Houston Dynamo drive into MLS Playoffs with 3-0 win over Chicago Fire

Photo by Darla Tamulitis
La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2017 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2017 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (October 22, 2017) The Houston Dynamo made the decision to take possession of their fate on MLS Decision Day; handing the Chicago Fire a 3-0 loss in the final regular season game for both teams at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston on Sunday, October 22, 2017. With the win, Houston end the regular season with a 13-10-11 record and as the number four seed in the Western Conference. They established a new club record with their 12th home victory and will host Sporting Kansas City in the knockout round on a yet undetermined date.

It did not take the Dynamo long to get on the scoreboard, and take an early lead. In the second minute, Leonardo took a long throw in from fellow defender Adolfo Machados heading the ball into the net past Chicago goalkeeper Richard Sanchez for the score. The goal was the second goal of the season for the 29-year-old Brazilian in his 30th game of the season.

They added an insurance goal halfway through the second half when forward Romell Quioto 's foot race with a Fire defender resulted in a left-footed shot from left side of the goal area. The shot gently rolled past Sanchez and put the Dynamo up 2-0. It was the Honduran's seventh goal of the season. Houston continued their offensive assault into the playoffs seven minutes later when midfielder Andrew Wenger; driving down the right side of the penalty area, connected with Mauro Manotas. The Colombian took the pass from Wenger and forcefully drove it in to the net, to make the score 3-0. Manotas stated, “I am thankful to God because I was able to start today. We had played a good game, we had run, we gave our all and created some chances. I was able to score on that play, praise God for that, but the most important thing is that the team won.”

Heading into the playoffs for the first time since 2013, the Dynamo will face a Sporting Kansas City squad that dropped their final game of the season to Real Salt Lake 2-1. The two playoff squads have faced each other twice in 2017. The first game on October 11, that was postponed from August 26, due to Hurricane Harvey, resulted in a 2-1 win for Houston. On October 15, they battled to a scoreless draw in Salt Lake City.

Dynamo head coach Wilmer Cabrera spoken with the press after the match about playing the next game in Houston.

“We feel good because we wanted to close the season winning at home because we’ve been strong at home. If you have to choose, you always choose to play at home no matter what. The players put a lot of effort during the game today, they knew it was important to win. Our goal was to win today at home and continue to show how strong this team is and how strong we have been doing it lately home or away. We needed to win those three points and we wanted to show the effort to get those three points. We didn’t know what was going to happen outside of the market because it was out of our hands. It looks like the results came in our favor and now we have to rest and we have to recover well, because we have a playoff game here at home and it could be Wednesday or Thursday.”

Houston Dynamo keep playoff hopes alive with 2-0 win over Chicago

Omar Cummings (7) gets the Houston Dynamo on the  scoreboard
in the 15th minute with his second goal of the season.
Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2014 All Rights Reserved

By  Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2014 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (September 28, 2014) The Houston Dynamo kept their playoff hopes alive on Sunday, September 28, 2014 with a 2-0 win over the Chicago Fire in front of 20,262 fans at BBVA Compass Stadium.

The Dynamo is currently in eighth place in Eastern Division of Major league Soccer with five games remaining in the 2014 season.

With the win, they erased their season record to 10-13-6 for 36 points. Philadelphia is currently in seventh place with 38 points and sixth place is held by Toronto with 42 points. D.C. United leads the Eastern Division with a 15-9-6 record and 51 points.

In the 15th minute, midfielder Ricardo Clark deftly gets by his defender and comes across the pitch, feeding it to forward Omar Cummings. The fleet-footed Cummings, who hails from Old Harbor, Jamaica, quickly split his two defenders and sent the ball into the goal past goalkeeper Sean Johnson.

It was the Cummings’ second goal of the season and 40th of his MLS career.

The Dynamo doubled their lead in the 67th minute when midfielder Brad Davis and defender Kofi Sarkodie teamed up to feed Boniek Garcia the ball for the score. Davis crossed the ball to Sarkodie, who quickly headed it to Garcia for the score.

The goal was the Honduran’s second of the season and the 62nd of his career. The assists were Davis’ tenth and Sarkodie’s third of the season.

