CHARLESTON, S.C.—A goal and an assist from captain Brad Davis led the Houston Dynamo to a 2-1 victory over MLS expansion side New York City FC at the Carolina Challenge Cup on Wednesday afternoon.
The Dynamo will complete the preseason on Saturday at 4 p.m. CT against Orlando City SC in the Carolina Challenge Cup finale for both clubs (Watch live at www.HoustonDynamo.com).
Head coach Owen Coyle gave eight players their second consecutive start, with Tyler Deric, Ricardo Clark and Alexander Lopez the three changes from Saturday’s opening game.
The Dynamo seized the lead six minutes after halftime. The 10-pass sequence began with Alexander Lopez laying the ball back and the ball cycling wide to Kofi Sarkodie, who combined with Will Bruin and Boniek Garcia before it returned to Sarkodie. The fifth-year right back delivered a pinpoint cross to Davis, who used his left instep to volley home from eight yards for a 1-0 lead.
Houston doubled the advantage in the 70th minute as Beasley broke through midfield and fed Davis on the left edge of the penalty area, where he created space and served an accurate cross to the front of the six-yard box and Garcia rose between New York City defenders to head into the net for a two-goal lead.
NYCFC made eight changes in the 60th minute and began to create more chances. United States national team midfielder Mix Diskerud was among the substitutes and cut the deficit in the 80th minute, driving in from the right sideline and finishing from nine yards after a combination, trimming the margin to 2-1.
The Dynamo defended a few New York City set pieces over the final minutes to close out a 2-1 win.
Houston was forced to make a substitution after 30 minutes when center back Raul Rodriguez left with a right leg injury and was replaced by David Horst.
The Dynamo continued to find space on the flanks and Davis produced a dangerous cross in the 40th minute, bending a deep service beyond the back post where Garcia headed to the penalty spot but NYCFC was able to clear.
The New York club came close in the 65th minute as Thomas McNamara back heeled a pass to Mehdi Ballouchy and the veteran’s shot struck the inside of the far post and stayed out.
New York City FC threatened two minutes after Diskerud’s goal, as the ball bounced inside the box between the two clubs before goalkeeper Tyler Deric came out to end the threat.
Javier Calle set up McNamara four minutes later, but the young forward’s shot slid wide of the post.
The Dynamo end their eight-game preseason slate on Saturday at 4 p.m. CT against Orlando City SC in a preview of the club’s regular-season encounter on March 13 at BBVA Compass Stadium. The match will be streamed live at www.HoustonDynamo.com.
Houston Dynamo vs. New York City FC
Carolina Challenge Cup — Blackbaud Stadium, Charleston, S.C.
February 25, 2015
Scoring Summary
Houston: Brad Davis 1 (Kofi Sarkodie 1) 51
Houston: Boniek García 1 (Brad Davis 1) 70
New York City: Mix Diskerud (Thomas McNamara) 81
Houston Dynamo: Tyler Deric; Kofi Sarkodie, Raúl Rodríguez (David Horst 31), Jermaine Taylor, DaMarcus Beasley; Boniek García (Rob Lovejoy 87), Ricardo Clark (Zach Steinberger 71), Luis Garrido (Nathan Sturgis 90), Brad Davis; Alexander López (Chandler Hoffman 52), Will Bruin (Jason Johnson 71)
New York City FC: Akira Fitzgerald (Eirik Johansen* 46); Connor Brandt (Josh Williams 40), Kwame Watson-Siriboe (Jason Hernandez 61), Shay Facey* (Chris Wingert 61), Jeb Brovsky; Kwadwo Poku (Andrew Jacobson 61), Matthew Dunn (Mehdi Ballouchy 61), Pablo Alvarez* (Mix Diskerud 61), Sebastian Velasquez (Javier Calle 61); Khiry Shelton (Thomas McNamara 61), Patrick Mullins (Tony Taylor 61)
*Trialist
Disciplinary Summary
HOU: Luis Garrido (caution) 30
NYC: Khiry Shelton (caution) 53
NYC: Jason Hernandez (caution) 79
HOU: Zach Steinberger (caution) 85
Referee: Hilario Grajeda
Assistant Referees: Eric Weisbrod, Brian Bozard
Fourth Official: Alex Chilowicz
