MLS NEXT Pro Houston Dynamo 2

Dynamo 2 Defeat Rapids 2 at AVEVA Stadium

Published on May 8, 2022 under MLS NEXT Pro (MLS NEXT Pro)
Houston Dynamo 2 News Release


QUOTES:

(On the team's performance tonight) "I'm really happy with the response from last week. I'm really happy with the fact that the guys had a great week of training. They prepared well. We knew Colorado was going to throw some new things at us that we hadn't seen all season. They're very well coached. They're very detail oriented. They have a lot of good players. I think coming into this game after the first loss, you always are looking for the reaction from the players. I'm really happy with the intensity that the boys brought in the good moments and the bad moments. To score two goals and keep a clean sheet, obviously that's one of our goals every game, to score multiple goals and keep clean sheets and everything's kind of built around that. So, I'm excited for the guys. I think for me more than anything it shows them that even through adversity, they can respond."

(On incorporating Micael dos Santos Silva into the starting lineup) "Listen, I talk about this a lot, but it's the next man up, right. Even when we add players, we're always trying to add players to create competition. To push everyone in every position. And I think Micael has done an unbelievable job in adapting to being in a new country and in a new language but I think what's really important to stress during this is that when he came off Sterling came on, who had been starting, and saw the game out and performed really well. I think that just speaks volumes for the group. Not enough credit goes to the guys that potentially aren't always in the starting lineup. Diego, prime example. He started his first game, he scored a goal in Dallas and then all of a sudden he's not necessarily playing a lot of minutes. He steps in tonight, does the work that he needs to do and scores the goal that seals the game. That to me is what's important. It shows the guys that no matter where they are, either starting or coming off the bench, maybe a reserve that isn't even used, that the work they're doing on a weekly basis really pays off. I think those guys are celebrated as much if not more in the locker room than maybe some of the guys that start all the games because they realize that that's a really tough position to be in."

(on preparing for a long road trip) "We technically haven't been here (AVEVA Stadium) very much. To be honest, we played our first two home games here and then the last home game before this we played at PNC Stadium, which is a different venue. The message is very clear every week. It doesn't matter where we play. The standards are still the same. I think the travel side of things, the club has been fantastic with helping with resources to make sure that our travel is as seamless as possible. But to be fair, it's one game at a time. We have a three-game road trip. I talked to the boys after the game. It's really important that they take care of all of the details. To be honest, one game at a time, it doesn't matter where we play. Our standards are our standards. We know that they'll be prepared. We know that they're going to really focus on themselves and the nutrition and hydration and tactically we'll have them set up to hopefully get results. But again, it's a great thing to see young guys put in this situation where now you're at home, it's a great atmosphere, they're sleeping in their own bed and now we have to go on the road until June 11. So, this is what we want from the league. We want to put these guys under stress. We want to see what they do when we have trips across the country. So I'm really excited for the opportunity. Again, it's about responses. How are they going to respond now that we're going on the road for three weeks? How are they going to respond when we have a midweek game and we have a weekend off? All of those things are really exciting to see."

Dynamo 2 DF Talen Maples

(On today's game) "I thought it was honestly a good response to last week, I think everyone in the league was looking at us and seeing how we were going to come off that loss. Which was of course a very disappointing loss for us. Everyone took it with the right mindset, we came back the next week and we're just working even harder, it was really frustrating because we thought the game we lost wasn't really a lose-able game, but we lost it and we lost it by ourselves. Coming out here and putting on a good performance and not only winning and scoring goals but keeping a clean sheet and just kind of showing the league that we are not here to lose, it's a one-time thing, and we're just going to keep moving and take it game-by-game. I am very happy with the team, the subs coming in working really hard, they are a huge success."

(On his second goal in three weeks) "I think it is huge, I said this last week in terms of the game we lost, but goals change games. Whether it's the cleanest goal or it's a lucky goal that I happen to be fortunate enough to get, I am extremely happy to help the team as much as I can and be able to take some of the pressure off. That is something that I have been working on, something that me, Sterling Penniston-John), others, we stay after training and we do stuff like that because I think we can take off a little pressure. That pressure of, we need to score, we need to score, sometimes it doesn't come. So, being able to take that pressure off the team is always better and helps us"

(On how he feels about switching centerback partners) "To be honest, I think it is very easy considering that we have great people coming in, Ethan Bartlow, ballin' out with the first team right now, Sterling (Penniston-John) comes in and is just kind of biting his tongue, grinding his gears getting ready to go and he plays well so, and then Micael, we just signed him. Great player, comes into the team, does well with the team, great player with the ball at his feet, defensively very good. It is always easy when I have good players around me. They make me look good. It is easy when they all have the same mentality and I kind of wanted to say something as well, Xavier (Valdez) is a big part of that. Xavier has kept us in a lot of games by saving penalties and making saves, making simple saves that we are like 'yeah, he should make those,' but he still has to make them. As a team and as an organization, we are very disappointed that he didn't get Goalkeeper of the Month last month, I believe that he deserved it. I think that is on his head and I think that is on all of our heads, we want everyone to be successful here and I really believe that he deserved it last month. I think this month he is going to get it. It is a whole team as a collective but it's nice to have good players around me helping me make the team play well."

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