The Chicago Fire fell to 5-8-16 (31 points) with the shutout loss and remain in ninth place in the division

Next on tap for Houston is a 6 p.m. road game against the New York Red Bull on Saturday, October 4, 2014.

They will play Toronto on the road on Wednesday, October 8 before returning home on Sunday, October 12 to face New England. 

Houston Dynamo, Chicago Fire Fight to Scoreless Draw



Action was interse between the Dynamo and
the Fire. Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loco
Photography, Copyright 2012, All Rights Reserved.

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2012 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (July 3, 2012) In a match that both teams desperately wanted to win, the Houston Dynamo and the Chicago Fire battled to a scoreless draw at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston.

Both teams had opportunities to put the goal in the net, but either superb defense or miscues on offense kept the ball from finding home between the goal posts.

In the fourth minute, midfielder Brad Davis got a shot of from 35-yards out, but it went wide.

Forward Macoumba Kandji tried to rip one off after some aggressive action in the Fire penalty box, but it went into the side netting.

Chicago had a shot in the 32th minute when midfielder Chris Rolfe got the ball behind the Dynamo defense.

He fed the ball to forward Dominic Oduro and he drilled it towards the goal.

Houston goalkeeper Tally Hall made a diving save to keep Chicago scoreless.

The Dynamo definitely had the edge with attempts on goal with a 5-2 advantage and they also shut down the Fire in total passes (275-223) and possession (55 %-44%).

Forward Will Bruin had two of the five shots with Davis, Kandji, and Adam Moffat each contributing one.

Midfielder Marco Pappa took both of the shots for the Fire.

Corey Ashe received a yellow card in the 39^th minute when he was called for an off the ball foul.

That was the only infraction in the game.

The Fire’ current streak of three straight wins ended with the tie, with the Dynamo extending its undefeated streak at BBVA Compass Stadium to seven (4-0-3).

In the second half, the shots either were wide, high or blocked by someone who was fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time.

The tie earned both teams a single point, but did not move either one up in the standings.

The Fire and the Dynamo remain in fourth and fifth respectively in the Eastern Conference.

The Dynamo will have the 4^th of July off but will be back on the practice field on Thursday to prepare for their road game against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, July 7.

Houston Dynamo, Chicago Fire Tie 1-1 in MLS Action

(Photo by Darla tTmulitis-La Vita Loco Photography, Copyright 2011, All Rights Reserved)

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2011 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (October 1, 2011) In a match that saw the Houston Dynamo and the Chicago Fire head to the locker room at halftime tied at 1-1, the fans at Robertson Stadium saw no second half scoring and that’s how it ended; Dymano-1, Fire-1.

Houston is now 10-9-13 (43 points) on the season while Chicago moves to 10-9-13,with 37 points.

The Dynamo got on the board first in the 33rd minute when midfielder Colin Clark sent home a loose ball that deflected off Fire defender Jalil Anibaba and landed in the front of the net.

The goal was Clark’s fourth of the season, bringing his MLB career total to 13.

The Fire got even in the 43rd minute, when forward Dominic Oduro sent the ball home with a right foot strike. Midfielder Baggio Husidic was credited with the assist.

The score gave Oduro his 12th of the season and 26th of his MLS career.

The Dynamo had 13 shots, with six of them on goal, while Chicago had eight shots with five on goal.

Dynamo goalkeeper Tally Hall recorded four saves while is counterpart for the Fire, Sean Johnson, tallied five.

The Dynamo will next face Portland on Friday October 14 on the road. They return the Houston for their final regular home game of the season against the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday, October 23.

Chicago Fire Down Houston Dynamo 3-0 in Reserve League Action

BRIDGEVIEW, ILLINOIS (April 24, 2011) The Houston Dynamo Reserves suffered their first loss of the 2011 season Sunday morning, falling 3-0 to the Chicago Fire at the Toyota Park practice field in Bridgeview, Ill. Houston is now 1-1 on the season, with its next match scheduled for Sunday, May 15.

Chicago took the lead in the 16th minute when Orr Barouch played a pass into the penalty area for forward Gabriel Ferrari. Dynamo defender Eddie Robinson broke up the play but saw the ball deflect behind goalkeeper Tyler Deric and inside the right-hand post.

