Houston Dynamo FC fell 3-1 to the Los Angeles Galaxy in front of a sellout crowd of 21,284 fans this afternoon at PNC Stadium.
Houston struck first when forward Sebas Ferreira rose up to head in a cross from forward Corey Baird in the eighth minute. Right back Griffin Dorsey played Baird into space along the right flank and he whipped in a perfectly-weighted cross that Ferreira hammered into the back of the net. The forward punctuated the goal by racing into the stands to celebrate with his parents, who flew in from Paraguay for the match.
The goal was Ferreira’s 13th on the year, tying him with Héctor Villalba for the most by a Paraguayan player in a single MLS season. Villalba scored 13 for Atlanta United in 2017.
The visitors leveled the score at a goal apiece in the 31st minute when midfielder Riqui Puig blasted home a shot from the penalty spot. The Galaxy won the ball in the attacking third and worked the ball wide left to forward Douglas Costa, who played a low centering pass to Puig. The Spaniard took a touch and put his shot in the back of the net.
A minute later it was 2-1 LA after forward Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez ran onto a through ball behind the Dynamo back line and slipped a right-footed shot past Dynamo goalkeeper Steve Clark from 15 yards.
Dejan Joveljic and Efrain Alvarez entered the match in the 66th minute and moments later the Galaxy duo combined for the third goal of the evening. Alvarez slipped a ball into the box for the forward and Joveljic finished at the near post.
Houston had a pair of golden chances to level the score going into halftime, but Galaxy goalkeeper Jonathan Bond came up with a spectacular double save in the 41st minute. Forward Darwin Quintero slipped Ferreira in behind the defense with a nifty pass, but Bond saved Ferreira’s shot with his foot. The rebound fell to Dorsey, but Bond recovered quickly to get a palm on Dorsey’s shot from 12 yards.
Dynamo goalkeeper Steve Clark got a touch on a header from Joveljic in the 82nd minute. The Dynamo goalkeeper finished with six clean sheets in his first season with the team and 105 saves, including four today.
Tonight’s match was the final one of the 2022 regular season for the Dynamo. Houston ends its season with a 10-18-6 record overall and interim head coach Kenny Bundy finished with a 2-2-1 record in five matches after being named to the role on Sept. 5.
