The San Jose Earthquakes started fast but the Houston Dynamo finished strong and used two second-half scores on Saturday night to notch a 2-1 home victory.
Bruno Wilson scored goal just a minute into the Earthquakes' road test. The marker, a header which came by way of a Cristian Espinoza corner boot and was Wilson's first of his MLS career, and staked San Jose to a lead at the outset.
Sebastían Ferreira and Franco Escobar notched scores during a four-minute span in the second half to boost Houston (3-1-1, 10 points) ahead.
The initial goal came in the 81st minute and the decisive tally came in the 85th.
The Wilson marker was one of only two shots for the Earthquakes (1-5-0, 3 points) in the first half of the contest, as the Dynamo edged San Jose, 8-2, in that department during that duration.
Earthquakes goalkeeper Will Yarbrough made a pair of saves on tries by Houston's Ibrahim Aliyu in the 16th minute, keeping his team ahead. Yarbrough moved to 4-1-4 against the Dynamo with the loss.
Seven minutes after that, San Jose had an opportunity to double its advantage, but Dynamo goalkeeper Steve Clark kept a Preston Judd kick out of the net. Ferreira and Griffin Dorsey both missed the mark for Houston shortly thereafter, and then Aliyu had a shot blocked.
In the 34th minute, Judd was assessed a red card for an offense away from the ball, leaving the Earthquakes with 10 players for the remainder of the match.
Yarbrough pushed aside Erik Sviatchenko's shot in first-half stoppage time.
San Jose's Jackson Yueill was given a red card in the second-half stoppage time. The win was Houston's third in a row, containing a hot streak for the Dynamo after a loss and a draw to begin the calendar.
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