Written by Juan Pereira

Photo by Portland Timbers FC

When it comes to away games, points are the name of the game. For Kenny Bundy’s team, points are crucial as they look to push forward into a playoff spot, even though they weren’t able to clinch the extra point in penalties.

Houston began playing on the front foot, with Exon Arzu and Jeferson Medina providing chances for the away side from the opening minutes.

Medina, who was making his MLS NEXT Pro debut, finished the game with seven total recoveries as a defender on the match.

In the 10th minute, Portland took the lead thanks to an incredible free kick from John Penn. After being fouled outside the box, Penn hit the ball cleanly into the top corner.

In the 13th minute, Nico Hansen came up big with a nice save inside the box. The Dynamo goalkeeper almost doubled his season high in saves with nine total.

In the 27th minute, it was Gabe Segal who opened the scoring for Houston. It was his first MLS NEXT Pro goal of the campaign, and it was a nice free kick, similar to the one that Penn scored earlier in the match. In both MLS NEXT Pro and MLS, Segal has scored a total of two goals, with both being game-tying attempts.

The second half was much slower than the first half, with both sides having their moments of brilliance and gloom.

In the 74th minute, Hansen denied a shot taken outside the box from Noah Santos. The attempt had some danger attached to it, but the Dynamo goalkeeper did well to quell the danger.

In the 82nd minute, Gabe Segal almost got his brace when his shot skimmed over the goalkeeper. Shortly after, in the last minute of ordinary time, Diego Gonzalez found Ifu Achara inside the box, but the former Toronto FC player went just over the bar.

In penalties, Ousmane Sylla and Gonzalez missed their chances, which gave Portland the extra point despite Hansen’s efforts which included a save against Sawyer Jura.

Kenny Bundy and his squad will now travel to Kansas and face off against Sporting KC II on June 7.