A second half surge sparked by forward Vicente Sánchez secured three points for the Houston Dynamo Saturday evening as they defeated the San Jose Earthquakes 3-0 at BBVA Compass Stadium.
The Honduran connection made an impact in the result as the Dynamo’s three Hondurans generated the first goal of the game. In the 20th minute, goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell deflected a blasting shot from forward Romell Quioto giving Houston a corner kick. Midfielder Boniek GarcÃa stepped up to the corner and delivered a cross to the middle of the box, finding forward Alberth Elis in the scrum. La Panterita headed the ball to the bottom left corner to give the Dynamo the lead.
Elis tallied his fourth assist of the season in the 86th minute after he nutmegged his defender on the edge of the box and his low cross found Sánchez making a run into the six yard box. The Uruguayan beat Tarbell to the ball and flicked his strike towards the far post.
The final goal of the game came seconds before the final whistle as Tarbell tried to clear a ball at the edge of the box. The ball bounced off Sánchez who salvaged a cross at the endline. The veteran found forward Mauro Manotas at the far post for his eight goal of the season.
As the first half came to an end the Quakes almost equalized, but goalkeeper Tyler Deric kept San Jose off the score sheet for his fourth clean sheet of the year. In the 46th minute, midfielder Jhamir Hyka took a free kick from the final third of the field to the middle of the box. Midfielder Danny Hoesen headed the ball on goal, but Deric handled the ball safely with one hand.
The Dynamo started fast in the second half and earned a penalty kick in the 46th minute after defender Andres Imperiale brought down forward Erick Torres inside the box. El Cubo took his penalty kick low and to the right, but was saved by Tarbell.
In the 62nd minute, midfielder Tomás MartÃnez made his MLS debut with the Dynamo when he came in as a sub for midfielder Ricardo Clark.
The Dynamo will continue the 2017 season, presented by 76, on Saturday, August 19 at 9:00 p.m. CDT against Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place.
Houston Dynamo (10-7-7, 37 pts.) vs. San Jose Earthquakes (9-10-5, 32 pts.)
MLS Week 23
August 12, 2017 – Houston, Texas
Attendance: 16,344
Scoring Summary:
HOU: Alberth Elis 7 (Boniek Garcia 4) 21
HOU: Vicente Sanchez 1 (Alberth Elis 4) 86
HOU: Mauro Manotas 8 (Vicente Sanchez 1) 90+4
Lineups:
Houston Dynamo: Tyler Deric; A.J. DeLaGarza, Adolfo Machado, Leonardo, DaMarcus Beasley; Ricardo Clark © (Tomas Martinez 62), Juan David Cabezas, Boniek GarcÃa; Alberth Elis, Erick Torres (Mauro Manotas 62), Romell Quioto (Vicente Sanchez 78)
Unused Substitutes: Joe Willis, Dylan Remick, Jalil Anibaba, Andrew Wenger
Total shots: 17 (Alberth Elis 4); Shots on goal: 7 (Romell Quioto and Albert Elis tied with 2); Fouls: 13 (Juan David Cabezas 3); Offside: 0; Corner kicks: 1 (Boniek Garcia 1); Saves: 3 (Tyler Deric 3)
San Jose Earthquakes: Andrew Tarbell; Nick Lima, Francois Affloter, Andres Imperiale, Florian Jungwirth; Danny Hoesen, Anibal Goday, Fatai Alashe (Tommy Thompson 60), Jahmir Hyka (Vako 62); Chris Wondoloswki ©, Marco Ureña (Quincy Amarikwa 80)
Unused Substitutes: David Bingham, Victor Bernardez, Kofi Sarkodie, Shea Salinas
Total shots: 12 (Danny Hoesen 5); Shots on goal: 3 (Danny Hoesen 2); Fouls: 15 (Andres Imperiale, Anibal Godoy and Marco Ureña tied with 3); Offside: 1 (Quincy Amarikwa); Corner kicks: 1 (Jahmir Hyka 1); Saves: 4 ( Andrew Tarbell 4)
Discipline:
HOU: Alberth Elis (caution; simulation) 39
SJ: Andres Imperiale (caution; foul) 48
HOU: Boniek GarcÃa (caution; foul) 50
SJ: Fatai Alashe (caution; foul) 59
OFFICIALS
Referee: Ricardo Salazar
Assistant Referee 1: Jeffrey Greeson
Assistant Referee 2: Felisha Mariscal
Fourth Official: Baboucarr Jallow
VAR: Juan Guzman
