Houston Dynamo FC Fall to Mazatlán F.C., 0-2, in Leagues Cup Play
MLS Houston Dynamo FC

Houston Dynamo FC Fall to Mazatlán F.C., 0-2, in Leagues Cup Play

Published on August 1, 2025 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Houston Dynamo FC News Release


HOUSTON - Houston Dynamo FC fell by a 2-0 score to Mazatlán F.C. on Friday at Shell Energy Stadium in the Club's second contest in Leagues Cup Phase One action.

Goals from Facundo Almada and Fábio Gomes found the net and Nicol á s Benedetti assisted twice for Los Ca ñ oneros, who - at least temporarily - moved to the top of the Liga MX Leagues Cup table.

In the 25 th minute, Mazatlán opened the scoring against the run of play. Benedetti chipped in an out-swinging corner, finding the head of a streaking Almada, who had shaken free of his defender. Almada rose for a powerful header past a diving Pedro Cruz, who was making his first team debut on the evening, after winning the MLS Next Pro Goalie Wars at last week's MLS All-Star Week in Austin.

Prior to that score, Dynamo held the lead in shots, shots on goal, possession, final third entries, touches in the opponent's box, and expected goals. In the 41 st minute, Almada nearly picked up a second headed goal, on yet another cross from Benedetti. Almada's powered the header low and to Cruz's right, but the 21-year-old keeper got down quickly to parry away the opportunity and hold the deficit at one.

Dynamo FC came close to leveling the score in the opening minute of first half stoppage time, as Femi Awodesu found a loose ball in the Mazatlán box and blasted off the crossbar. The rebound bounced out to Erik Dueñas, who took the volley on the right foot from just outside the box. Mazatlán keeper Ricardo Gutiérrez dove to his left for a terrific save, and Mazatlán took a one-goal lead into the break.

In the second half, Los Ca ñ oneros doubled their advantage on the foot of Gomes. A Dynamo turnover just past the center line found Benedetti, who played a long through ball to Gomes, who slipped between two defenders and slowly tucked to the near post past Cruz for the final 2-0 tally.

Dynamo wrap up Phase One play on Tuesday, Aug. 5, hosting Liga MX side CF Pachuca at Shell Energy Stadium, with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets for that match are available HERE.

---

Mazatlán F.C. 2-0 Houston Dynamo FC

Leagues Cup - Phase One (2 of 3)

Shell Energy Stadium - Houston, Texas

Attendance: 10,126

SCORING SUMMARY

TEAM

1H

2H

FT

Houston Dynamo FC

0

0

0

Mazatlán F.C.

1

1

2

MAZ: Facundo Almada 1 (N icolás Benedetti 1) 25'

MAZ: Fábio Gomes 2 (Nicolás Benedetti 2) 57'

Houston Dynamo FC: Pedro Cruz; Griffin Dorsey (Duane Holmes 83'), Femi Awodesu, Pablo Ortiz, Daniel Steres (Felipe Andrade 75'); Júnior Urso, Brooklyn Raines; Érik Dueñas (Jack McGlynn 58'), Amine Bassi (Lawrence Ennali 58'), Sebastian Kowalczyk; Gabriel Segal (Ezequiel Ponce 58')

Unused substitutes: James Maurer, Ethan Bartlow, Artur, Ondřej Lingr, Olutoyosi Olusanya, Michael Halliday, Jonathan Bond

Mazatlán F.C.: Ricardo Gutiérrez; Alberto Herrera (Salvador Rodriguez 72'), Facundo Almada, Lucas Merolla (Ángel Leyva 72'), Bryan Colula; Alan Torres, Jordan Sierra; Jesús Hernández (Sebastián Fierro 85'), Nicolás Benedetti, Iván González (Anderson Duarte 63'); Fábio Gomes (Luiz Teodora 63')

Unused substitutes: Jorge Garcia, Jair Díaz, Victor Alcaráz, Mauro Lainez, Ángel Saavedra, Ricardo Rodriguez, Omar Moreno

DISCIPLINE:

MAZ: Lucas Merolla (caution; foul) 18'

HOU: Brooklyn Raines (caution; foul) 31'

HOU: Daniel Steres (caution; foul) 33'

MAZ: Bryan Colula (caution; foul) 35'

HOU: Gabriel Segal (caution; foul) 43'

OFFICIALS:

Referee: Marianela Araya Cruz

Assistant: Shirley Perello

Assistant: Felisha Mariscal

Fourth Official: Ekaterina Koroleva

VAR: Lizzet Amairany Garica Olvera

Weather: 90 degrees, sunny

Check out the Houston Dynamo FC Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Major League Soccer Stories from August 1, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central