CARSON, Calif. – Dan Kennedy was heroic for Chivas USA for 91 minutes against the Houston Dynamo on Saturday. He made a total of seven saves on the night, and gave the side belief that they could earn a point against the 2011 MLS Cup finalists.
But it wasn't enough. A single lapse in the 92nd minute gave the Dynamo a 1-0 victory, dooming the Goats to their third-straight opening-day loss. The winner came in the 92nd minute, when Adam Moffat's shot deflected off two Chivas defenders and put Andre Hainault in position to beat the outstretched Kennedy.
Throughout the match, thought, the Rojiblancos stood toe-to-toe with the defending Eastern Conference Champions mostly due to Kennedy’s contributions.
“I’d like to have it where we don’t talk about Dan," head coach Robin Fraser said after the match. "But it’s very important for us to have a good goalkeeper as we sort ourselves out. The one thing that I think as we are a relatively new team that is still sorting out a lot of things offensively and defensively so in the midst of that, you need your goalkeeper to play well and certainly Dan did well.”
After yet another strong performance in net, the ever-humble Kennedy offered hope for a season still 33 games in the making.
“I was just getting in good positions,” said Kennedy. “As long as they’re not getting in behind us all day long then we’ll be alright.”
Adam Serrano covers Chivas USA for MLSsoccer.com. He can be reached at adam.m.serrano@gmail.com.
HIGHLIGHTS: CHV 0, HOU 1
