Houston Dynamo 2 fell 4-3 on the road at Earthquakes II tonight, snapping a six-game unbeaten streak in MLS NEXT Pro play.
Forward Ousseni Bouda opened the scoring for San Jose in the 12th minute, curling a strong strike into the top right corner of the goal from the left third of the penalty box.
Houston equalized in the 19th minute when midfielder Diego Gonzalez scored with a right-footed strike from outside the penalty box. The buildup saw midfielder Jacob Evans play a ball to forward Isaiah Reidat the top of the box, whose one-touch pass found Gonzalez for the equalizer.
Dynamo Dos took the lead in the 30th minute when captain Talen Maples slotted a shot into the far corner of the net from the right side of the six-yard box. Defender Isaiah LeFlore threaded a quick pass through a group of San Jose defenders to set up the defender’s goal.
Maples pushed Houston further in front in the 44th minute, making a quick turn with his back to goal and firing the ball into the bottom right corner of the net. The opportunity arose from a Gonzalez corner delivery that was headed down by midfielder Brooklyn Raines.
San Jose pulled a goal back in the 53rd minute when Roberto Hategan delivered a quick cross from the left side of the penalty box that deflected off Maples into the back of the net.
The Earthquakes tied the match at three goals apiece in the 60th minute when Hategan went direct for goal on a free kick at the top of the penalty box. Goalkeeper Xavier Valdez stopped the initial attempt, but Casey Walls tapped in the rebound.
San Jose took the lead in the 83rd minute when Eduardo Blancas created space in the middle of the penalty box after receiving a pass from Aaron Edwards, powering a low shot into the back of the net.
Dynamo Dos found themselves with the first dangerous opportunity of the game in the third minute when LeFlore delivered a ball from the left side to Reid, who was waiting on the penalty spot, but the ball did not bounce in Houston’s favor to capitalize on the opportunity.
Gonzalez delivered a dangerous ball into the penalty box from a set piece near the center circle in the sixth minute. Maples headed the initial touch across goal towards defender Tate Lampman, but San Jose’s backline was able to clear the danger.
Houston almost took the lead in the 27th minute when Evans played a through ball to Gonzalez running into the six-yard box. The 20-year-old managed to weave his way past goalkeeper Emmanuel Ochoa, but his shot went just to the outside of the post into the left side netting.
A dangerous corner delivery from Gonzalez in the 29th minute fell to forward Papa Ndoye after a few deflection in the box. The 24-year-old managed a strong strike, but the ball was deflected away by San Jose’s back line.
Evans took his chances from outside the box in the 39th minute, but his shot carried just over the right corner of the frame.
In the 43rd minute, Ndoye found Gonzalez running into the right side of the penalty box, who forced a quick reaction save from Ochoa in the bottom right corner of the goal.
Houston almost scored a fourth first-half goal in the 46th minute when a charging Ndoye found defender Mujeeb Murana running into the right side of the penalty box. The defender tapped the ball into the path of Reid, but a San Jose defender managed to clear the ball off the line of an open goal.
Valdez made two saves in the 76th minute after a free kick delivery from Blancas. The first required a quick reaction to stop a header, followed by a shot from outside the box that threatened the bottom right corner of the goal. The Dominican Republic international ended the night with three saves.
Hategan hit the right post with a left-footed shot from the middle of the penalty box that would have given the Earthquakes the lead within the final 15 minutes of the match.
Gonzalez managed a shot on goal in the 93rd minute, but the header did not have enough power to challenge Ochoa.
Dynamo 2 return to SaberCats Stadium on Sunday, Aug. 27 to host LA Galaxy II at 6 p.m. CT. Five matches remain in the regular season and three of those matches will be played in Houston to close the year. Dynamo 2 and head coach Kenny Bundy look to earn their second consecutive berth to the MLS NEXT Pro playoffs by finishing among the top seven teams in the Western Conference.
