Superliga - Houston over America while DC United and Morelia draw

Group B of the Superliga opened Wednesday night as 10 man Morelia were able to grab a draw with DC United and Houston put on a dominating display in a win over America.  The first round of group play saw the MLS teams go undefeated in the 4 games, winning 2 and drawing 2.

DC United 1  Morelia 1
Carrying a one-goal advantage thanks to more Christian Gomez freekick magic, and also with a man advantage after a second-half red card, D.C. United were stunningly pulled back by a wicked strike from Diego Martinez to give Monarcas Morelia the equalizing goal and leave the teams with a 1-1 draw Wednesday night at RFK Stadium in their SuperLiga Group B opener.

Gomez had staked United to a lead after just seven minutes, and when Luis Angel Lundin was sent off 10 minutes after the break, United seemed to be home free. But Martinez's full-blooded volley 11 minutes from the end gave Monarcas a vital tying goal.  D.C. coach Tom Soehn made a somewhat surprising alteration to his back line, benching veteran Greg Vanney in favor of Devon McTavish at center back and moving Josh Gros to the right back position as lefty Marc Burch got the nod at left back for a second consecutive match. Rod Dyachenko led the strike pair alongside Luciano Emilio with Jamie Moreno nursing a strained hamstring.

For their part, Monarcas Morelia elected to use a 5-3-2 formation, with rising Mexican star Landin paired with Brazilian Marcio Batista up top as Wanderson de Souza and Uruguayan Gonzalo Choy were called upon to run the midfield engine room.  Early on, United looked a bit disjointed in the face of Morelia's lively pressure, but took full advantage of a seventh-minute set piece to grab the lead. After Luciano Emilio was taken down just outside the Monarcas penalty area, Gomez stepped up and bent a beautifully flighted drive around the outside of the three-man wall and just inside Moises Munoz's left-hand post.

Munoz had shuffled across the face of goal quickly but could not reach the nearly unstoppable shot as Gomez wheeled away celebrating United's 1-0 advantage.  Morelia threatened in the 18th minute when Marcio Batista got free down the right flank and whipped a far-post delivery right to the head of Landin, but the Mexican international tried to nod it back across goal to Wanderson and Perkins was quick to step up and pluck the soft floater out of the air.

Monarcas were winning more than their share of free kicks in the United half and defender Horacio Cervantes used one to test Troy Perkins with a low, driven shot from distance, but the D.C. netminder gobbled up the effort with minimal fuss.  With his early goal Gomez looked full of confidence and he tried to surprise Munoz with a dipping blast from all of 35 yards out that caught the Morelia netminder napping, only to flash just wide of the left post.  United were gradually coming to grips with the Mexicans' high-pressure approach by pinging the ball around quickly with one- and two-touch passing, and that sort of quick movement should have doubled their advantage in the 35th minute.

After an extended string of D.C. possession, Fred set Dyachenko loose with a cheeky, nutmegged through ball down the left channel, and the second-year striker did well to carry deep into the Morelia box and draw Munoz off his line before squaring to Emilio in the middle. But with an empty net at his mercy, the Brazilian hitman looped his shot over the top of the crossbar when the ball took a sudden bobble off a seam on RFK's covered baseball infield.

Morelia had the best initial chance after the break. A poorly-placed pass by Brian Carroll gifted the ball to Wanderson deep in the United half in the 51st minute, but with time, space and options provided by his teammates the Brazilian hesitated before slapping a shot straight into Perkins' hands.  Tempers erupted in the 55th minute when Landin and Bobby Boswell clashed near midfield. The Mexican looked to have fouled United's center back first and Boswell kicked out in response, but the hot-heated Landin upped the ante by shoving his adversary as referee Courtney Campbell arrived at the scene.

After an interminable delay in which the referee consulted both the nearby linesman and fourth official Alex Prus, he finally produced a straight red card for Landin and a caution for Boswell as the RFK crowd roared its approval.  But they were less pleased when Campbell waved off penalty appeals as Emilio dribbled into the Monarcas penalty area and went to ground under the challenge of defender Hugo Sanchez.

The visitors were growing increasingly frustrated, yet Wilson Tiago came agonizingly close to leveling matters for his shorthanded side when drilled a low shot that beat Perkins, only to clang off the base of the far post and back into the netminder's grateful arms.  Moments later Morelia wasted another opportunity when Choy hit right at Perkins after somehow getting in behind both Gros and Boswell. Soehn went to his bench shortly thereafter, throwing on big targetman Nicholas Addlery in place of the tiring Dyachenko.

With the advantage, United started to pour forward with success. Emilio created another great chance for himself with a perceptive dummy in the 69th minute, letting Olsen's pass roll on to Addlery as he raced forward to latch onto the Jamaican's return pass and toe-poke a hard, knuckling shot that Munoz did well to parry wide.  Burch's 76th-minute cross into the Monarcas box created confusion that nearly lead to an own goal when Tiago slid in to clear as Munoz came off his line, and the 'keeper could only watch helplessly as the ball trickled over the endline wide of the left post.

