E. RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Even without Kei Kamara's equalizer five minutes from full time, the Houston Dynamo were feeling pretty good. After all, in each of the last two seasons they trailed in the opening leg of the Western Conference Semifinal Series, only to eventually win the MLS Cup.
"Look at the experience in this locker room and the number of championships between us," Stuart Holden said. "That's the thing with this team, we never give up and never panic so even if it was down 1-0 we wouldn't have thought it was the end of the season."
Instead, thanks to a toe-poke off a scramble in front of goal by Kamara, Dynamo earned a 1-1 draw at Giants Stadium on Saturday afternoon and are on level terms with the New York Red Bulls heading into next Sunday's second leg at Robertson Stadium.
"We've all been in this situation before and we came out of out it," Dwayne De Rosario said. "Being 1-0 down, we were willing to take that and go back to our place. All we needed to do was score one goal and our record at home speaks for itself. To get that goal in the end is another boost of confidence going home."
The Dynamo fell behind three minutes into the second half on a header by Juan Pablo Angel. But Houston rallied for the tying goal in the 85th minute. Wade Barrett served a ball in from the left sideline that bounced to Holden, who took a touch and found Kamara 12 yards out.
"We've been doing this drill at training where the coach plays us the ball from the end line, we're standing down by the six and it's quick touch and hit, quick touch and hit," Kamara said. "When that ball came, that was all I was thinking about -- touch and hit."
Goalkeeper Pat Onstad came up big late, diving to his left to stop a shot by veteran John Wolyniec in the 90th minute to preserve to tie.
"It's a great result for us," De Rosario said. "Even if we left here 1-0 down we still were happy. But to get that tie is great, especially with the guys coming off the bench to create that -- Stuart and Kei. It just shows that everyone is ready, everyone wants to play a big part."
De Rosario sat in the visitors' locker room at Giants Stadium resting his iced right leg on a chair. Geoff Cameron replaced the Canadian international seven minutes from full time in a physical match that saw three first-half bookings and 32 combined fouls.
"That's playoffs, it's got to be like that," De Rosario said. "This is what you play for, everyone wants to be at the grand finale and everyone is giving 100 percent. I don't think anything was malicious or dirty."
Now the Dynamo head to Robertson Stadium where they lost just once this season, while the Red Bulls have one road win on the season.
"You look at the draw, does it favor us?" Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear asked. "In a way, but only on paper because you still have to play the game."
Kamara, Dynamo strike late for draw
Patient Pablo Waiting For Opportunities
