Houston Dynamo vs Philadelphia Union: Breaking and Beginning Streaks Anew

The possession stat line read like this: Philadelphia Union 38.6%, Houston Dynamo 61.4%. Honestly, the possession stat line does not convey the whole flow of the game, however.

The Dynamo for the majority of the match built decent chances, which tended to end in a flurry of nothing. Still, they kept pushing, never giving into the doubt or frustration of the scoreless streak. Their reward? As Giles Barnes pushed up the middle, he created space and dropped it wide to Jermaine Taylor. A one-time cross from Taylor on a low trajectory found the falling, nay diving, head of Ricardo Clark. The redirection was enough and the home crowd erupted with jubilation.

It has been 388 minutes since our beloved Orange Men have found the back of the net; a number which seems astronomical when you are enduring the agony of watching the team trudge through it. Yet, throughout the entire scoreless streak, the team was never wont for chances.

Oh, and yes dear reader, you read that correctly. The cross came from Jermaine Taylor filling in for our favorite left back, Corey Ashe. Ashe is with the US Men's National Team for the Gold Cup, which beat Guatemala in a friendly with a six goal thrashing on Friday.

I have never been shy on knocking Taylor for his inept passing out of the back, but the cross he sent into the box on the goal was one of the best crosses I have seen from a Dynamo player outside of the Left Foot of Glory, Brad Davis, and the Man of a Thousand Smiles, Boniek Garcia.

The match was building in chances, and it was evident somebody was going to score. Tally Hall and Zac MacMath both pushed their fullbacks to press harder, but it was MacMath's back four who showed the biggest signs of cracking. Credit goes to both keepers on a match which saw a combined 32 attempts on goal (21 for the Dynamo, 11 for the Union).

For more stats, check out MLS's Opta Match Center.

The Dynamo turn their attention to the New England Revolution, whom they face in New England on Saturday, July 13th. The team undoubtedly look to keep this new streak alive and well.

The current count sits at 1. One game, one goal, one win. Can we make it two? Sound off in the comments!