Gio Miglietti scored a pair of second half goals off the bench and Lars Helleren made two saves to lead the Tacoma Defiance to a 2-0 win over Houston Dynamo 2 on Sunday. It was the Defiance’s first shutout since June 30, a stretch of 12 games. The Defiance will close out their regular-season schedule next Sunday on the road against St. Louis City2 before heading to the playoffs.
Highlights
Key performers
Gio Miglietti: Despite missing a significant chunk of the season with injuries, Miglietti has now scored five goals in less than 600 minutes after bagging a brace against Dynamo 2. Both goals were well taken, the first a redirection off a Burke Fahling cross and then chipping the goalkeeper off a ball over the top from Stuart Hawkins that was downright Oba-esque. It’s tough to say what kind of prospects he has for promotion to the first team, but he’s certainly a useful player on Defiance as they head into the playoffs.
Stuart Hawkins: Fresh off turning 18 earlier this month, Hawkins continues to put in cultured performances. He had the assist on Miglietti’s goal and is consistently breaking lines with his passing from the back without providing many shaky moments on defense. It sure seems like he’s done enough to at least warrant an extended look with the first team next preseason.
Snyder Brunell: Very nearly had a goal on a nice exchange with Yu Tsukanome late in the game and was generally just very effective. Brunell completed 60/64 passes, won 2/3 tackles, had 3 interceptions, was credited with 9 defensive actions and won 5/10 duels. He’s just a player who puts himself into lots of good positions and is rarely in a bad spot. Don’t be surprised if he’s on a first-team contract before long.
Standings
Stats
MATCH SUMMARY
Tacoma Defiance 2 – Houston Dynamo 2 0
Sunday, September 29, 2024
Venue: Starfire Stadium
Referee: Brad Jensen
Assistants: Conrado Garcia, Tyler Spiczka
Fourth official: Dion Coxe-Trieger
Weather: 60 degrees and mostly cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY
TAC – Gio Miglietti (Burke Fahling) 64’
TAC – Gio Miglietti (Stuart Hawkins) 90’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
TAC – Sota Kitahara (caution) 28’
HOU – Diego Gonzalez (caution) 49’
TAC – Blake Bowen (caution) 51’
HOU – Ousmane Sylla (caution) 57’
LINEUPS & STATS
Tacoma Defiance – Lars Helleren; Cody Baker, Stuart Hawkins, Elias Katsaros (Antino Lopez 82’), Blake Bowen; Snyder Brunell – captain, Sota Kitahara; Sebastian Gomez (Burke Fahling 63’), Chris Aquino (Yu Tsukanome 62’), Braudilio Rodrigues (Travian Sousa 63’); Osaze De Rosario (Gio Miglietti 62’)
Substitutes not used: Mohammed Shour, Owen O’Malley, Kalani Kossa-Rienzi
Total shots: 18
Shots on goal: 9
Fouls: 12
Offside: 0
Corner-kicks: 8
Saves: 2
Houston Dynamo 2 – Xavier Valdez; Daniel Omar Barrett (Jeferson Medina Obando 90+4’), Obafemi Awodesu, Isaac Mwakutuya, Kieran Glen Sargeant; Jefferson Valverde, Sebastian Rodriguez (Exon Suazo Arzu 69’), Diego Gonzalez – captain; Mattheo Dimareli (Andy Duvan Batioja Renteria 46’), Stephen Annor Gyamfi (Isaiah Reid 46’), Ousmane Sylla
Substitutes not used: Nicolas Defreitas-Hansen, Ifeanyi Udanoh, Josue Souza Dos Santos, Jordy Jorley Burbano Angulo
Total shots: 11
Shots on goal: 2
Fouls: 15
Offside: 0
Corner-kicks: 5
Saves: 7
