NEW YORK – Will Bruin and David Villa traded first-half goals Saturday evening as New York City FC and the Houston Dynamo played to a 1-1 draw at Yankee Stadium.
It was Villa’s penalty kick in first-half stoppage time that won the point for the hosts after falling behind on Bruin’s goal in the 16th minute.
Still, NYCFC’s woeful stretch of results is stretched to 11 straight games without a win, and they sit in last place in the Eastern Conference with eight points from 13 games.
Houston bounced back from their loss last weekend the LA Galaxy, putting them in a tie for seventh place in the West with 17 points from 14 games.
NYCFC had the better of the run of play in the first half but conceded in the first 30 minutes of a match for the ninth time when Bruin first-timed David Horst’s headed pass off a corner kick past NYCFC goalkeeper Josh Saunders.
The hosts continued to control possession but struggled to create chances.
Their best look at a goal in early action came just two minutes into the match when Sebastian Velasquez laid off for Villa, who struck a right-footed curler that sizzled just outside the far post.
NYCFC would catch a break on the stroke of halftime when Houston defender Raúl Rodríguez handled inside the box. Villa drove his spot kick past Houston goalkeeper Tyler Deric, who guessed right but was unable to reach the drive.
NYCFC gained footing as the game went along, and had a number of looks at a potential game winner with Mix Diskerud and second-half substitute Kwadwo Poku becoming more active in the attack.
In the 89th minute, Poku created his team’s best chance with bullish run to the left corner for a cross back to Jeb Brovsky for a diving header that Deric turned away with a fine diving save. Brovsky had another strong opportunity minutes later on the far post but side-footed his effort wide and the game ended in a share of points.
Houston nearly found a game winner of their own in the 83rd minute, when Giles Barnes got free in the box for a one-on-one with Saunders, who was able to turn away the close-range attempt.
The Dynamo return to action when they play host to the New York Red Bulls on June 5, while NYCFC will travel to Philadelphia to take on the Union on June 6.
Houston Dynamo (4-5-5, 17 points) at New York City FC (1-7-5, 8 points)
MLS regular season
May 30, 2015 — Yankee Stadium, New York City, New York
Attendance: 26,211
Scoring Summary
Houston: Will Bruin 5 (David Horst 2, Alexander López 2) 16
New York City: David Villa 3 (penalty) 45+1
Houston Dynamo: Tyler Deric; Raúl Rodríguez, David Horst, Jermaine Taylor, DaMarcus Beasley; Boniek García (Rob Lovejoy 78), Luis Garrido, Ricardo Clark, Alexander López; Giles Barnes ©, Will Bruin
Substitutes Not Used: Joe Willis, Kofi Sarkodie, Alex, Leonel Miranda, Zach Steinberger, Chandler Hoffman
New York City FC: Josh Saunders; Jeb Brovsky, Jason Hernandez, Shay Facey, Chris Wingert; Sebastian Velasquez (Khiry Shelton 58), Mehdi Ballouchy (Kwadwo Poku 68), Mix Diskerud, Andrew Jacobson; Adam Nemec (Patrick Mullins 79), David Villa ©
Substitutes Not Used: Ryan Meara, Connor Brandt, Kwame Watson-Siriboe, Thomas McNamara
Disciplinary Summary
NYC: Chris Wingert (caution) 32
HOU: Ricardo Clark (caution) 35
HOU: Luis Garrido (caution) 54
NYC: Jason Hernandez (caution) 79
HOU: Raúl Rodríguez (caution) 90+5
Referee: Sorin Stoica
Assistant Referees: Claudiu Badea, Eric Weisbrod
Fourth Official: Mathieu Bourdeau
