The New York Red Bulls and Houston Dynamo opened up their campaigns at the Visit Tucson Sun Cup with a draw, with Kaku and Memo Rodriguez scoring for their sides.
The Red Bulls opened scoring in the 12th minute with an olimpico, courtesy of Kaku. His ball from the corner managed to bypass a number of Houston defenders and goalkeeper Marko Maric before ending up in the goal.
Both sides traded opportunities before the Dynamo's equalizer. The best chance for another goal before that came from Red Bulls substitute Josh Sims, who sent the ball just over the crossbar despite having an empty goal right in front of him. The miss proved costly as Dynamo Homegrown Rodriguez then scored from the edge of the penalty area.
The two teams continued to search for a winner, with the Dynamo really dominating in the final minutes. A strong defensive effort from the Red Bulls, though, meant Houston would not find a winner.
Goals
- 12' - NY - Kaku
- 58' - HOU - Memo Rodriguez
Lineups
Houston Dynamo Starting XI: Marko Maric; Jose Bizama, Aljaz Struna, Maynor Figueroa, Adam Lundkvist; Tomas Martinez, Mathias Vera, Boniek Garcia; Tommy McNamara, Mauro Manotas, Memo Rodriguez
New York Red Bulls Starting XI: Ryan Meara; Patrick Seagrist, Amro Tarek, Tim Parker, Kyle Duncan; Sean Davis, Cristian Casseres Jr, Kaku, Florian Valot, Daniel Royer; Mathias Jorgensen