Houston • Self-inflicted wounds and poor defense doomed Real Salt Lake early and often in a 5-1 loss to the Houston Dynamo at BBVA Compass Stadium on Wednesday night.
Houston (7-2-5) scored three times in the first half and twice in the second to hand RSL (4-9-2) its sixth road loss this season, which ties the Colorado Rapids for most in Major League Soccer.
The night started on a bad foot, literally, when RSL's Justin Schmidt was the first to beat his own goalkeeper. Mauro Manotas, who would notch his own left-footed goal at the stroke of halftime, sent a hard ball across the box; Schmidt, attempting to cover Albert Elis, deflected the ball past goalkeeper Matt Van Oekel to put RSL down 1-0 in the third minute.