MLS NEXT Pro Houston Dynamo 2

Houston Dynamo FC and Dynamo 2 Prepare for Midweek Matches on the Road

Published on May 24, 2022 under MLS NEXT Pro (MLS NEXT Pro)
Houston Dynamo 2 News Release


HOUSTON - Houston Dynamo FC return to Children's Mercy Park on Wednesday to face Sporting Kansas City, this time with a berth in the quarterfinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on the line. Dynamo 2 travel to Utah on Wednesday to face Real Monarchs at Zions Bank Stadium.

DYNAMO RETURN TO KANSAS WITH MOMENTUM

Houston opened a three-game road trip with a 3-0 victory over the LA Galaxy on Sunday in Southern California. Sebastian Ferreira scored the opening goal, his fifth of the regular season and tallied two assists in the match. Tyler Pasher scored the second goal of the evening with a long-range effort from outside the box. Houston's final goal of the game came in the second half following a sequence of mesmerizing dribbles from rookie forward Thor Ulfarsson. The forward created space for a shot that beat Jonathan Bond at the near post for his first professional goal.

Houston earned their second road victory of the season on Sunday and their fifth clean sheet across all competitions. Dynamo goalkeeper Steve Clark played a key role in that after he finished with a season-high six saves against the Galaxy. Five of those saves came in the first half when Houston held a slight 1-0 lead. Additionally, Adam Lundkvist led the team with six interceptions and defender Teenage Hadebe led the team with 10 clearances. The Dynamo backline combined for 23 of Houston's 28 clearances on Sunday.

This is Houston's second match at Children's Mercy Park this year and they look to split the series after they fell 1-0 on March 5. That was Houston's first loss of the season, and they look to avenge that prior to the final meeting of the year on Sept. 10 at PNC Stadium.

Kansas City also earned a result on the road over the weekend when they played the San Jose Earthquakes to a 1-1 draw. Sporting KC earned three points in their last league outing at home with a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Rapids on May 18 and they qualified for the Round of 16 by defeating FC Dallas 4-2 in extra time at home on May 10.

The winner of Wednesday's match will host the winner of the Minnesota United and Union Omaha match tomorrow. That match will kick off at 7 p.m. CT and fans can follow all of the U.S. Open Cup action on ESPN +. The Dynamo close the three-game road trip on Saturday against Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium.

DYNAMO 2 TRAVEL TO UTAH PRIOR TO BYE WEEK

Dynamo 2 found itself in uncharted territory in last week's match against MNUFC2. Heading into last weekend, Dynamo 2 were one of only two teams in the Western Conference that had not faced a shootout from the penalty spot at the end of regulation. This occurs if a game is still tied at the end of the regulation period. In this scenario, the team that wins the penalty shootout is awarded two points while the losing team is awarded just one. That ended over the weekend, as the whistle blew on the full 90 minutes with the two teams tied at one goal apiece.

To get to that point, Dynamo 2 broke through with a goal in the 54th minute, as defender Talen Maples scored a header after midfielder Jacob Evans passed to Juan Castilla on a short corner, who crossed the ball into the captain to give Houston a 1-0 lead. Then, MNUFC2 tied the game in the 61st minute, as Aziel Jackson got the ball from Nicholas Mendonca on a counterattack and cut back to his left to create enough space in front of the goal to get a shot off and score for Minnesota.

In the shootout, defender Ian Hoffmann and midfielders D'Alessandro Herrera, Juan Castilla and Diego Gonzalez scored on their kicks, before midfielder Paulo Lima had his shot blocked by the MNUFC2 goalkeeper to give the opponents two points in the match.

WHO:

Houston Dynamo FC at Sporting Kansas City

Houston Dynamo 2 at Real Monarchs

WHEN:

Wednesday, May 24 - 7:30 p.m. CT

Wednesday, May 24 - 8:00 p.m. CT

STREAM:

ESPN+

MLSNEXTPro.com

Here are three key points ahead of Wednesday's slate:

OPEN CUP RUN GOES DOWN FAMILIAR ROAD: This is the first road trip for the Dynamo in U.S. Open Cup play since 2017 and the first meeting between both teams in the tournament since Houston defeated Kansas City 4-2 at PNC Stadium in the quarterfinals of the 2018 edition of the Open Cup. Houston would go on to win the tournament for the first time that year and represent MLS in the 2019 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League. The all-time series between Houston and Kansas City is tied at 2-2 (W-L) in the tournament, with both teams trading victories from 2015-2018. Both teams are even in the regular season series with a 13-13-13 record and Houston holds a 4-2-1 (WLD) edge in the postseason series against Kansas City.

FERREIRA LIGHTS UP HOLLYWOOD: Sebas Ferreira's performance on Wednesday earned him MLS Player of the Week Honors and the 24-year-old is the first Dynamo player to contribute to three goals in a single game since forward Darwin Quintero led the team to a 5-3 victory over Sporting Kansas City on Aug. 25, 2020. The forward is the first Dynamo player to earn the award since Erick "Cubo" Torres won the award in April 2017. Ferreira has scored three goals and tallied two assists in his last five outings for the team and has scored six goals across all competitions in his first year for the Dynamo.

STALWARTS IN THE DYNAMO 2 BACKLINE: One crucial component of Dynamo 2's success during their inaugural season has been their stellar defense. While the backline has seen a few different members rotate in and out, the two players that have not changed are defenders Ian Hoffmann and Talen Maples. Both players have started all eight of Houston's matches this season, and have proven themselves to be high-level contributors in MLS NEXT Pro. The two have contributed to a backline that has only allowed eight goals all season, one of only four teams to have accomplished this feat. Last weekend may have been their best performance all year, as Maples contributed a goal and recorded a season-high six clearances, while Hoffmann recorded a season-best five interceptions.

Check out the Houston Dynamo 2 Statistics

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