Saturday, April 20, 2019

Houston Dynamo drops heartbreaker in final minutes to LA Galaxy


By Chris Price
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (April 19, 2019) The Houston Dynamo dropped their record to 4-1-1 (13 points) with a 2-1 loss to the LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California on Friday evening. 


The Galaxy scored in the 31st minute on a penalty kick by Zlata Ibrahimovic. The Dynamo responded with their own penalty kick by forward Alberth Elis in the 53rd minute. Diego Polenta nailed the game clincher in the 88th minute to give Houston their first loss of the season. Elis scored for the fourth consecutive game when he converted the penalty kick. The scoring streak is the longest of his MLS career. In addition, he improved to five-for-five in his MLS career on penalty attempts and started for the 50th time in league play with the Dynamo and made his 61st career league appearance.


Midfielder Boniek García made his 201st appearance for the Dynamo in all competitions this evening, which placed him in a tie with former Houston FW Will Bruin for sixth on the club’s all-time list.  TheDynamo and the Galaxy each had 13 shots in the game. It was the first time this season that the Dynamo and their opponent were level on shots. Houston’s 450 total passes were the second-most in a game this season, behind only their 494 passes against Montreal on March 9.


The Galaxy struck first when Ibrahimovic converted the penalty kick. It was the third time this year that Houston conceded the game’s opening goal, and the Dynamo are now 1-1-1 in those games. Los Angeles also had the better of possession, holding the ball for 51.3 percent of the game. It was the fourth time this season that the Dynamo had less possession than their opponent, and they are now 3-1-0 in those games.


The Dynamo return home to BBVA Compass Stadium on Saturday, April 27 to host Columbus Crew SC for the club’s inaugural End Cancer Night, presented by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. 

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