Dynamo 2, Fire 1
HOUSTON -- The Houston Dynamo made MLS history Sunday with their 2-1 win over the Chicago Fire at BBVA Compass Stadium. Brad Davis took a pass from Kofi Sarkodie and beat Chicago goalkeeper Sean Johnson with a 30-yard bending shot in the 81st minute to give Houston the victory.
With the win, Houston (4-2-0) set the MLS record for consecutive home matches without a loss (all competitions) with 35. The streak includes regular-season, playoff and Champions League matches and surpassed the mark set by Real Salt Lake from 2009-2011.
The Dynamo also tied the MLS record for the most consecutive games without a regular-season loss with 29. Real Salt Lake did the same during their aforementioned run. Houston has not lost at home in more than 21 months; their last home defeat was on June 18, 2011, a 2-0 loss to Columbus at Robertson Stadium.
The Fire' best chance to tie came in the 84th minute on a free kick, but Jeff Larentowicz hit the crossbar and Houston cleared the rebound.
The Dynamo and Fire (1-4-1) traded goals in the first half and went into the half tied 1-1.
Houston opened the scoring in the 26th minute when Davis made a nice move to get past Wells Thompson and found Will Bruin with space in the box. The cross was perfect, and Bruin headed the pass off the turf and into the net past Chicago goalkeeper Sean Johnson for his second goal of the season.
The lead was short-lived. The Fire struck three minutes later when Chris Rolfe settled a loose ball at the top of the area and fired a shot high into the net in the 29th minute. For Rolfe, it was his first goal of the year.
In the 13th minute, the Dynamo had its first scoring chance when Jalil Anibaba was whistled for a foul near the top of the box. On the ensuing free kick, Brad Davis sent a bending shot toward the left corner, but Johnson read the play and stopped the shot.
After both teams scored, Houston nearly notched its second lead of the match in the 39th minute when Barnes got just behind the Chicago defense. His attempted was snuffed out in the box by Johnson.
Both teams were quiet in the second half until Houston's Andrew Driver found some space down the right flank in the 63rd minute. Driver got by the first wave of defense unmarked, but his low shot skipped off Johnson, who made several nice saves in the match to earn a point for the Fire.
Chicago's Santos countered in the 70th minute, but the centering pass to him was just too far off the left post.