But just when D.C. seemed comfortably in control, some lazy backtracking gave Morelia a priceless equalizer in the 79th minute. After Boswell poked the ball away from Choy on the United right, substitute Adrian Aldrete alertly switched play to Martinez on the far side and with Fred arriving late to his defensive duties, the former Chivas man had time to rip a sensational volley over Perkins and into the upper left corner of the net.  United responded by pushing Gros further up the right flank and throwing numbers into the attack, searching for the win but risking counterattacks as well. Taking a pass from Gomez in the dying minutes, Gros cut inside and lofted a cross to the far post that Addlery attacked well, but his header deflected off a defender and spun over the endline.

McTavish earned the first of United's many corner kicks in injury time and Emilio nodded a sharp header down towards the lower corner, only to see Munoz slap it away with a desperate dive. Later Gomez met Olsen's short corner with a low, spinning shot to the far post that was cleared off the line by Martinez.  But Campbell blew the final whistle not long after, handing ten-man Monarcas a fortunate 1-1 draw as the frustrated home side applauded their fans before trudging off the RFK turf.

Houston 1  America 0
Houston Dynamo continued to stamp their credentials as the top club in Major League Soccer, the defending MLS Cup champions knocking off Mexican giant Club America 1-0 on Wednesday night at Robertson Stadium in the SuperLiga opener for both clubs.  Nate Jaqua scored Dynamo's only goal in the 41st minute, and the Dynamo defense continued to perform as they have been to record-setting levels in league play, making sure America were limited to few clear chances as the Orange moved to the top of Group B with the victory.

There were chances for both sides early on, but neither 'keeper even had to handle the ball. In the seventh minute, Club America's Lucas Castroman took a shot from outside the penalty area that went high. Dynamo went to the other end and Craig Waibel let one fly from outside the area on the right, but it stayed wide right.  In the 12th minute, America's Oscar Rojas was well-placed in the middle of the area, but he too missed wide right. Four minutes later Dynamo playmaker Dwayne De Rosario let loose a bullet from 35 yards out that also went wide right.

But from the outset Dynamo looked to attack and started to pin America in their own end. In the 25th minute, Waibel sent a pass into the middle of the box where Jaqua was waiting, but Jaqua's header went wide right. Three minutes later, Brian Mullan tried to cross from the right flank into the center of the area where Jaqua was charging in for a header, but the cross was knocked clear by a diving Armando Navarrete. Stuart Holden picked up the ball and attempted a shot from the left side of the area, but his shot went wide of the far side.  The Orange continued to have America somewhat on the ropes. Jaqua again came close on a 35th-minute corner kick, but his header went well wide. From the restart, Mullan stole the ball and fired high from outside the restraining arc.

Then in the 37th minute, from another corner, Patrick Ianni headed Holden's service right into the ground in front of the goalmouth, and Club America was able to clear.  The Dynamo pressure finally paid off in the 41st minute off a long throw-in from Waibel. The throw-in bounced across the box, and Holden picked it up in the left side of the area. He faked one defender and went toward the end line where he crossed the ball back toward the goal and found Jaqua on the right side of the goalmouth, who had only to tap it into the empty net in front of him.

Down a goal, Club America was spurred into action, and won a free kick just outside the penalty arc, but Salvador Cabanas put the chance wide left.  In first-half stoppage time, Eddie Robinson was booked by referee Samir Osman for a tackle from behind, and America's German Villa also was booked for dissent following Robinson's booking. Off the free kick, Frederico Insua fired a bullet from outside the area on the right that Onstad caught to end the first half.

In the 50th minute, Jaqua was robbed of his second goal of the game by Navarrete. From another corner kick from the left, Jaqua again got onto the end of it at the back post, but Navarrete was there to bat out his clear header. The ensuing corner kick was knocked out of the area to Ianni, who fired a bullet from the left, but Navarrete again made the save.  On the hour mark, Richard Mulrooney took a pass from Holden in the middle of the field and fired away from 35 yards out, but Navarrete kept it a 1-0 deficit with a diving save to his right.  Onstad hadn't been asked to do much on the night, but Insua nearly pulled America level in the 65th minute by faking a Houston defender right and going left, but his shot from left of the restraining arc went right into the stomach of Onstad.

The Orange nearly tacked on to their lead in the 71st minute, once again through the air, but off a deflected Holden free kick, Jaqua could only get off a weak header that Navarrete easily caught.  In the 78th minute, Cabanas was taken down while in the box, but there was no call from Osman.  But there was to be no further answer from America, and in fact, Dynamo should have added to their lead. In the 81st minute, Mullan sent in a cross from the right to Brian Ching right at the top of the six, but Ching's header went high. A minute later, De Rosario missed a shot high from the right edge of the area.

Dynamo looked like they had finally added the insurance goal in the 85th minute after Ngwenya took a pass from Mullan in front of the net and sidefooted home, but the flag went up for offside. A minute later Ching once again went high from another header off a corner kick, but it ended up not being necessary as Dynamo held out for the vital victory.