Houston Dynamo 2 fell on the road 1-0 to Tacoma Defiance earlier this evening at Starfire Sports Stadium.
Houston Dynamo 2 had an early shot on goal in the 11th minute after midfielder Brooklyn Raines earned a free kick from just outside the 18-yard box. Midfielder Diego Gonzalez took the direct shot and forced goalkeeper Andrew Thomas to make the save.
Forward Papa N’Doye was able to get deep into the Tacoma penalty area six minutes later and took a shot from the left side of the goal, forcing Thomas to make his second save of the match.
Tacoma took the lead in the 18th minute after Tacoma’s Dylan Teves scored his first goal of the season.
Houston nearly equalized a minute later after midfielder* Jacob Evans* had an open look at goal from the top of the 18-yard box, but his effort went over the crossbar.
Goalkeeper Xavier Valdez, who will be competing in the Goalie Wars exhibition at MLS All-Star Week later this month, made a key save in the 26th minute of the match after Tacoma was able to mount an attack in transition. Valdez made a fully extended dive to protect the far post and deny Tacoma’s Paul Rothrock.
N’Doye opened the second half with a shot in the 50th minute after defender Tate Lampman found the forward in front of the goal. This is the second start of the season for Lampman, who will represent the Dynamo Academy at the MLS NEXT All-Star Game in Washington D.C. later this month.
Tacoma appeared to have its second goal of the match in the 54th minute but was called offside by referee Joshua Encarnacion.
Evans forced another save in the 58th minute after defender Mujeeb Murana found the Englishman. Evans attempted to thread his shot into the bottom right corner, but his effort was saved by Thomas.
Gonzlez took a shot that sailed just over the right side of the crossbar in the 77th minute. The Houston Dynamo Academy product’s shot curled in toward goal but was deflected out of bounds for a corner kick.
Forward Yair Gonzalez won a free kick in the 84th minute of the match at the top of the Tacoma penalty area. Diego Gozalez and N’Doye were the two players standing over the ball with the Senegal international taking the strike, which was off target.
Houston will travel to the Texas capital to take on Austin FC II on Friday, July 7 at 8:00 p.m. CT at St. David’s Performance Center.
