HOUSTON | The Wizards were probably pretty happy that the Chiefs made their NFL season debut Sunday, as they weren&#8217;t the only local team offensively challenged.</p><p>The Wizards were overmatched by the Houston Dynamo, which controlled every aspect of the match in a 3-1 victory in 90-degree heat at Robertson Stadium. The loss leaves the Wizards, who are 1-4-3 in their last eight games, six points out of the final playoff spot with seven games remaining.</p><p>Kansas City&#8217;s Davy Arnaud notched his fourth goal of the year in the 87th minute on an impressive solo effort, but it came long after the Dynamo had put the match out of reach.</p><p>The Wizards, 6-9-8 with 26 points, were at a disadvantage before kickoff because midfielder Matt Marquess was a late scratch due to cramps and newly acquired forward Herculez Gomez was struggling with a stomach virus.</p><p>&#8220;We came into the game having to improvise. We had a game plan and couldn&#8217;t use it,&#8221; coach Curt Onalfo said. &#8220;The only thing I&#8217;m pleased with is that they didn&#8217;t give up.&#8221;</p><p>The Dynamo, 11-5-8, 37 points, was also short-handed. Leading scorer Brian Ching, midfielder Dwayne De Rosario and starting goalie Pat Onstad were fulfilling national-team obligations.</p><p>The Dynamo didn&#8217;t seem to notice their absence, however, as forwards Kei Kamara and Nate Jaqua repeatedly rolled through the Wizards&#8217; defense. Kamara, playing in just his sixth game with the Dynamo, blew past the Kansas City defense on the left wing to set up a left-footed strike from a wide-open Brad Davis in the middle of the box for the game&#8217;s first goal in the 28th minute.</p><p>&#8220;Kei made a nice chip to the middle, and Davis has one of the best left-footed shots in the league,&#8221; goalie Kevin Hartman said. &#8220;(Kamara and Jaqua) are two guys over 6-3 and play a pretty direct brand of offense.&#8221;</p><p>Davis&#8217; score was one of five Houston shots on goal in the first half, including several requiring outstanding saves from Hartman. The Wizards, on the other hand, mustered only two shots on goal the entire game.</p><p>Faced with another problem at the half &#8212; a quadriceps injury to defender Aaron Hohlbein &#8212; the Wizards changed to a 3-3-5 set and seemed to be able to apply more pressure during the first few minutes of the second half. But the Dynamo was able to counterattack, and Jacqua scored off passes from Kamara and Stuart Holden in the 59th minute.</p><p>Jacqua struck again 9 minutes later, scoring his second goal off a centering pass from defender Craig Waibel.</p><p>&#8220;I think that when we made the change, we caught them off guard a little bit,&#8221; Hartman said. &#8220;But by the time they had figured it out, they&#8217;d scored again anyway.&#8221;