Houston Dynamo FC, Real Salt Lake battle to scoreless draw

By Jennifer Edwards
Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (July 31, 2021) Houston Dynamo FC took on Real Salt Lake on Saturday night, looking for a win after their draw against San Jose. The Dynamo looked to better their record from 3-8-4 and the 10th place standing in the MLS Western Conference. The match marked the first time Houston saw attacker, Mateo Bajamich. 

In the first 10 minutes of play, both teams show rather equal strength in passing and defending. The goal post saved the Dynamo at the 10 minute mark and an excellent rebound save from Maric kept Real Salt Lake from scoring. At the 20 minute mark Real Salt Lake continued to push the Dynamo defense, trying to find an opening; and the defensive line holding strong, but Salt Lake was making them work for it. 

RSL’s goalkeeper had spectacular saves in the 22nd and the 23rd-minute of play to deny the Dynamo a chance at an early lead. Standout of the first half for the Dynamo was Sam Junqua, who spent a lot of his time moving the ball out of the goal area and frustrating Real Salt Lake. The best chance the Dynamo had in the first half was Memo Rodriguez,  who hit the goalpost with the best chance of a goal in the first half. 

Going into halftime the Dynamo had seven shots on goal, six saves and four corner kicks to Real Salt Lake’s six shots on goal, seven saves and four corner kicks. The half showed that both teams were rather equally matched in play. 

The second half of play saw the Dynamo substituting in Corey Baird for fresher legs in the midfield. Baird had one on target shot in stoppage time. 

Baird “...had a great game, not easy. He landed last night about midnight. So, he barely had a chance to adapt to breathing Houston air for a few hours. Here he is, thrown into a game that’s 0-0 during the second half against his old team.” 

During the second half of play Real Salt Lake was reduced to 10 men playing because of a second yellow card being shown to Justen Glad. These two teams were pretty equally matched with Real Salt Lake having possession of the ball 55% of the time. The Dynamo will need to work on being more aggressive on the offensive strategies in order to open more space for the attackers to be able to shoot the ball more accurately. 

Houston will hot the road to play Austin FC on Wednesday, August 4, with at 8:00 p.m. kickoff at Q2 Stadium.

CONCACAF Doubleheader at BBVA Stadium Scheduled to Resume at 7:50 p.m. CT

HOUSTON, TEXAS (July 13, 2021) Today’s Concacaf Gold Cup doubleheader at BBVA Stadium will begin at 7:50 p.m. CDT with the opening game of Group D between Panama and Qatar. 

The doubleheader was postponed due to lightning in the area around the stadium. The teams were allowed to enter the pitch at 7:20 p.m. CT and will have 30 minutes to warm up. The second match of the doubleheader between Honduras and Grenada will begin at 10:10 p.m. CT.

 For the safety of everyone involved, all players, referees and staff were not permitted on the field while there was lightning near the stadium, and the seating bowl was cleared. During the delay, fans were able to either stay in the stadium on the concourse or leave the stadium to seek shelter elsewhere. If fans left the stadium due to the weather delay, they may scan their ticket on exit in order to return when play resumes.

Houston Dynamo FC and FC Cincinnati battle to 1-1 draw

Photo  by
Darla Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly 
Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (July 3, 2021) The Houston Dynamo FC is quickly becoming the "King of the Draw" during the 2021 Major League Soccer season. On Saturday evening, they added another point to their season total with a 1-1 draw against FC Cincinnati at BBVA Stadium. The draw was the fourth consecutive draw by the Dynamo.

Both teams picked up one point in their season total, which kept them relatively in the same place in the MLS standings. The uniqueness of this game was in the sequence of the scoring and the flow of play in the game.

Houston found gold early in the game with their fastest goal of the season. In the third minute, Sam Junqua skipped a pass across the field to Tyler Pasher, who quickly drilled the ball into back of the net to take a 1-0 lead. Two minutes later, Cincinnati midfielder/forward Alvaro Barreal scored from 12 yards out to even the score at one-all.  

For the remainder of the match, both teams battled back-and-forth with neither finding an opening to allow them to take the lead. Rough and aggressive play was the norm for the reminder of the match with numerous "incidents" drawing negative reactions from the crowd when yellow cards were not issued.

Houston head coach Tab Ramos commented after the match about the four consecutive draws by his team.

