Sebastián Ferreira scores hat-trick in victory

WASHINGTON — Sebastián Ferreira scored three second-half goals to rally the Houston Dynamo to a 4-1 victory over DC United, which lost two players to red cards Saturday night.

Neither team scored until Christian Benteke fouled and converted a penalty kick in the 38th minute to give DC United (4-9-7) a halftime lead. It was the 14th goal of the season, but the first in June for Benteke, who trails Real Salt Lake’s Cristian “Chicho” Arango by two for the league lead. Benteke got the PK after being fouled by Dynamo midfielder José Artur de Lima Júnior.

It was all Houston (7-6-6) from there.

Dynamo took the lead early in the second half when Ferreira scored twice. He leveled the score in the 51st minute on a penalty and gave Dynamo the lead in the 54th when he scored unassisted with a right-footed shot from the center of the area to the bottom left corner of the net.

Ferreira, making only his second start and seventh appearance of the season, won the PK after a handball on DC defender Matai Akinmboni. Ferreira completed his hat trick in the 86th minute with assists from defenders Brad Smith and Daniel Steres. The goals were Ferreira’s first since scoring in a 2–1 win over the San Jose Earthquakes on March 30. It was the first hat trick on the road in franchise history.

Smith and Steres both had assists in the fifth minute of stoppage time when Gabriel Segal scored for the third time this season. Smith’s assists were his first of the season, while Steres had three.

DC United lost Benteke to a red card in the 66th minute and Akinmboni down one in the fourth minute of added time.

Tyler Miller totaled four saves in his second start of the season for DC United. Miller made three saves to keep Houston from scoring in the first half.

Steve Clark stopped two shots for Houston.

DC United saw their winless streak reach eight – 0-6-2 – in their first season under Troy Lesesne. The club has not won since May 11.

Houston coach Ben Olsen played 11 seasons for DC United, helping them win the MLS Cup in 1999 and 2004. He was DC’s coach for 11 years. This was Olsen’s first trip to DC since parting ways with the club in 2020.

Houston leads the all-time series 16-7-5 with a goal differential of 49-29.

Dynamo returns home to face Charlotte FC on Saturday. DC United hits the road to face the New York Red Bulls on Saturday.