Houston Dynamo FC fell 2-1 on the road to the LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park tonight after scoring an early goal.
Houston took the lead in the 18th minute when midfielder Latif Blessing capitalized on a mistake from goalkeeper John McCarthy and buried the ball into the back of the net. The MLS veteran scored his first MLS goal for Houston in his 200th career league appearance.
Los Angeles equalized in the 44th minute when a right-sided delivery from Miki Yamane found the head of Gabriel Pec, whose shot found the inside of the far post.
The Galaxy scored a second goal in the 59th minute when Riqui Puig struck the ball from the edge of the penalty box to find the right side of the net.
Goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell, who made his first start since Houston’s last trip to the LA Galaxy in September 2023, was called into action in the sixth minute to make a diving save when a corner delivery found the head of Martín Cáceres. The veteran goalkeeper made four saves on the night and was playing in relief of Steve Clark, who picked up a face injury in the previous match.
Houston almost doubled the lead in the 20th minute when a cross from the right side from midfielder Adalberto “Coco” Carrasquilla met the foot of forward Amine Bassi, but the shot was saved by McCarthy. Blessing charged into clean up the rebound, but Yamane blocked the shot off the line.
Carrasquilla went for goal in the 39th minute after a long throw in from defender Griffin Dorsey, but his attempt went just over the crossbar.
Tarbell was called into action again in the 41st minute when Diego Fagúndez took his chances from deep. The 30-year-old calmly went to the ground to meet the ball before it challenged the net.
Tarbell kept the scoreline level before half with another key stop in the 49th minute when a quick pass to Puig in the box forced the goalkeeper to get low and deflect the ball behind goal.
Once again, Tarbell made another stop within the first few minutes of the second half, corralling Pec’s attempt from the left side.
Defender Erik Sviatchenko managed a header on target in the 54th minute on a corner delivery from Bassi, but his attempt into the ground was not strong enough to challenge McCarthy.
Midfielder Jefferson Valverde made his Dynamo debut in the 78th minute after Houston signed him from LDU Quito in Ecuador last month.
The Dynamo wrap up May’s slate of matches on Wednesday, May 29, returning to Shell Energy Stadium to host the Colorado Rapids, with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT. Houston defeated Colorado 1-0 with a stoppage time goal on the road earlier this season. Tickets for that match are available HERE.
