=== Houston hopes for first road win at K.C. ===
 
 Kansas City, KS (Sports  Network) - Sporting Kansas City wraps up a nine-match
 homestand Saturday at Livestrong Sporting Park against the Houston Dynamo, who
 are yet to win a road game in Major League Soccer this season.
 
 K.C. has accumulated 14 of a possible 24 points during the record home stretch
 and is coming off a 2-2 tie against the Los Angeles Galaxy on Monday, when the
 tying goal came in stoppage time from Omar Bravo.
 
 "I think we have a pretty solid base. We just need to continue to play well at
 home and really put  pressure on teams," said Sporting's Graham Zusi. "We need
 to continue to be hard to play against and hard to score against.
 
 "I think going forward we can grow from this (Los Angeles) game."
 
 Sporting (9-8-10) scored  in the 89th minute or later to secure a draw for the
 fourth time in its last 10 games, and is just three points behind the Columbus
 Crew for first place in the Eastern Conference.
 
 In addition, K.C. just two points ahead of the Philadelphia Union and Houston,
 both even on 35 points, for a top-three finish and a guaranteed playoff spot.
 
 With the standings so tight, and fourth place not good enough to secure a spot
 in the postseason, K.C. coach Peter Vermes is proud of his club for claiming a
 share of points on all of those occasions.
 
 "They've  got  unbelievable determination to get  back in the game and they're
 not going to die and that is a quality that needs to be commended because game
 after game we fight for everything," Vermes said.
 
 K.C. is 6-2-5 at home this season, as its new $200 million stadium has been an
 advantage for the club, and with Davy Arnaud and Jeferson among the players on
 the mend, a strong finish could lead Sporting into the postseason.
 
 "To be honest its one game at a time right now, Houston is our biggest game of
 the season, they're  right under us in the table, we get them at home and will
 be a good chance to gain some ground on them," K.C.'s Matt Besler said.
 
 Houston (8-8-11) wasted a chance to move second in the standings in its recent
 match, a 1-0 defeat to lowly Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Long Tan scored with four
 minutes  remaining, as the Dynamo allowed a goal in the closing stages for the
 fourth time this season to watch its five-game unbeaten run end.
 
 "I will say Saturday was  the angriest we've been in the locker room in a long
 time," Houston manager  Dominic Kinnear said. "It  was a  missed  opportunity,
 especially  when you look at what  happened on the  weekend  and that it was a
 chance to move forward."
 
 Without a win on the road, the Dynamo will try to bounce back at K.C. Just two
 other clubs - Vancouver and Toronto FC - have yet to win away from home, but a
 win against Sporting could erase those struggles.
 
 Houston does have eight draws in its 13 road matches, but just three squads in
 the history of MLS have gone winless on the road for an entire season.
 
 "I don't think we're  playing great away from home, but we're playing the game
 and we're creating a lot of scoring opportunities," Kinnear said.
 
 Despite the setback, Houston goalkeeper Tally Hall knows the Kansas City match
 is a chance to move on.
 
 "I  don't  think it's hard  (to bounce  back), because we  can look at the way
 we've been playing," Hall said. "It was just one game, and it wasn't a case of
 putting us in or keeping us out of the playoffs."
 
 09/09 16:11:52 ET