Houston, Texas: Dynamo Lose 1-0 to St. Louis City on MacNaughton Goal in Stoppage Time in Houston

St. Louis City beat the Houston Dynamo 1-0 at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, Texas, on Saturday night, on a goal in the seventh minute of second half stoppage time on MLS Decision Day.

Lukas MacNaughton broke the deadlock in what St. Louis City called the final minute of second half stoppage time. The club said it was his third goal of the season, and his fifth in MLS. The Associated Press reported that Alexandru Matan started the play by racing down the right side on a breakaway, cutting back a defender and finding a trailing MacNaughton for a one time finish. Field Level Media reported that the play followed a Houston giveaway, and that MacNaughton fired a first time shot past Houston goalkeeper Jonathan Bond moments before referee Allen Chapman blew for full time.

A game Houston controlled on shots, and lost anyway

The numbers tell a hard story for the home team. St. Louis City listed Houston with 23 total shots and 6 shots on goal, and St. Louis with 13 total shots and 1 shot on goal. That one shot on goal was the winner. St. Louis goalkeeper Ben Lundt made six saves, a total Field Level Media also reported. Houston had 9 corner kicks to St. Louis's 3. Lucas Halter was cautioned for Houston in the 82nd minute. The weather at Shell Energy Stadium was listed as cloudy and 75 degrees, and theScore listed the attendance as 19,886.

Field Level Media reported that Guilherme had Houston's lone shot on goal of the first half, stopped by a diving Lundt in the 21st minute, and that Lundt came through again in the 55th minute on Guilherme and in the 86th minute on a long distance shot by Duane Holmes and a header from Duncan McGuire. Rafael Navarro put a chance wide for St. Louis in the 69th minute, and Damion Downs headed wide in the 89th minute and cleared a dangerous Houston attempt in stoppage time.

The playoff picture

St. Louis finished 15-10-9 with 54 points and secured the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference and home field advantage for round one. St. Louis will play No. 6 seed Los Angeles FC in a best of three first round series. Field Level Media reported that the win snapped a five match winless run for St. Louis, at 0-4-1. Houston finished 14-11-9 with 51 points, as the No. 5 seed, with a second straight loss. Houston will take on the No. 4 seed San Jose Earthquakes. The Associated Press reported that Houston entered the night tied with St. Louis in the West, sitting fifth on tiebreakers, and that the Dynamo had avoided defeat in 15 of their previous 19 matches since returning from the World Cup break. The goal also denied Houston a single season club record for clean sheets.