Friday, June 27, 2008

FC Dallas 1, Houston Dynamo 1

By Erin Rice

FC Dallas entered Thursday night’s game 1-4-2 on the road thus far this season, tying the last two matches facing their in-state rival, the Houston Dynamo. Houston would jump ahead in the 21st minute on a Brian Ching header. I would tell you more about the first half, but the WNBA game playing before on ESPN2 ran into several overtimes, meaning soccer fans missed the entire first half of action.

Not El Capitan, but you can imagine.

Report from someone actually at the game, here.

But, us television viewers got to watch from the 2nd half on and if you were an FCD fan, perhaps it was all for the best. According to announcers, the first half was a bit sketchy for Dallas, who gave up six shots while only taking one of their own. Between the 45th and 55th minutes, it seemed like the theme of the first half might run into the second, as Houston broke into Dallas’ penalty box several time, getting good looks on goal.

Starting in the 56th minute, however, the tide turned. Kenny Cooper was played a ball over the Houston defense. Goalkeeper Pat Onstad came off his line to retrieve the ball, making contact with Cooper to win the call. Minutes later, Toja screamed a volley towards net but was denied by Onstad.

After several valid attempts in the late 50th minutes, Dallas finally found the net. In the 62nd minute, Toja received the ball on the left sideline before sending a cross in to an unmarked Kenny Cooper. Jumping in the air, Cooper easily headed the ball into the lower right corner to tie up the game.

With the goal, FC Dallas takes home El Capitan, the cannon awarded to the winner of the rival teams series each season. This marks the first time in three years FC Dallas has won the honor. And, once again, the Houston Dynamo left the game and headed to their homes, in Houston, which is like losing El Capitan every single day of your hot, humid existence.

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