The Houston Dynamo saw their two-game winning streak come to an end with a 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake Wednesday night at Rio Tinto Stadium.
The Dynamo, who had come from behind to win each of the last two games, rallied from a goal down yet again, bouncing back from a 1-0 halftime deficit to equalize in the 75th minute, but a goal from RSL midfielder Kyle Beckerman seven minutes later put the hosts back on top for good.
Salt Lake had the majority of possession early in the contest, but Dynamo goalkeeper Joe Willis and a back line that featured a pair of new faces did enough to maintain the shutout through the first half hour. Defenders Adam Lundkvist and Jared Watts each made his debut for the club – and in Lundkvist’s case, his Major League Soccer debut – on the night, starting at right back and right center back, respectively.
In the 34th minute, Real Salt Lake broke through when forward Sebastián Saucedo sent a cross from the left flank into the center of the box, finding forward Luis Silva. The center forward headed the ball down into the lower right corner of the net to give the home team the lead.
Eight minutes later, Houston nearly equalized when forward Mauro Manotas hustled to get onto a loose ball and picked out midfielder Tomás MartÃnez at the six-yard box, but his right-footed shot was kept out by a diving effort from RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando, sending the game to halftime with the hosts up 1-0.
Fifteen minutes from full time, Houston’s Honduran attacking trio combined to level the match. Midfielder Boniek GarcÃa started the attacking move, playing the ball to forward Romell Quioto on the left wing. Quioto cut inside and sent a cross into the center of the box, finding forward Alberth Elis, who rose above the Salt Lake defense and drove a powerful header into the left side of the net, leaving Rimando with no chance.
Salt Lake regained the lead for good in the 82nd minute off of a corner kick from Saucedo. The forward sent his corner to the far post, where midfielder Damir Kreilach chested it down into the path of Beckerman, who fired a low left-footed shot past Willis and into the net.
The Dynamo had one final threat on goal in the 86th minute thanks to former RSL midfielder Luis Gil. Just three minutes after coming on, he sent a header on target off of a free kick from Lundkvist, but Rimando was there again with a diving save.
The Houston Dynamo will travel directly to Canada on Thursday to prepare for their third match in nine days when they take on the Montreal Impact on Saturday, June 2 at 6:30 p.m. CDT (KUBE 57).
Real Salt Lake (6-6-1; 19 pts.) 2-1 Houston Dynamo (5-4-3; 18 pts.)
MLS Regular Season Week 14
May 30, 2018 – Rio Tinto Stadium – Sandy, Utah
Attendance: 16,613
SCORING SUMMARY:
RSL: Luis Silva 2 (Sebastián Saucedo 2, Brooks Lennon 3) 34
HOU: Alberth Elis 8 (Romell Quioto 6) 75
RSL: Kyle Beckerman 1 (Sebastián Saucedo 3, Danilo Kreilach 4) 82
LINEUPS:
Real Salt Lake: Nick Rimando ©; Danilo Acosta, Justen Glad, Marcelo Silva, Brooks Lennon; Sunny (Kyle Beckerman 64), Damir Kreilach, Nick Besler; Sebastián Saucedo, Luis Silva (Corey Baird 67), Jefferson Savarino (Joao Plata 75)
Unused subs: Connor Sparrow, Aaron Herrera, David Horst, Pablo Ruiz
Total shots: 12 (Sebastián Saucedo 5); Shots on goal: 5 (Sebastián Saucedo 2); Fouls: 12 (Damir Kreilach 4); Offside: 5 (Jefferson Savarino 2); Corner kicks: 3 (Sebastián Saucedo 3); Saves: 5 (Nick Rimando 5)
Houston Dynamo: Joe Willis; Adam Lundkvist, Jared Watts (Kevin Garcia 46), Leonardo, DaMarcus Beasley ©; Eric Alexander, Tomás MartÃnez (Luis Gil 83), Boniek GarcÃa; Alberth Elis, Mauro Manotas (Arturo Alvarez 66), Romell Quioto
Unused subs: Chris Seitz, Eric Bird, Memo Rodriguez, Andrew Wenger
Total shots: 12 (Romell Quioto 4); Shots on goal: 6 (Alberth Elis 2); Fouls: 7 (Adam Lundkvist, Romell Quioto 2); Offside: 0; Corner kicks: 7 (Adam Lundkvist, Romell Quioto 2); Saves: 3 (Joe Willis 3)
DISCIPLINE:
HOU: Tomás MartÃnez (caution; foul) 28
HOU: Eric Alexander (caution; foul) 70
HOU: Romell Quioto (caution; other) 90+5
RSL: Marcelo Silva (caution; foul) 90+7
OFFICIALS:
Referee: Dave Gantar
Assistant Referee 1: Nick Uranga
Assistant Referee 2: TJ Zablocki
Fourth Official: Nima Saghafi
VAR: Edvin Jurisevic
