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Cristian Pavon scored on a penalty kick in the 91st minute as LA Galaxy salvaged a 1-1 draw to knock out the Houston Dynamo out of the MLS is Back Tournament near Orlando.
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The late goal proved pivotal as it prevented the Dynamo (0-2-3 3 points on the season; 0-1-2, 2 points in the tournament) from advancing to the Round of 16 knockout stage. Instead, idle New York City FC (1-4-0, 3 points overall; 1-2-0, 3 points in the tournament) punched their ticket on the strength of a favorable call against the Dynamo in the 90th minute.
Houston was nursing a slim 1-0 advantage before Maynor Figueroa was whistled for a foul in the penalty area. Pavon, who scored in the teams’ 1-1 draw to open the season on Feb. 29, sent a right-footed shot into the gaping net for his third goal of the campaign and the sixth of his MLS career.
The Galaxy (0-3-2, 2 points overall; 0-2-1, 1 point in the tournament) were also eliminated from the event. They needed to defeat Houston by at least three goals in order to advance.
Darwin Quintero scored on a free kick in the 17th minute, and Marko Maric made five saves for the Dynamo, who failed to present Tab Ramos with his first win as an MLS coach.
Houston gained the early advantage after Quintero unleashed a shot over a wall of defenders and past flat-footed goalkeeper David Bingham. The goal was Quintero’s 22nd of his MLS career and first since being traded from Minnesota United in November.
Pavan attempted to answer four minutes later with a free kick of his own, but Maric thwarted the bid with a two-handed diving save.
The Dynamo nearly doubled the advantage during stoppage time in the first half, but Memo Rodriguez‘s bid in transition was denied by a two-handed save from Bingham (three saves).
The Galaxy played their second straight match without Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, who sat out with a right calf strain sustained in training last week. The 32-year-old also missed the team’s 6-2 setback to LAFC on Saturday.