Houston Dynamo FC falls to LA Galaxy

Houston Dynamo fell 2-1 on the road to the LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park this evening after scoring an early goal.

Houston took the lead in the 18th minute when midfielder Blessing Latif took advantage of a mistake by goalkeeper John McCarthy and buried the ball in the back of the net. The MLS veteran scored his first MLS goal for Houston in his 200th career league appearance.

Los Angeles equalized in the 44th minute when a shot from the right side by Miki Yamane found the head of Gabriel Pec, whose shot found the inside of the far post.

The Galaxy scored a second goal in the 59th minute when Riqui Puig hit the ball from the edge of the penalty area to find the right side of the net.

Goalie Andrew Tarbell, making his first start since Houston’s last trip to the LA Galaxy in September 2023, was called into action in the sixth minute to make a diving save when a corner found the head of Martín Cáceres. The veteran goalkeeper made four saves in the evening and played in relief of Steve Clarkwho injured his face in the previous match.

Houston almost doubled the lead in the 20th minute on a cross from the right side of midfield. Adalberto “Coco” Carrasquilla met the attacker’s foot Amine Bassi, but the shot was saved by McCarthy. Blessing charged to clean up the rebound, but Yamane blocked the shot off the line.

Carrasquilla scored in the 39th minute after a long throw-in from the defender Griffin Dorseybut his attempt went just over the crossbar.

Tarbell was called into action again in the 41st minute when Diego Fagúndez tried his luck from deep. The 30-year-old calmly went to the ground to meet the ball before it challenged the net.

Tarbell kept the score going before half-time with another key save in the 49th minute when a quick pass to Puig in the box forced the goalkeeper to come down and deflect the ball behind the goal.

Once again, Tarbell made another save in the opening minutes of the second half, pushing away Pec’s attempt from the left side.

Defender Erik Sviatchenko had a header on target in the 54th minute from a Bassi corner, but his attempt into the ground was not strong enough to challenge McCarthy.

Midfielder Jefferson Valverde made his Dynamo debut in the 78th minute after Houston signed him from LDU Quito in Ecuador last month.

Dynamo will close the list of matches for the month of May on Wednesday, May 29, returning to Shell Energy Stadium to host the Colorado Rapids, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. CT. Houston beat Colorado 1-0 with an overtime goal on the road earlier this season. Tickets for this match are available HERE.