Four months after their epic Champions’ Cup semifinal, Houston and Pachuca met again in another semifinal. In an emotional match, Dwayne De Rosario gave Houston an early lead, only to see Pat Ianni ejected in the first half and Pachuca rally for a 2-1 lead. Playing with 10 men, the Dynamo equalized when Eddie Robinson scored on a late header to tie the score and force overtime. After Pachuca also went down to 10 men, Corey Ashe was ejected for a retaliatory foul in overtime, and the nine-men Dynamo held on to force a shootout. Wade Barrett, Chris Wondolowski, and Richard Mulrooney all scored, but Brian Ching hit the post and Joseph Ngwenya’s trick shot was easily saved, giving Pachuca a 4-3 shootout win and a berth in the first SuperLiga final.
Pachuca vs. Houston Dynamo
August 14, 2007 -- Robertson Stadium, Houston TX
SuperLiga -- Semifinals
Scoring Summary:
HOU -- Dwayne De Rosario 1 (Brian Mullan 1) 4
PAC -- Juan Carlos Cacho 1 (Carlos Rodriguez 1) 28
PAC -- Andres Chitiva 1 (unassisted) 61
HOU -- Eddie Robinson 1 (Richard Mulrooney 1) 83
Penalty-Kick Shootout:
HOU -- Wade Barrett (Goal)
PAC -- Fernando Salazar (Goal)
HOU -- Chris Wondolowski (Goal)
PAC -- Gabriel Caballero (Goal)
HOU -- Richard Mulrooney (Goal)
PAC -- Luis Gabriel Rey (Goal)
HOU -- Brian Ching (Post)
PAC -- Damian Alvarez (Saved)
HOU -- Joseph Ngwenya (Saved)
PAC -- Rafael Marquez Lugo (Goal)
Pachuca -- Miguel Calero, Marvin Cabrera, Leobardo Lopez, Fernando Salazar, Fausto Pinto (Andres Chitiva 46), Gabriel Caballero, Jaime Correa, Christian Gimenez (Luis Gabriel Rey 79), Damian Alvarez, Carlos Rodriguez (Jose Francisco Torres 110), Juan Carlos Cacho (Rafael Marquez Lugo 72).
Substitutes Not Used: Humberto Hernandez, Paul Aguilar, Braulio Godinez.
Houston Dynamo -- Pat Onstad, Craig Waibel, Patrick Ianni, Eddie Robinson, Wade Barrett, Brian Mullan, Richard Mulrooney, Dwayne De Rosario (Corey Ashe 79), Nate Jaqua (Chris Wondolowski 91+), Brian Ching, Joseph Ngwenya.
Substitutes Not Used: Zach Wells, Mike Chabala, Ricardo Clark, John Michael Hayden, Mike Sambursky.
Misconduct Summary:
PAC -- Christian Gimenez (caution) 6
PAC -- Damian Alvarez (caution) 7
HOU -- Patrick Ianni (ejection; Denynig a Goal Scoring Opportunity) 13
HOU -- Nate Jaqua (caution) 69
PAC -- Andres Chitiva (caution) 82
HOU -- Brian Mullan (caution) 83
PAC -- Andres Chitiva (ejection; Second Caution) 85
HOU -- Eddie Robinson (caution) 93+
PAC -- Jaime Correa (caution) 102
HOU -- Corey Ashe (ejection; Violent Conduct) 102
HOU -- Joseph Ngwenya (caution) 114
gameSumLabel">Referee: Ricardo Salazar (USA)
gameSumLabel">Referee's Assistants: Joe Fletcher (USA); Daniel Belleau (USA)
gameSumLabel">4th official: Jair Marrufo (USA)
gameSumLabel">Attendance: 21,712
Weather: Clear-and-96-degrees
All statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial
