Photo by ISIphotos.com
Hey John Spencer, your Houston Dynamo reserves just won the MLS Reserve Division. Where are you going next?
To San Salvador!
That’s right, fresh off clinching the most least coveted title in Major League Soccer, the Dynamo reserves won an all-expenses paid trip to San Salvador to play in the CONCACAF Champions League Tuesday night against Luis Angel Firpo.
The match, which ended in a 1-1 draw, was important in terms of advancing from Group B to the knockout stages. But because the two-time defending MLS Cup champions were playing the opening game of the Western Conference Semifinal Series at Giants Stadium in four days, nearly every Dynamo starter remained in Houston.
With the exception of Stuart Holden, who wore the captain’s armband, the lineup was the same that defeated the Chivas USA reserves in front of thousands dozens in Carson, Calif. on Sunday morning. Holden got on the end of a Geoff Cameron throw and, after Luis Angel Firpo defender Carlos Calderon whiffed on a clearing chance, tucked the ball to the left of goalkeeper Henry Hernandez in the 16th minute to give Houston a 1-0 lead.
But Luis Angel Firpo equalized three minutes from full time when substitute Ramon Patricio Avila beat Caig to a cross from Carlos Monteagudo at the near post and Fernando Leguizamon picked up the scrapes in front of the goal, putting the ball through the legs of Mike Chabala, who was on the line.
Houston, which remains unbeaten in three road matches in the inaugural competition, is still in third place with six points, two points behind Luis Angel Firpo and three behind Pumas UNAM, which booked its passage into the knockout stages. The final match of the group stage is Nov. 26, three days after MLS Cup, when Dynamo host Luis Angel Firpo at Robertson Stadium. Houston needs a win to advance.