A Little Late, but Houston v. Dallas Report

The teams had played 90 minutes and it looked like Dallas, who was up 3-2, would finally win its first game at Robertson Stadium in Houston, but in the dawn of stoppage time, MLS rookie Geoff Cameron scored the equalizer for the Houston Dynamo. And Dallas returned home with only one point.

This past Sunday’s exciting 3-3 draw took place before a crowd of 20,102 soccer fans, many of whom were wearing the Dynamo’s distinctive orange, especially in the North End where the supporter group sections have been converted into terraces.

It was a day of firsts for the Dynamo, riddled with injuries and still suffering the loss of Rico Clark, who was suspended late last season for kicking Carlos Ruiz in the shoulder. The young Argentinian forward, Franco Carracio, made his first MLS start, as well as 3rd round draft pick, Geoff Cameron, a midfielder and a product of the University of Rhode Island.

Carracio managed his first MLS goal off of a Corey Ashe cross in the 20th minute, and things started looking good for the Dynamo who have dominated their north Texas rival these past two years.

But the Dynamo soon suffered a big blow in the 28th minute when goalkeeper Pat Onstad left the game due to a right shoulder injury that he incurred during a collision with Dallas’ Blake Wagner. This resulted in another first for Houston, the debut of back-up goalkeeper Tony Caig, who looked rusty and out of place, especially when Kenny Cooper scored his two goals, in the 35th and 44th minutes, for the Hoops.

In the 56th minute, Brian Ching managed to score the Dynamo’s second goal, bringing them even with Dallas, but that didn’t last long as Arturo Alvarez quickly responded in the 57th minute with a breakaway goal, putting Dallas in the lead once again.

The Dynamo and Geoff Cameron managed to equalize the game by taking advantage of the fact that instead of holding onto the ball and allowing time to expire, the Dallas players were pushing for another goal, leaving them vulnerable to Cameron’s fast break and resulting goal.

The Houston Dynamo’s next home game will be on May 3, when Chivas USA comes to town.