In the highest-scoring game in team history and one of the most exciting games of the season, the Houston Dynamo earned a gutsy 4-4 road tie with Mexican power Pumas UNAM in Mexico City Tuesday night.
It is the first time any MLS team has ever earned a point in a competitive road game against a Mexican club, a streak that has included 12 games over more than 10 years.
The Dynamo opened up a 2-0 lead in the first 16 minutes but saw their momentum halted in the 19th minute, when midfielder Stuart Holden, who had led the way on both sides of the ball in the early going, went down injured. Pumas continued playing and scored its first goal with Holden still on the ground. Holden left the game due to injury four minutes later.
Kei Kamara scored two first-half goals for the Dynamo, with the first goal coming after sensational team buildup that included Geoff Cameron and Corey Ashe and the second coming on a penalty kick after Ashe was fouled in the box. Kamara now has five goals in 12 games with the Dynamo in all competitions.
Defender Craig Waibel scored his first two goals of the season to bookend the scoring, striking in the fourth minute with a header from a Stuart Holden corner kick and tying the game in the 50th minute when Brian Mullan followed the clearance of his own corner kick and played it to the back post, where Waibel headed it past Sergio Bernal.
Midfielder Ricardo Clark, playing in his 31st total Dynamo game this season, was substituted for the first time all year in the 61st minute after playing all 2,791 minutes when available for selection.
Houston goalkeeper Pat Onstad made five saves, including a crucial breakaway save in the 36th minute, as the Dynamo played to their fourth consecutive tie.
Houston is now 0-0-3 on its current road swing, which includes four games in four different countries in 12 days. The Dynamo will play at the Colorado Rapids on Saturday before returning home October 7.
Houston Dynamo (0-0-2) vs. Pumas UNAM (1-0-2)
September 30, 2008 – Estadio Olimpico Universitario, Mexico City MEX
2008-09 CONCACAF Champions League -- Group B
Scoring Summary:
HOU -- Craig Waibel 1 (Stuart Holden 1) 4
HOU -- Kei Kamara 1 (Corey Ashe 1, Geoff Cameron 1) 16
PUM -- Dante Lopez 1 (Francisco Palencia) 19
PUM -- Efrain Juarez 1 (unassisted) 26
HOU -- Kei Kamara 2 (penalty kick) 34
PUM -- Francisco Palencia 1 (Fernando Morales) 41
PUM -- Dario Veron 1 (Ismael Iniguez) 47+
HOU -- Craig Waibel 2 (Brian Mullan 1) 50
Houston Dynamo -- Pat Onstad, Craig Waibel, Bobby Boswell, Eddie Robinson, Wade Barrett, Geoff Cameron (Dwayne De Rosario 65), Ricardo Clark (Richard Mulrooney 61), Stuart Holden (Brian Mullan 23), Corey Ashe, Nate Jaqua, Kei Kamara.
Substitutes Not Used: Tony Caig, Patrick Ianni, Mike Chabala, Chris Wondolowski.
Pumas UNAM -- Sergio Bernal, Efrain Juarez, Humberto Gonzalez, Dario Veron (Marco Antonio Palacios 50), Efrain Velarde, Ismael Iniguez, Israel Castro, Jehu Chiapas, Fernando Morales, Francisco Palencia (Martin Bravo 77), Dante Lopez (Juan Carlos Cacho 64).
Substitutes Not Used: Odin Patino, David Cabrera, Fernando Espinoza, David Toledo.
Misconduct Summary:
HOU -- Eddie Robinson (caution; Reckless Tackle) 26
gameSumLabel">Referee: Walter Quesada (CRC)
gameSumLabel">Referee's Assistants: Leonel Leal (CRC); Edgar Mora (CRC)
gameSumLabel">4th Official: Jorge Gasso (MEX)
gameSumLabel">Attendance: 9,179
Weather: Clear-and-64 degrees
All statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial
