Houston Dynamo FC earned their 10th victory of the season and second on the road after defeating Real Salt Lake 3-0 earlier this evening.
The victory gives Houston 35 points this season and a share of fifth place in the Western Conference standings. Today’s victory is also the second consecutive victory over Real Salt Lake after a 3-1 triumph at Shell Energy Stadium on Wednesday in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinals.
The match was delayed for 44 minutes at 9:56 p.m. CT in the 60th minute of the match due to lightning in the area.
Houston opened scoring in the ninth minute when defender Brad Smith whipped a ball into the box from the left side that found its way to forward Corey Baird waiting on the edge of the six-yard box. The 27-year-old found the back of the net for his fifth goal of the season.
The Dynamo doubled the lead in the 29th minute when captain Héctor Herrera found defender Daniel Steres open on the edge of the six-yard box after he made a well-timed run. The veteran defender headed the ball directly over goalkeeper Gavin Beavers into the back of the net for his second goal of the season.
Houston netted a third in the 75th minute when midfielder Adalberto “Coco” Carrasquilla played a back-and-forth with forward Aliyu Ibrahim inside the penalty box. The Panamanian international put the game out of reach with his second goal of the season.
Houston had its first shot on target in the eighth minute when Ibrahim whipped in a ball from the left side to the foot of Herrera. The first-touch attempt was handled by Beavers for his lone save of the match.
The Dynamo almost netted a third late in the first half when midfielder Sebastian Kowalczyk delivered a ball from the right endline to Herrera, but his attempt went just over the crossbar. Kowalczyk earned his first start tonight and this was his second appearance of the season.
Real Salt Lake had the first chance after the weather delay, as Bode Hidalgo whipped a ball into the six-yard box from the right side. Despite traffic in the area, Steve Clark corralled the ball to end the danger. The veteran goalkeeper finished the match with one save and tallied his 10th clean sheet of the season, the most in a single season for the veteran goalkeeper who finished with eight clean sheets twice in his MLS career.
The Dynamo next host the Columbus Crew at Shell Energy Stadium on Wednesday, Aug. 30, with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT.
