After the night Nick Rimando had in goal for Real Salt Lake, there's no question he'd like to have one moment back.
Rimando, who saved a Brad Davis penalty and a point-blank Will Bruin header late in the second half, committed a foul on Mac Kandji that led to a last-second penalty, one that Colin Clark converted to give the Houston Dynamo a 1-0 victory over RSL at BBVA Compass Stadium Thursday night.
The three-point haul puts the Dynamo back in third place in the Eastern Conference, a point clear of Chicago and three clear of Columbus, although both teams have games in hand on Houston. Salt Lake, meanwhile, saw its three-game unbeaten streak in all competitions come to an end in brutal fashion.
Prior to the-last second drama, it appeared that RImando, who will join the U.S. men's national team for its match against Jamaica on Tuesday, would be the hero. Following a foul on Chris Schuler in the area, Rimando stuffed Davis' 76th-minute penalty attempt, diving to his left to reject the Houston captain.
Rimando came up huge again in the 82nd minute, denying Bruin off a well-placed cross from Corey Ashe. Houston goalkeeper Tally Hall matched Rimando's heroics down the stretch, making a pair of tremendous saves — one off a Nat Borchers header and another on a Ned Grabavoy breakaway — to keep Houston's unblemished home record intact.
The deadlock was snapped in stoppage time, as Rimando raced off his line to try and punch a ball away only to collide with Kandji and knee him in the back. Clark blasted his penalty down the center for the game-winner, one that snapped Houston's four-game winless stretch in league play.
Here are the match highlights:
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