"I mean, it depends how you look at them. Obviously, we're trying to win the games and I think you could see that day. The idea is to win, I didn't think we played well away at Real Salt Lake and got that draw, but we got a good result and played pretty well against Portland at home. We should've gotten a win there and today we should've got a win too. So, there's only so much I can ask of the team. At the end of the day, I think they made a great effort today and today should've been three points."

Pasher also weighed in on the draws.

"Yeah, I think we are all disappointed because at home, we set a standard that we win every game at home and it has been frustrating but, the positive note from it is that we are so close to being there. These past few games we could be going up three or four goals in the first half. It's just a series of unfortunate events that we are continuing to work on and work through and get better each day, at least we are walking away with a point and hopefully we start putting more goals away and winning at home and on the road."

Next up for the Dynamo is a Wednesday, July 7 meeting with the Seattle Sounders with an 8 p.m. kickoff. 

 

 

U.S. Women's National Team 2021 spotlight: Goalkeepers

Photo by
Darla S Tamulitis
La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2021
All Rights Reserved

By Jennifer Edwards
Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved 

HOUSTON, TEXAS (May 30, 2021) The United States Women’s National Team head coach Vlatko Andonovski has named his 23-player roster for the training camp Summer Series that kicks off in Houston against Portugal on June 10 at BBVA Stadium.

Andonovski’s choices in goalkeepers are Jane Campbell (shown right) of the Houston Dash, Adrianna Franch of the Portland Thorns, and Alyssa Naeher of the Chicago Red Stars. Absent is Ashlyn Harris of the Orlando Pride. 

Goalkeeping has always been one of the defensive keys to the National Team strategy and they are getting that with these three keepers. Naeher has been the go-to keeper for the last several years and she has proven herself to be a valuable asset to the team. Franch has had a few call-ups and a few starts but is largely untested in national team play as has Campbell. Both Keepers have put up impressive stats with their respective home teams. 

Keep an eye out on national team keepers. They put on a spectacular clinic for young soccer players to watch. 

The first National Team Summer Series game is June 10, 2021 at 7 p.m. CDT and will air on FS1 at the same time.

Houston Dynamo FC gain three points in 2-1 win over Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Photo credit: Trask Smith / Houston Dynamo FC

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (May 22, 2021) Houston Dynamo FC scored two goals in the first half and raised their season record to 3-2-2 in their 2-1 win over Vancouver Whitecaps FC on a cloudy Saturday evening at BBVA Stadium.

The match was the first meeting between the two teams since 2019, with Houston coming into the match with a 5-1-1 home record against the Caps.

It did not take long for Houston to get on the scoreboard. Midfielder Fafa Picault kicked the ball from the left side which was deflected by Vancouver goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau. Midfielder Memo Rodriguez recovered the defection and drilled the ball into the net from 12 yards (in the eighth minute) out for his second goal of the season.

The Dynamo gave Vancouver a chance in the midfield, costing midfielder Derrick Jones a yellow card for a professional foul in preventing the goal from the Whitecaps attack. 

Forward Maxi Urruti got his third goal of the season in the 42nd minute when Rodriguez fed him the ball for the score to give the Men in Orange a 2-0 lead at the halfway mark.

Vancouver cut Houston's lead to one in the 80th minute when forward Deiber Caicedo nailed a close shot as a result of a turnover from midfielder Boniek Garcia.  The Caps tried to even the score late in the game, but left Houston with a 2-4-1 record.

The match saw the return of Dynamo legend Ricardo Clark to BBVA Stadium o for the first time since he retired in February, 2020. The two-time MLS Cup champion returned as an assistant coach for the Vancouver after beginning his coaching career with the Houston Dynamo FC Academy in 2019 and spending time with the U-20 US Men’s National Team. 

Clark played for the Dynamo for nearly a decade and finished his career with the second most games in club history with 304 matches played and 25,139 minutes played in all competitions for the Dynamo.

Houston had 14 shots during the match, with three shots on target. Vancouver countered with 11 shots and two on target. 

CONCACAF suspends Nations League Finals

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

MIAMI, FLORIDA (April 3, 2020) The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) has announced their Nations League Finals, scheduled for June 4-7, 2020 will be suspended due to the ongoing health situation concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.

