Zavier Gozo scored two goals in Real Salt Lake’s 3-0 win over the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday in Sandy, Utah.
Salt Lake (7-4-1, 22 points) improved to 6-1-0 at home this season. RSL has two more home dates in their three remaining matches before the league’s World Cup hiatus.
It was the first MLS brace for Gozo, who is breaking out in his fourth season with Salt Lake. The 19-year-old Utah native has five goals and four assists while starting all 12 matches.
Real Salt Lake’s other score came on an own goal from Houston defender Duane Holmes.
The loss snapped the Dynamo’s two-match winning streak in regular-season play. Houston (6-6-0, 18 points) entered Wednesday on a roll, with a 6-1-0 record in its last seven matches in the MLS regular season and the U.S. Open Cup.
RSL goalkeeper Rafael Cabral made four saves for his second clean sheet of the season, and earned an assist on Gozo’s first goal.
Cabral made jumping saves to deny Jack McGlynn and Ondrej Lingr — twice — during a dominant first half for Houston. The Dynamo outshot Salt Lake 10-3 in the first 45 minutes, including a 4-0 edge in shots on target.
Beyond the shots stopped by Cabral, McGlynn and Hector Herrera also sent good chances off-target. Nicholas Markanich had another near-miss in the 17th minute with a slow roller of a shot that deflected off the post.
The Dynamo finally found the back of the net in the 49th minute, except it was their own net. A long throw-in from DeAndre Yedlin into the box was headed backwards by Houston defender Franco Negri, leaving Holmes in an awkward position that resulted in a deflection for the own goal.
After the gift from Holmes, Real Salt Lake scored on their first two shots on target. In the 57th minute, Yedlin made a long run down the field and made a canny pass through Antonio Carlos’ legs that found Gozo for the finish.
Gozo struck again seven minutes later. This time it was Stijn Spierings who found the midfielder with a long pass down field, and Gozo tucked a shot inside the post.
–Field Level Media
