HOUSTON -- Just shy of one year ago, in the semifinal round of the 2007 SuperLiga tournament, Houston Dynamo midfielder Corey Ashe was dismissed from the game against Pachuca.
His red card in extra time once again put the Dynamo at a man disadvantage -- which they had played under for nearly the entirety of regulation -- and the Orange faded in penalty kicks, bowing to the eventual champions in front of a disappointed and emotionally drained home crowd.
After the loss, Ashe had plenty of time to think about his miscue and was hoping for an opportunity to make amends with a rematch. Ashe got that chance to redeem himself Tuesday night when he entered this year's semifinal against Pachuca in the 62nd minute.
And he did just that, scoring an insurance goal in the Dynamo's 2-0 win that puts them into next week's SuperLiga final against either the New England Revolution or Atlante FC.
Ashe entered the game just as his team began to pick things up in the second half against its Mexican visitors. Pachuca rebounded from a slow start and peppered the Dynamo and goalkeeper Pat Onstad with several quality chances through the opening stages of the second half.
Over the last 30 minutes, Houston dominated. Defender Bobby Boswell deflected home a header by Craig Waibel in the 77th minute. And 10 minutes later, Ashe made up for what he called a silly play in last year's game by heading a perfect cross from Brian Mullan and into the net.
Ashe told some of his teammates that he wanted to make up for his miscue in last year's tournament.
Mission accomplished.
"I really felt like I let the team down and I wanted to make sure I did everything I could to help the team out tonight," said Ashe. "And tonight would be the night that I wanted to get that done. We're playing Pachuca, probably the team that is our biggest international rival and this is the semifinals with a chance to go on to the last round.
"I just felt like I really let them down in the semifinal round. I got the red card in that game against Pachuca and that put them down to nine men. And we ended up losing that game."
Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear said he felt a sense of relief as Ashe's shot settled into the back of the net past stunned Pachuca 'keeper Miguel Calero.
Ashe's goal was his first of the 2008 campaign since his goal in a 3-3 draw against FC Dallas on May 28.
"The second goal was exciting," Kinnear added. "And there was even a little bit of relief at that point."
Kinnear was especially pleased with his team's play on set pieces, a part of the team's game that has the potential to improve dramatically with the addition of Nate Jaqua and Kei Kamara.
Both of those players made their first home appearances Tuesday and contributed with great play on both sides of the ball.
Boswell's goal might be considered lucky as he was in the right place at the right time to get his right foot on the ball that Waibel sent his way.
Kinnear and the rest of the men in Orange will take it.
"I thought we were going to be really good on set pieces, and as the game wore on tonight, I thought we looked better and better on set pieces," Kinnear added. "And it didn't help them that Calero had a little bit of a leg problem. And on (the first goal), he wasn't his usual aggressive self.
"Sometimes the ball just bounces your way. De Ro puts it up, Craig heads it over and he just finds Boswell. On that goal, it was good, and we were excited, but there was still a little bit of worry, because they are a good team over there."
There was still a little bit of worry because Pachuca was still moving the ball well. The Dynamo defense stepped up and kept their rivals from getting back in the game.
That, De Rosario said, was key in preserving a trip to the final of the second-year tournament.
"They all want the ball and they all come to the ball," De Rosario said of Pachuca. "It is very tough to play against teams like that because they are very confident.
"Having said that, I thought we were solid defensively, with the exception of those few minutes in the second half. But when we needed him, Pat was there to make the big saves. Offensively, I thought we created a lot of chances tonight, and you really can't ask for more against these guys."
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