The Houston Dynamo Reserves dropped only their second match of the season Saturday night, losing 4-1 to the Charleston Battery of the USL Pro division at Blackbaud Stadium. Dynamo midfielder Brian Ownby scored the lone goal for Houston.
The match saw the return of forward Omar Cummings in a limited substitute role.Cummings had been on the injury report with a knee injury for the past several weeks.
The Dynamo used three players from the Dynamo Academy: Louis Thomas, Elo Ozumba both started and Irvin Ramirez made a substitute appearance.
Nicki Paterson was instrumental for the Battery with two goals on the night. Paterson scored in the 18th minute to make it 1-0 with a well-taken free kick that he finessed home past Dynamo keeper Tyler Deric.
Battery midfielder Jose Cuevas snuck in behind the Dynamo Reserves defense in the 62nd minute and played an angled ball into the side netting to give the Battery a 2-0 advantage.
Dynamo midfielder Brian Ownby responded quickly for Houston with a goal off an attempted Battery clearance in the 63rd minute. The ball was headed right to Ownby, who took a touch in stride and buried it to cut the Batterylead to one. The goal was Ownby’s third of the year with the Dynamo Reserves.
In the 77th minute, Charleston midfielder Quinton Griffith played across into the box for Paterson who snapped a header into the net and put the Battery on top, 3-1.
Late in stoppage time, Quinton Griffith connected on a cross from Mike Azira to put the Battery up 4-1 and secure the victory for Charleston. Azira crossed it to the far post for Griffith who played a nice volley past Deric.
The Dynamo Reserves remain in first place of the MLS Reserve League East Division with 12 points and a 4-2-0 record. Their only previous loss came at the hands of this same Charleston squad on May 19 at BBVA Compass Stadium.
The Dynamo Reserves’ next match is scheduled for August 4 against the Columbus Crew at Houston Amateur Sports Park at 10 a.m.
Scoring Summary:
Charleston: Paterson 18’
Charleston: Cuevas 62’
Houston: Ownby 63’
Charleston: Paterson (Griffith) 77’
Charleston: Griffith (Azira) 90+’
Disciplinary Summary:
Charleston: Cody Ellison (caution) 2’
Houston: Tyler Deric (caution) 57’
Houston: Brian Ownby (caution) 70’
Charleston: Paterson (caution) 87’
Houston Dynamo—Tyler Deric, Warren Creavalle, Louis Thomas, Michael Chabala, Brian Ownby, Luiz Camargo, Alex Dixon, Bryan Salazar (Irvin Ramirez 73’), Elo Ozumba* (Omar Cummings 81’), Jason Johnson
Substitutes not used: Kofi Sarkodie
*Academy Player
Charleston Battery—Odisnel Cooper, Mark Wiltse, Colin Falvey, Cody Ellison, Taylor Mueller, Zach Prince (Quintin Griffith 57’), Jarod Van Schaik, Jose Cuevas, Nicki Paterson (Shawn Ferguson 89’), Bryce Alderson (Mike Azira 70’), Dane Kelly (Helviel Cordoves 77’)
Substitutes not used: Kevin Klasila, John Wilson, Mikael Chang
Referee: Mark Kadlecik
Assistant Referees: Dustin Thorne, David Erbacher
Fourth Official: Rick Rogers
