Houston Dynamo FC fall to FC Dallas in final of La Copita tournament

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

By Robert H Kelly

Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (April 10, 2021) Playing with will undoubtedly be their starting lineup for their first Major League Soccer match in a week, Houston Dynamo FC dropped a 3-0 decision to FC Dallas, which made their in-state rival the champions of the La Copita tournament.

Both FC Dallas and the Dynamo, along with Austin FC, San Antonio FC participate in the inaugural edition of La Copita. The newly formed preseason tournament kicked off ahead of the Major League Soccer (MLS) and United Soccer League (USL) 2021 seasons

The Dynamo contained the Dallas offensive punch until late in the first half. With 13 minutes to go until halftime, forward Franco Jara got the ball past Houston goalkeeper Marko Maric, from outside the penalty area with a shot to the far post, for the score. 

Four minutes later, in the 41st minute, midfielder Andres Ricuarte sneaks the ball past three Houston players into the 6-yard box. Defender Ryan Hollingshead just happened to be "in the right place at the right time," gentling nudging in to the goal for the final score of the first half.

Dallas added an insurance in the 84th minute when Dynamo defender Sam Junqua tried to high ball with his right foot, but he slipped. Dallas forward Jesus Ferreira was there to claim possession. He dribbled into the box and slotted a shot past Maric to the far post.

Dynamo head coach Tab Ramos stated after the game,

“It was good to play a high-quality team like Dallas. I think we certainly could have used a couple more of these games before going into preseason. We needed a match like this where every ball was hard and every play mattered. I’m happy with the team and the first 35-45 minutes. I thought we did quite well. Their goal came sort of against the run of play when we were getting ready to score. Unfortunately, then the other goal came from a freekick where we weren’t ready. I think it was just a preseason mistake. Other than that, the second half was not great for us. I didn’t think we played well in the second half. We had a good overall first half, but the second half wasn’t good enough. Overall, the preseason has been very good, and I think we will be ready for Friday.”

Despite the score, Marić was a stalwart throughout the match, making a number of excellent saves to keep his team in it. In the 11th minute, a Dallas counter resulted in a shot inside the area, but Marić came up with a big save in a one-on-one situation. Unofficially, he finished the afternoon with six saves.

The Dynamo will kick off the 2021 MLS season at home on Friday, April 16 against the San Jose Earthquakes at 7 p.m. CDT.

Houston Dynamo FC defeat Austin FC 3-2 in La Copita opener

Photo by
Paul-Michael Ochoa
and provided by Houston Dynamo FC
Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved
Used with permission

AUSTIN, TEXAS (April 3, 2021)  Houston Dynamo FC defeated Austin FC 3-2 at St. David’s Performance Center earlier today in the opening game of the La Copita preseason tournament for both teams. Houston scored three times in the second half to improve to 5-0-0 overall this preseason and 1-0-0 in La Copita. 

 

Houston scored the game-winning goal in the 71st minute after forward Maxi Urruti launched a long diagonal pass down the left sideline. Speedy Dynamo forward Fafa Picault (shown above right) raced past defender Julio Cascante to force a one-on-one opportunity with the Austin goalkeeper and score his second goal of the match. 

 

Austin took a 1-0 lead into halftime after a well-placed free kick from midfielder Tomás Pochettino in the 16th minute, but Houston equalized in the 54th minute after Picault capitalized on a loose ball inside the box that unbalanced the Austin backline. The forward took a touch toward the near post to create space for a shot that crawled toward the far post. 

 

Houston took the lead two minutes later after midfielder Matías Vera chipped in a ball to Urruti. The ball floated over an Austin defender to the Argentine forward, who spun on his left foot and laced a right-footed side volley into the back of the net with his first touch. 

 

Austin scored their second and final goal of the game in the 66th minute after a rebound off of a save from Dynamo goalkeeper Marko Marić. The Croatian saved Alex Ring’s initial effort from distance, but the ball fell into the path of an oncoming Rodney Redes, who headed the ball into the back of the net.  

 

Maric finished with five saves in his first preseason game against an MLS opponent, including a big save in the final 10 minutes to deny Austin forward Jon Gallagher in a one-on-one situation at close range and preserve the win. 

 

Midfielder Memo Rodriguez scored the only goal in a 30-minute scrimmage that followed the first contest of the day. The scrimmage also featured Homegrown player Daniel Rios and two Dynamo Academy players, Jathan Juarez and Kieran Sargent. 

 

The Dynamo host OKC Energy in La Copita action at 12:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday, March 6 at Aveva Stadium. The preseason game is free and open to the public, additional information is available at HoustonDynamoFC.com.