Dynamo Prevails in Debut at Houston

Brian Ching scored four goals to lead Houston to a 5-2 victory over the Colorado Rapids on Sunday at Houston in the Dynamo’s inaugural game.

Ching became only the ninth player in Major League Soccer history to score four goals in a game. Clint Mathis set the MLS record of five in 2000.

A crowd of 25,462 at Robertson Stadium greeted the arrival of MLS, which moved one of the league’s most successful teams, the San Jose Earthquake, last December after failing to reach an agreement for a new soccer-specific stadium in San Jose.

Ching’s last goal was a header off a corner kick from Dwayne De Rosario in the 71st minute. It gave Dynamo a 4-2 lead.

D.C. United 2, New York 2 -- D.C. United rallied with second-half goals from Alecko Eskandarian and Facundo Erpen, salvaging a tie at Washington.

Trailing 2-0 at halftime, Eskandarian provided a boost in his first regular-season game since a concussion sidelined him for most of last season. His left-footed volley in the 56th minute cut the deficit to one, and Argentine defender Erpen tied the score in the 65th with his second career MLS goal.

Freddy Adu, at 16, primed for a breakout season after two years of pining for more playing time, started for United and was used as an attacking midfielder on the wing.