The Fire went ahead 2-0 in the 27th minute on a counterattack following a Houston corner kick. Daniel Paladini played a long ball to Gabriel Ferrari, who slipped a pass to Martin Rivas at the top of the box, where he created space and fired a shot into the lower left corner.

Chicago made the score 3-0 in the 41st minute when left back Pari Pantazopoulos broke into the penalty area and fed Rivas. His first shot was denied by a sprawling Deric, but Rivas slotted home the rebound for his second goal of the game.

Houston controlled the second half, outshooting Chicago and going close through Alex Dixon and Je-Vaughn Watson, but Chicago goalkeeper Sean Johnson finished with four saves to earn the shutout. The Dynamo used four current Dynamo Academy players in the match, with Ábe Matamoros (Strake Jesuit) starting in midfield and Bryan Celis (Katy Mayde Creek), Miguel Zapata (Katy Mayde Creek), and Christian Gonzalez (Spring Woods) all entering as substitutes.

Dynamo Battle to 1-1 Tie Against Chicago Fire

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (April 23, 2011) The Houston Dynamo extended their unbeaten streak to five MLS games and their road unbeaten streak to six games with a come-from-behind 1-1 tie against the Chicago Fire Saturday night in Bridgeview, Ill. Defender Bobby Boswell scored the game-tying goal in the 83rd minute to give Houston a deserved road point. The Dynamo are now tied for third place in the Eastern Conference, trailing first-place New York by two points.

Houston returns to action with back-to-back home games, hosting D.C. United in a nationally-televised Orange Out Friday night game this week and then taking on defending MLS Cup champion Colorado on Wednesday, May 4.

Although the Dynamo controlled outshot the Fire 15-11 and controlled 61 percent of possession, Chicago struck first in the 18th minute. After Houston appeared to break up a counterattack, Fire midfielder Marco Pappa, while on the ground, flicked a pass into the penalty area, where forward Diego Chaves ran onto the ball and scored his fourth goal of the season.

Houston pressured Chicago throughout the first half, forcing eight corner kicks, but did not get a shot on goal. Early in the second half, both teams came close with shots, as Houston’s Lovel Palmer fired off the post from long range in the 47th minute and Chicago’s Dominic Oduro rang the crossbar in the 66th minute.

The Dynamo found a tying goal in the 83rd minute on their 10th corner kick of the night when Brad Davis played the ball toward the far post and defender Bobby Boswell met it with a header that nestled just inside the opposite post to tie the game. The goal was Boswell’s second of the season, the second-highest total of his career after he netted three as a rookie in 2006.

The dramatic goal came almost three years after Boswell scored the game-winning goal for Houston at Chicago on an 85th-minute header in May 2008. For Davis, the assist was his fourth of the season, second in MLS behind Vancouver’s Davide Chiumiento (5).

The match included seven minutes of stoppage time at the end of the second half due to several injuries and delays, including a clash of heads between Houston’s Cam Weaver and Chicago’s Yamith Cuesta. Both players returned to and completed the match.

With the tie, Houston extended its road unbeaten streak to six games (2-0-4), including all three away games in 2011 by a 1-1 margin. The club record for road unbeaten streak is seven games, set in the team’s inaugural season of 2006. The Dynamo are now unbeaten in five consecutive games overall (2-0-3) and 3-1-2 all-time at Toyota Park.

Jamaican international midfielder Je-Vaughn Watson entered the match as a substitute in the 78th minute, making his Dynamo and MLS debut.

Dynamo midfielder Geoff Cameron played his 100th game for the Dynamo in all competitions, becoming the 14th player in club history to reach that milestone. Defender Corey Ashe moved into a tie for fifth place in club history by appearing in his 140th game, tying assistant coach Wade Barrett.

Midfielder Brad Davis made the 190th start of his MLS career, defender Bobby Boswell played in his 170th career MLS game, defender Hunter Freeman played in the 90th game of his MLS career, midfielder Lovel Palmer made his 35th start for Houston in all competitions, and midfielder Danny Cruz made his 25th start for the Dynamo in all competitions.

The Dynamo played without forwards Calen Carr (concussion), Brian Ching (rib separation), and Sergio Koke (visa); midfielder Francisco Navas Cobo (hamstring); and defender Jermaine Taylor (foot sprain).