Houston Dynamo 2 fell 2-1 to Tacoma Defiance on Wednesday night at SaberCats Stadium, despite creating several dangerous chances in the second half.
Dos have two regular season matches remaining in their push for the MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs, including one at home against the Portland Timbers and one on the road versus Tacoma.
Notably, the match saw midfielder Matthew Arana make his first professional start after making his professional debut at 14 years, 10 months and 28 days old on July 25, making him the second-youngest player to debut for Dynamo Dos this season.
Tacoma opened the scoring in the 17th minute when Charlie Gaffney played a through ball for Yu Tsukanome inside the box. Tsukanome took a touch before finishing into the back of the net.
Houston leveled the match in the 29th minute when midfielder Noah Betancourt played the ball wide to defender Juan Viveros on the right flank. Viveros sent a pass to Arana, who then slipped the ball back to Betancourt at the near post for a right-footed finish. The play marked Betancourt’s first professional goal and Arana’s first professional assist.
The visitors regained the lead in the 39th minute from a set piece, as a free kick from Rafferty Pedder found Leo Burney in the box for the finish.
Dos’ first dangerous chance came in the ninth minute when goalkeeper Pedro Cruz launched a ball from his own half that found midfielder Erik Dueñas inside the right side of the box. Dueñas took a first-time shot towards the near post, but goalkeeper Noah Newman made the save.
Defender Nicolas “Nico” Ramos tested Newman again in the 27th minute with a right-footed strike from the right half-space outside the box, forcing a save in the middle of the goal.
Houston created another dangerous chance in the 55th minute when midfielder Enrique Correa fired from distance towards the top right corner to force a diving save from Newman.
Cruz was called into action in the 70th minute when Sebastian Gomez broke through for a one-on-one chance, but the Brazilian stayed well positioned to make the save at the lower right corner of the frame.
Houston’s final opportunity came four minutes later when forward Myles Gardner delivered a cross from the left side to forward Tomás Romero, who played a first touch pass to forward Stephen Annor inside the box. Annor took a left-footed shot from the left side, but Newman was there again2 to deny the effort.
Houston next host Portland Timbers 2 on Sunday, Sept. 21, at SaberCats Stadium, with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT.
