The Earthquakes evened the match in the 70th minute after a foiled corner attempt. Cato sent a pass to Shaun Francis in the left corner of the box. Francis sent a header over Dynamo keeper Joe Willis, and Quincy Amarikwa chested the ball into the goal.

It would not be enough as Houston, fueled by Alex's goal in the 77th minute propelled the Dynamo to the 2-1 victory over the short-handed Quakes.

San Jose played short from the 60th minute of the match, on. Fatai Alashe was shown the door after collecting a pair of yellows. Late in the first half Alashe received his first booking for a rather reckless challenge on Houston's Luis Garrido, and another after pulling back Giles Barnes when being beat clean during an attack.

Absent midfield captain Matias Perez Garcia, the Quakes started the game on a rather positive note, garnering several scoring chances. Shea Salinas fired a well struck ball from 22 yards, Wondolowski got a good strike from a free-kick, and in his first MLS start, Marc Pelosi saw his attempt from the top of the box go just wide. All of these chances occurred just inside 13 minutes, though they yielded nothing on the board. San Jose have now been outscored 13-4 in MLS play since June 27.

The win equals a three-game unbeaten streak for the Dynamo, while the Quakes remain winless in their past six.