SAN JOSE, Calif. - The Earthquakes hoped to make it two in a row in Houston, but they came up short, falling 2-1 against the Dynamo at BBVA Compass Stadium.
The good news is the Quakes overcame a 1-0 deficit playing a man down on a Quincy Amarikwa goal in the 70th minute. Unfortunately, the Dynamo prevailed on an Alex goal seven minutes later.
Injuries, missed chances, mental lapses and plain old bad luck continue to haunt the Quakes.
Even still, they were almost good enough against Houston.
"Thought our possession was pretty good," coach Dominic Kinnear said. "Got ourselves in front of the goal, and just needed to deliver sharper in front of the goal."
For the second straight week, Chris Wondolowski received a pass from Shea Salinas in the first half and found himself 1-on-1 with the keeper, only to be foiled.
"We had a couple of chances and didn't finish them away," Wondolowski said. "I personally had a very good one and I think if I had buried that, it changes the whole dynamic of the game. You know, you go down a man, especially in Houston, for the last 30 minutes, it makes it very difficult."
The game marked the first MLS start for newcomer Marc Pelosi, who figures to be a key component over the long haul. He played 61 minutes before being replaced by JJ Koval.
"Obviously, I'm really unhappy we didn't get anything out of it because it was a really hard game," Pelosi said. "The whole team worked very hard together and, obviously, we went a man down, which is difficult. But I'm just unhappy we didn't get anything out of it."
In the 55th minute, DaMarcus Beasley gave the Dynamo a 1-0 lead with a darting run and a deft left-footed shot into the near corner. With Quakes outside back Marvell Wynne caught up field, Beasley dribbled past center back Victor Bernardez before scoring.
Things became decidedly more difficult when Fatai Alashe was sent off in the 60th minute after receiving his second yellow card.
Pressing the attack with nine field players can be problematic on the road, but the Quakes still managed to pull even in the 70th minute. After a cross by Cordell Cato from the right, an unmarked Shaun Francis headed the ball into the middle. A sprinting Wondolowski beat keeper Joe Willis to the ball, and shadowed the ball to the chest of Amarikwa, who scored.
A very positive addition to the club, Amarikwa has scored each of the Quakes' last four goals, all coming on the road.
Alex's winner came on another defensive breakdown after a quick build up on the right.
Boniek Garcia hit a well-weighted pass out wide, and Sheanon Williams beat Tommy Thompson to the spot before crossing to Alex for an easy finish. The cross was just out of the reach of keeper David Bingham, and Alex got in behind Cato.
"We just lapsed," Wondolowski said. "It was a one-two and there's no excuse for that, it doesn't matter where it is. You know, a man down, whatever, you have to be aware of all those things and just a square ball across the box, you have to be able to handle that. It's unfortunate."
Wondolowski said the Quakes need to play a "full 90 minutes."
"You can't fall asleep for five, 10 minutes here and there, and make mistakes," he said. "You'll get punished and rightfully so."
The Quakes will look to get things right against the Colorado Rapids Friday night at Avaya Stadium.
