Houston Dynamo FC finished off a stretch of three games in three cities in seven days with a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Real Salt Lake tonight at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Salt Lake took the lead in the 29th minute after Maikel Chang found Bobby Wood inside the box. The RSL forward raced toward the far post and leapt to head the ball down into the turf just inside the post for the opening goal of the game.
The hosts doubled their lead in the 57th after Sergio Córdova brought down a ball inside the box. The Dynamo backline attempted to clear the ball, but after a series of rebounds Córdova beat the Dynamo goalkeeper at the far post.
Defender Justen Glad capped off the scoring with a headed goal in the second minute of stoppage time off of a free kick from Justin Meram.
Houston’s first opportunity of the game came in the fourth minute off the right foot of midfielder Memo Rodriguez. The Dynamo Academy alum took a free kick outside the box that missed the upper left corner of the goal by mere inches. Forward Beto Avila, making his first start in league play, won the free kick. The 21-year-old previously earned a start on Wednesday against Kansas City in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
Salt Lake defender Marcelo Silva forced back-to-back saves from Dynamo goalkeeper Michael Nelson in the 22nd minute. Silva’s initial effort was blocked by the Katy native, and he came up big seconds later from point-blank range after the ball fell to the Uruguayan defender. The Dynamo goalkeeper finished with three saves against Real Salt Lake tonight.
Houston’s first opportunity of the second half came in the 51st minute after defender Zeca found forward Thor Úlfarsson in the heart of the box. Úlfarsson, who made his first start in league play and his second in all competitions this year, towered over the Salt Lake defender but his header was saved by Zac MacMath. The rookie forward forced a save with his last touch of the game, a scissor kick inside the box at the 67th minute.
The Dynamo return to PNC Stadium on Saturday, June 11 to host LigaMX side Atletico San Luis in the Dynamo Charities Cup presented by PNC Bank.
