March 05, 2007
The Houston Dynamo are through to the CONCACAF Champions' Cup semifinals after defeating Puntarenas FC, 2-0, Thursday night at the Aggie Soccer Stadium; advancing past their Costa Rican rivals 2-1 on aggregate.
Paul Dalglish scored the opener for the home side in the 27th minute, and Kelly Gray notched the deciding goal in the 74th, both coming through close-range strikes off rebounds. The goals overturned a 1-0 deficit the Dynamo faced after the first leg 0-1 loss in Puntarenas, Costa Rica eight days earlier.
In clinching the first Champions' Cup win since 2000 by an MLS team against a Costa Rican team, Dynamo move on to face Mexican club Pachuca in the semis. The defending Copa Sudamericana champions, Pachuca will travel to Houston for the first leg on March 14 in the Dynamo's home - Robertson Stadium. The teams will meet again in Pachuca on April 5.
On the large, well-groomed field at the Aggie Soccer Stadium, the Dynamo had plenty of room to move, and their passing was much crisper than it had been on the bumpy pitch in Puntarenas last week. Nearly 4,300 fans packed into the stadium which will also host this year's NCAA Women's College Cup, providing a tremendous home field advantage for the MLS Cup Champion Dynamo.
"This was a great night of soccer for our community," said Texas A&M coach G Guerrieri. "As a fan of MLS and the Dynamo, I'm proud that they enjoyed their visit to Aggieland, and thankful that they provided such a great experience to soccer fans here in College Station."
Dynamo took advantage of the spacious pitch, using the wings to stretch the Puntarenas defense. The home side also benefited from an advantage in size; they clattered two headers off the post from corner kicks, and the series-winning goal came off a rebound from a headed free kick. The reward: a two-leg semifinal series against Mexico's Pachuca, beginning on March 14.
"I thought the result did us justice. I thought our team played hard, and we definitely deserved to win," said Dynamo defender Kelly Gray, who scored the winner. "We came here playing on the offensive throughout the game. We now brace for Pachuca, which we feel is a better team than Puntarenas, no disrespect to tonight's opponent."
(Game recap courtesy www.HoustonDynamo.com)