Houston Dynamo FC sign goalkeeper Blake Gillingham

Photo courtesy of Houston Dynamo FC

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2025 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (February 14, 2025)  Houston Dynamo FC has added a new goalkeeper to their squad, signing Blake Gillingham through the 2025 season. The club also has options to keep him through 2028.

Gillingham, a 22-year-old from San Jose, California, joins the team after playing college soccer at Creighton University and Santa Clara University. He had an impressive college career, making 33 appearances between the two schools. In his final season with the Creighton Bluejays, he started all 18 matches, recorded 48 saves, and had four shutouts. 

“Blake is a young goalkeeper who worked hard in preseason to earn his spot,” said Dynamo President of Soccer Pat Onstad. “He will give us depth at the position, and we are excited for him to learn from some of the best in the league.”

Gillingham showed his talent early in college. In his sophomore year at Creighton, he became the starter midway through the season and made 46 saves in 11 matches. Before transferring to Creighton, he spent a season at Santa Clara University, where he played four matches and recorded his first college shutout in a game against UC Davis.

Gillingham is known for his quick reflexes, strong hands, and ability to organize his defense. He played club soccer with De Anza Force SC in Northern California and attended Bellarmine College Prep.

Pasadena area swimmers shine in Day 2 of SCAC Championships

Photo by Darla S Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2025 All Rights Reserved
(archived photo)

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2025 All Rights Reserved

GARLAND, TEXAS (February 13, 2025) Swimmers from Pasadena, Texas continued to shine at the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Swimming and Diving Championships at Garland ISD Natatorium in Garland, Texas. Day two saw University of St. Thomas sophomore Emely Lopez (Pasadena High School) and McMurry University junior Harrison Brown (First Baptist Christian Academy) compete in the 50-yard freestyle and also swim the anchor leg (freestyle) for their respective universities in the 400-yard medley relay.

Brown anchored the War Eagle relay to a fourth-place finish, posting the time of :47.74 to finish the relay with the time of 3.35.17, dropping 4.9 seconds from their season best. Lopez (shown above) covered her 100-yard anchor leg with the time of 1:01.73 to assist her Celts' teammates record the time of 4:29.50; dropping 4.54 seconds off their season best to take eighth place.

Both also competed in the women's and men's 50-yard freestyle, with Lopez placing 29th and Brown finishing in 18th place.

The championships will continue on Friday with the 100-yard butterfly, 400-yard individual medley, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke, 100-yard backstroke, and 200-yard freestyle relay.

SCAC Swimming-Diving Championships kick off for Pasadena area athletes

Photo by Darla S Tamulitis, La VIta Loca Photography, Copyright 2025 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2025 All Rights Reserved

GARLAND, TEXAS (February 12, 2025) The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Swimming and Diving Championships kicked off on Wednesday, February 12, with six swimmers and divers, who competed in their prep careers for various Pasadena, Texas area high schools. Two of the six swimmers, Emely Lopez (Pasadena HS, Pasadena, TX) who attends for St. Thomas University and Harrison Brown (First Baptist Christian Academy) who is at McMurry University, saw action on the opening night of the meet.

The championships is being contested at the Garland ISD Natatorium and saw four event finals on Wednesday.  Lopez, who is in her second year of competing for the Celts, anchored their 200-yard medley relay to the eighth-place finish in the finals with the time of 1:59.69, improving from their seed time of 2:01.46.

Brown, who is in his junior year at McMurry, swam on two relays who scored in the finals. In the 200-yard medley relay, he swam the freestyle leg for the War Hawks posting a 1:37.86, good enough for fifth place. In the final event of the evening, Brown, along with Wes Scalf, Montgomery Cortez, and Victor Zambrano placed fourth in the 800-yard freestyle relay with the time of 7:13.7, which set a new school record in the event.

The other four Pasadena, Texas area swimmers; Jael Medrano (Pasadena HS), Alan Ramirez, (Pasadena HS), Alexa Montanez (Pasadena HS), and Navya Karunarathne (South Houston HS), all of whom compete for University of the Ozarks (Arkansas) did not see action. They will kick off their competition later in the week.