Dynamo advance to semis with win over Impact
HOUSTON -- The Houston Dynamo advanced comfortably into the Eastern Conference semifinals with a 3-0 victory over the Montreal Impact on Thursday. Two goals from forward Will Bruin and a converted penalty from Oscar Boniek Garcia were all Houston needed thanks to a stingy defense led by goalkeeper Tally Hall.
"Sometimes it is fun being a goalkeeper and watching the team in front of you put on a performance (like that)," Hall said. "It makes soccer fun when you look around and everyone is playing their best soccer of the year."
When Houston struggled during the regular season, it was the team's inability to finish its chances that was the main culprit. Thursday, Houston had 14 chances, directing eight on target, including two goals from the run of play.
"I thought Will Bruin was excellent tonight," said Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear. "He took his bumps and he took his goals great. His work off the ball was more than commendable and it is good to see him scoring goals."
Bruin upped his playoff goal count to six in just 10 games.
He scored the game's opening goal in the 16th minute after receiving an impressive backheel pass from midfielder Ricardo Clark that sent the young forward in on goal. Bruin ripped his shot past Impact 'keeper Troy Perkins to give Houston an early lead.
The Dynamo extended their lead in the 27th minute when Oscar Boniek Garcia converted a penalty kick. Garcia stripped Montreal defender Hassoun Camara and streaked toward goal. As Garcia cut back, Hernan Bernardello collided with him and referee Mark Geiger immediately pointed to the spot.
Montreal had plenty of chances to pull a goal back. Marco Di Vaio had two quality chances in the 44th minute and the 61st minute, but Hall was up to the task on both efforts to hold the Impact scoreless.
"The match was not so bad at the beginning, but they went up by two, and that made it very difficult for us," said Montreal coach Marco Schallibaum. "We thought that if we could make it 2-1 in the second half, we'd have a chance, but then we got the red card."
Montreal suffered its first red card in the 70th minute when Nelson Rivas received his second yellow card of the night. Tempers flared late as well as a few physical altercations earlier in the match came to a head with Corey Ashe receiving a yellow and Montreal having both Di Vaio and Andres Romero ejected. The Impact finished the match having had three players sent off.
For the Impact, there was plenty to learn from the team's first playoff appearance and how poorly it ended the season.
"It's an experience," said Montreal defender Hassoun Camara. "Maybe a hard lesson for us to learn tonight, but we have to look toward the future and find a way to come back."
Bruin iced the game in the 72nd minute when he and defender Matteo Ferrari ran after a ball hit into the Montreal third. Bruin won the 50-50 chance and was in on goal, where he slotted home to make it 3-0.
"He's been knocked down quite a lot all night, but he kept plugging along and its one of those like 'you're not stopping me this time,'" Kinnear said of Bruin's second goal.
With the victory, the Dynamo extend their all-time home record in the MLS playoffs to 9-1, with their only home loss coming to the New York Red Bulls in 2008. The Dynamo will square off against the Red Bulls on Sunday in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
NOTES: The three Montreal players shown red cards will miss the first game of the season in 2014 as red cards received during the playoffs carry over to next season. ... Hall recorded his fourth playoff shutout. ... Montreal suffered its sixth shutout in its last eight games in MLS play and the Impact have just one victory in their last nine MLS games. ... With the victory, the Dynamo extended their record to 14-0-3 when scoring first. The best win percentage in MLS. ... Schallibaum opted to roll the dice with his starting lineup, inserting defender Rivas who last played in MLS on Sept. 15, 2012. ... The home team has won every match between these two teams.
