Houston Dynamo FC won their Third Round matchup in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup against Rio Grande Valley FC 2-1 on a goal from defender Sam Junqua in the third minute of stoppage time.
The score remained deadlocked at 1-1 through the 90th minute until forward Beto Avila, who was making his debut with the Dynamo first team, generated space on the left wing and found Junqua with a perfectly placed cross at the corner of the six-yard box. Junqua snapped his header toward the far post, over the outstretched arms of the Rio Grande Valley goalkeeper to give the Dynamo a last-minute victory over their former affiliates.
The Dynamo took the lead inside of 10 minutes off a cross from rookie forward Thor Ulfarsson. Rio Grande Valley defender Frank Nodarse attempted to clear the cross but headed the ball into his own net. The play began with a long diagonal ball from 17-year-old Brooklyn Raines, who made his Dynamo debut this evening and became the youngest player to suit up for the Dynamo in a competitive fixture at 17 years, 36 days old.
RGV equalized in the 48th minute after Emilio Ycaza won a corner kick by forcing a save from Dynamo goalkeeper Michael Nelson at the near post. The resulting corner from Ricardo Ruiz bounced inside the box and deflected off of Dynamo defender Teenage Hadebe for an own goal.
RGV was awarded a penalty kick in the 60th minute after Frank Lopez drew a foul inside the box. Nelson, who is one of four current Dynamo players who won the Open Cup in 2018, denied Lopez from the penalty spot in the 61st minute to keep his team alive in the competition. The Katy native finished with three saves against the Toros.
With the win, the Dynamo advance to the Round of 32 in the 2022 Open Cup. They will learn the identity of their opponent in the next round on Friday morning when U.S. Soccer conducts the draw for the next round.
Houston closes out this week on the road against FC Dallas in the first Texas Derby meeting of the season. Saturday’s game will kick off at 2 p.m. CT and fans can watch the game live on TUDN. The Dynamo return to PNC Stadium on Saturday, April 30 to host Austin FC at 12:30 p.m. CT. Tickets for the match are available at HoustonDynamoFC.com
