of the net.
Both teams had scoring chances in the first half, but RSL carried most of the play in the opening half.
In the sixth minute Movsisyan broke through the Dynamo defense after a goal kick, but he was forced to take a quick shot with Houston closing around him and he fired a shot high over the crossbar.
Three minutes later Craig Waibel left the match with a strained hamstring. Wade Barrett took over, and Houston had the next two scoring chances.
First, in the 14th minutes, Kei Kamara took a pass from Stuart Holden and nearly scored on a play that started about 30 yards in front of Rimando. Will Johnson missed a first tackle with Kamara closing in, but Kyle Beckerman made a great play to take the ball away from Kamara.
In the 18th minute, the Dynamo earned a free kick after Tony Beltran got a yellow card at the top of the penalty area. Davis fired a left-footed shot on goal, but Rimando played the short hop with Richard Mulrooney looking to clean up any rebound.
The Dynamo broke through and had two chances to tie the game late in the first half. Boswell just missed the crossbar on a header in the 32nd minute after a Davis free kick and Andrew Hainault had a goal waved off in the 35th minute when he was called offside on another Davis free kick.
The Dynamo now hit the road for the next four weeks, beginning with a game next Sunday at The Home Depot Center against the LA Galaxy. After back-to-back road games, Real Salt Lake return home where they will face Toronto FC next Saturday.
Andrew J. Ferraro is a contributor to MLSnet.com