Games were scheduled to be played at BBVA Stadium and NRG Stadium in Houston and AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. On Thursday, June 4, the United States was scheduled to face Honduras at 7 p.m. CDT at BBVA Stadium in Houston. Later that evening,, Mexico would play Costa Rica at 9 p.m. CDT at NRG Stadium, also is Houston. The third place and final games were scheduled for Sunday, June 7 at AT&T Stadium

CONCACAF stated in a prepared press release, "The event, which includes the Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico and USA men’s national teams, will be rescheduled to take place at a later date in venues to be determined. This will be confirmed following further discussions with FIFA regarding the remaining international windows in the football calendar, and will obviously be subject to public health authorities deeming it safe for professional sports events to resume."

Monterrey outlasts Club America 2-1 in Tour Aguila

Story and photo by Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (November 16, 2019) Scoring two goals in the first half,  C.F. Monterrey held on for a 2-1 win against Club America in an exhibition friendly game as a part Tour Aguila at BBVA Stadium in Houston, Texas. America took an early 1-0 lead in the 7th minute off a penalty kick by defender Emanuel Aguilera.

Monterrey responded with a goal from Daniel Parra, with an assist credited to Alfonso Gonzalez, in the 16th minute. They score the game-winner five minutes later on a Vincent Janessen goal. Dorian Paboni provided the assist.

Tour Aguila is the official United States tour of Club America dating back to July 3, 2016.

Houston Dash falls to Sky Blue FC on Carli Lloyd brace

Photo by
Darla Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (August 24, 2019) Kealia Ohai (shown right) got the Houston on the score board in added time of the second half, however it was not enough to overcome two Carli Lloyd goals as the Dash fell to Sky Blue FC by the score of 2-1 at BBVA Stadium in Houston. It was the second goal of the season for Ohai, in a game that saw Houston outshoot Sky Blue 18-13. The two goals for Lloyd raised her total for the season to four. The 18 shots by Houston was a season-high and didn't include the two shots that hot the crossbar.

Lloyd's goals came in there 26th abd 41st minutes and came off of assists by Jennifer Hoy and Raquel Rodriguez, respectively. Arian Caide received the assist for Ohai's goal; the first of the season. Ohai discussed the outcome after the fame.

“We were really disappointed in the first half of this game. We started terribly. Maybe this half was our worst we have ever played. It was frustrating because it was on us. We gave up. Those were Sky Blue’s goals but both were mistakes. It’s really frustrating. But I am very proud that we fought until the end of the game. We had a lot of unlucky shots. But it was on us.”

Dash head coach James Clarkson also weighed in on the game.

“First half, I’m really disappointed. But first half I thought we were terrible and dug ourselves into a really big hole. Credit to Sky Blue I thought they played well the first half. They out fought us. They worked harder than us. It’s not acceptable—first half we were terrible, second half it got a little bit better. We’ve created enough chances to win the game but I’m sure Sky Blue are probably thinking they could have scored more goals tonight as well—so a really frustrating and disappointing night.”

Photo by
Darla Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved

Lloyd (shown left) talked about her brace for Sky Blue after the game.

“I feel really good. I think I’m at a point in my career where everything feels in sync. I feel very balanced with my body and my life. I physically feel the best I’ve felt. I feel efficient with my running and I feel I’m a much smarter player as I’ve gotten older. This was the plan and the evolution all along in my career. In these last couple of years in my career there’s been tactical changes I’ve made. It’s all about getting better every single day. I’m okay with always being uncomfortable and not always being so good at something at training and sticking with it, getting the reps and becoming better at it."

The Dash travel to Chicago on September 8 to face the Chicago Red Stars at Toyota Park.

• 
  

Manotas' late goals secure draw for Houston Dynamo

Photo by JB Fletcher, BigShot SnapShots
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (August 17, 2019) Two goals in the final minutes of the match powered the Houston Dynamo to a 2-2 draw against the Colorado Rapids at BBVA Stadium on  Saturday evening.

The 15,000-plus fans in attendance saw Colorado jump out to a 2-0 lead at halftime on Star Wars Night; and witnessed the Mario Manotas  (No. 7, shown right) score the two Houston goals within five minutes of each other. The Rapids took an early lead when forward Diego Rubio found the Dynamo out of position and blasted the ball into the net, in the seventh minute, for his eighth goal of the season. He also nailed the second goal of the  season; sliding it into the net in the 39th minute to put the score at 2-0 at halftime. Houston controlled the ball 66% of the time in the first half, along with taking 15 shots against Colorado's five. Unfortunately for the Dynamo, two of those five shots hit the mark, to take the two-goal deficit into the locker room at halftime.

