Houston Dynamo FC fell to D.C. United 2-0 at a rainy Audi Field tonight.
D.C. United took the lead in the 35th minute off a corner kick. Midfielder Julian Gressel found forward Taxiarchis Fountas at the edge of the box and his one-touch volley found the upper left corner of the net.
The second goal of the game came in the 43rd minute off a cross from Brad Smith into the box. Fountas initially controlled the ball but lost his footing due to pressure from Dynamo defender Adam Lundkvist, who made his 100th appearance in league play for the Club tonight. The D.C. United forward was able to recover to create space for a shot that slipped inside the near post.
Houston nearly responded in the 44th minute off a cross from Griffin Dorsey that just missed Ferreira and forward Tyler Pasher at the far post. The D.C. backline cleared the ball and play was paused to provide D.C. goalkeeper Bill Hamid medical attention after colliding with his own players attempting to clear Dorsey’s cross.
Houston’s first opportunity of the game came in the 25th minute when forward Sebastian Ferreira got behind the D.C. backline and forced a save just outside the six-yard box. The ball fell to forward Darwin Quintero who dribbled away from goal, but his effort was cleared by the Black-and-Red backline.
Dynamo midfielder Matías Vera forced a save in the 63rd minute after Quintero found space behind the backline for two attackers to make a run into the box at the far post.
Ferreira looked to have won a penalty kick late on that could have given the Dynamo a chance to pull within striking distance, but he was judged to be offside when the ball was played to him, nullifying the opportunity.
The Dynamo return to PNC Stadium for a pair of games on either side of the stadium’s 10th anniversary on May 12. Houston hosts FC San Antonio in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 on Wednesday, May 11 and welcomes Nashville SC on Saturday, May 14. Tickets for both of those games start at $10 and are available at HoustonDynamoFC.com/Tickets.