Houston battled back in the second half, and maintained their possession advantage from the second half, to secure the draw under interim head coach Davy Arnaud. With the draw, the Dynamo raised their record to 9-13-4 (31 points) and maintained their ninth place standing in the Western Conference. The draw snapped a four-game losing streak for Houston and ended a three-game losing streak at BBVA Stadium. Arnaud was quoted about the start of the game.

“It’s obviously not how we wanted to start the game. It was not an ideal start. For me, you know, the structure that we’ve been on, the week that we’ve had, after that kind of start – there could not have been a bad response. We could of hung our heads and given up but I couldn’t be prouder of our group and their response in the second half. I thought it was fantastic. I thought it showed character. I thought it showed a commitment to the team. The kind of things that we have been talking about this week and how important we are for us to be our foundation for who we are going to be. They showed every single bit of that and for me that’s the biggest take away. The way that they came back in the second half and responded was fantastic.”

Photo by JB Fletcher, BigShot SnapShots
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved

With the two scores by Manotas, in the 74th and 79th minute, the Colombian forward recorded his eighth career multi-goal game; which ties Will Bruin for the most in club history. Manotas needs ten goals in all competition to tie Brian Ching (69) for the club's career scoring record. He stated:

”Thank God, after that many shots we were able to put some away. Unfortunately, we paid for those mistakes we made. We scored the goals ourselves. This can only happen every  hundred years, as a Colombian writer said. We are now moving forward.”

Next up for Houston is a Saturday, August 24 road match against FC Dallas. Dallas in currently in eight place in the Western Conference with a 10-10-7 record and 37 points.

Starters make all the difference in Houston 4-0 win over New York

Photo by Darla S Tamulitis
La Vita Loca Photography
Copyrightr 2019 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (July 3, 2019) Houston Dynamo head coach Wilmer Cabrera (shown left) knows that having the starters back together on the pitch can make all the difference. On Wednesday, July 3,  the eve of the Fourth of July, Houston scored three goals in the second half to down the New York Red Bulls, 4-0, in front of 19,531 fans at BBVA Stadium. When asked about the return of his starters, he stated:

“Yes, it’s good to be back with the team and as I said we went through difficulties, but it’s difficult when you don’t have your players. Now that the players came back – we are going to win, we are going to lose, and we are going to tie, but these are our players. This is the main roster and then this is the team that we have chosen at the beginning of the season, but we were affected. We knew that, but we didn’t make excuses. We didn’t pull the flag. We didn’t send messages to anybody. We didn’t cry, but the reality is if you don’t have eight starters, your team is going to be affected—that’s the reality. No matter which team—which national team, any team. Eight players out of the roster? That’s not good for any team and we have to deal with that but we’re back with the roster and today the team showed that they wanted to come back and we want to continue fighting for the points in front of us every day.”

Forward Mauro Manotas, who scored the first goal of the match in the 49th minute, also noted the difference in Houston's play.

"It was a tough stretch and now the team is back together. When the team is together, this is a different team. When we have the core of attacking trio plus Tomas (Martinez) – the team is just different. We have more variety in the final third.” We can play up top, below, with speed, off one-two combinations – we have everything we need to win a game and that is very important.”

Photo by Darla S Tamulitis
La Vita Loca Photography
Copyrightr 2019 All Rights Reserved

Alberth Elis (shown left) scored the final two Houston goals, raising his season total to seven. He stated in the post-game presser: 

"It was a great result for us. Glory to God that we could secure the victory and we hope to maintain this momentum – and keep winning, this is what the team needed. As a forward, you always want to score goals and help the team. Today, thanks to God, I was able to do both.”

In between the Manotas and first Elis goal, Tomas Martinez scored the second Houston goal, his thrid of the season.

"Today we played a great game against a great opponent. We played well, we were consistent, and we scored goals when the opportunities presented themselves. We hope to carry this momentum and remain focused on the task at hand. We have to keep earning points and now we shift our focus to Saturday as we try to earn another three points. We want to return to the top of the table. We know that there is a lot in front of us, we will have challenges, long trips, this is a difficult league with a lot of teams who can compete for the top spots. We have to be ready and expect the best from every team we face.”

Next up for Houston is a Saturday, July 6 match up against Cincinnati FC.