MLS Houston Dynamo FC

Houston Dynamo Game Notes

Published on November 2, 2011 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Houston Dynamo FC News Release


Houston Dynamo vs. Philadelphia Union

Thursday, 3 November 2011 - 7:30 p.m. CT

Eastern Conference semifinals -- Game 2

Robertson Stadium, Houston TX

Broadcast Information

TV: ESPN2, ESPN Deportes

Radio: SportsTalk 790, La Ranchera 850

Dynamo vs. Philadelphia Union

The Houston Dynamo will try to advance to their fourth conference final in six seasons on Thursday night when they host the second leg of an Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Philadelphia Union. Houston enters the game with a 2-1 lead in the aggregate scoring system after winning Game 1 on the road on Sunday. The teams were separated by one point during the regular season, with Houston edging the Union for second place despite Philadelphia's 1-0-1 record in the head-to-head series.

Series Notes

The Dynamo's 2-1 win on Sunday was the first road playoff win in club history and the team's first regulation playoff victory since the 2007 MLS Cup final; Houston went 0-1-1 in 2008, while its win in the 2009 playoff series against Seattle came in overtime.

With the Game 1 victory, Houston extended its unbeaten streak to seven games (5-0-2) and is now 8-2-4 in the last 14 games, dating back to a 3-1 win over Seattle on July 30. The unbeaten streak is the club's longest since an 11-game regular-season unbeaten streak from April 19-June 20, 2009.

Goalkeeper Tally Hall made 10 stops to key the Houston victory in Game 1, tying a club record Hall already held jointly with former Dynamo standout Pat Onstad. Hall is the sixth different goalkeeper to record at least 10 saves in an MLS playoff game, while it was only the third 10-save game since Joe Cannon tied the MLS record with 12 saves in a 2005 playoff game; the other two came from New England's Matt Reis.

Defender Andre Hainault opened the scoring with a header just five minutes into the first leg. He has now scored five goals in his Dynamo career, all in October road games; he scored against Portland on October 14 and scored on October 2, 2010 against Philadelphia.

Midfielder Brad Davis assisted on the goal, the fourth assist of his postseason career and his first since the 2007 MLS Cup final, when he assisted on the game-winning goal. In all competitions, Davis has a career-high 17 assists in 2011, adding an 18th in a September friendly against Monterrey.

Houston defender Corey Ashe will become the 13th player in Dynamo history to make 100 starts for the club in all competitions if he is in Thursday's lineup. Ashe, who made his MLS debut in 2007 but moved to defense earlier this season, is likely to make his career-high 32nd start of the season.

Since establishing eight regulars of 11 starters on September 17, the Dynamo have gone 5-0-1 while playing three home games and three away games, outscoring opponents 11-4. Prior to that stretch, Houston was 8-9-12 with a -2 goal differential in MLS play.

Playoff Notes

Houston is 7-4-3 all-time in the MLS Cup Playoffs (counting the 2006 final as a tie). The Dynamo won championships in 2006 and 2007 and reached the Western Conference final in 2009. Houston has now been the No. 2 seed in its conference in four of five appearances, reaching the conference final in each of the three previous instances.

Seven Dynamo players made their playoff debuts in Sunday's first leg, including starting goalkeeper Tally Hall; midfielders Luiz Camargo, Danny Cruz, and Adam Moffat; and substitutes Will Bruin, Carlo Costly, and Je-Vaughn Watson.

The Dynamo have only scored first in four of their 14 all-time playoff games, including Sunday's first leg, and they have won all four. Houston is 3-4-2 when allowing the first goal, including come-from-behind wins in the 2006 Western Conference final, the 2007 Western Conference semifinal second leg, and the 2007 MLS Cup.

Of Houston's 19 all-time playoff goals, a remarkable 14 have been scored after the 60th minute, including four overtime goals. Three of those were scored by forward Brian Ching, with a tying header in the 2006 MLS Cup final and game-winners in the second leg of Western Conference semifinals in 2007 and 2009. Ching ranks second among active players with seven playoff goals, trailing only Landon Donovan (17).

Midfielder Brad Davis has appeared in all 14 Dynamo playoff games, starting 13, while forward Brian Ching has started 13 but missed the 2007 MLS Cup final due to injury.

Three of the five starters return from Houston's defense in the 2009 playoffs, which saw the Dynamo record a shutout streak of 312 minutes (fourth-longest in MLS postseason history). Defenders Bobby Boswell, Geoff Cameron, and Andre Hainault are all playing the same positions, with Corey Ashe taking over the left back spot and Tally Hall stepping into goal.

According to MLSsoccer.com writer Elijah Miller, the Dynamo are the youngest team to qualify for the 2011 playoffs, with an average age of 26.51 in the regular season, slightly younger than Eastern Conference opponents Kansas City (26.80), Columbus (26.92), and Philadelphia (26.97). That statistic is calculated by multiplying a player's age by minutes played and dividing by a team's total minutes played. Houston's regular lineup includes Danny Cruz (21); Luiz Camargo (24); Corey Ashe, Andre Hainault, and Adam Moffat (25); and Geoff Cameron and Tally Hall (26).

Previous Dynamo home playoff games (5-1 record):

October 29, 2006 Houston 2-0 Chivas USA [3-2 aggregate] Davis, Ching

November 5, 2006 Houston 3-1 Colorado Dalglish 2, Mullan

November 2, 2007 Houston 4-1 aet FC Dallas [4-2 aggregate] Holden, Ching 2, Davis

November 10, 2007 Houston 2-0 Kansas City Jaqua, De Rosario

November 9, 2008 Houston 0-3 New York [1-4 aggregate]

November 8, 2009 Houston 1-0 aet Seattle [1-0 aggregate] Ching

Dynamo Notes

Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear earned his 100th career MLS regular season win in the Oct. 23 regular-season finale. Kinnear became the fifth coach in league history to reach that milestone, joining Seattle coach Sigi Schmid (157), LA coach Bruce Arena (128), Bob Bradley (124), and Steve Nicol (112). Kinnear has quality to go with his quantity: His .567 career winning percentage ranks fourth in league history.

Since a 3-0 loss at Chivas USA on July 23, the Dynamo have been one of the top teams in MLS, posting an 8-2-4 record in their last 14 games while clinching a playoff spot. That stretch includes a 7-1 record against Western Conference teams; Houston is 9-5-4 on the season against its former conference.

Brazilian midfielder Luiz Camargo has started the last seven MLS games for the Dynamo, and the team has posted a 5-0-2 record in those contests. The insertion of Camargo has allowed Geoff Cameron to shift to center back and has, for the last five games, pushed Andre Hainault to right back. The Dynamo have allowed just four goals from open play in seven games with Camargo in midfield.

Midfielder Brad Davis, a league MVP candidate, finished the season with 16 assists, the most in MLS and a career high, and added another in Sunday's first leg. Davis also led the league in chances created, both overall and from the run of play, according to MLS stats partner Opta. In all competitions, Davis has recorded at least 11 assists for the Dynamo in five of his six seasons, falling short of that total only in 2007, when he missed 13 MLS games due to injury.

Midfielder Danny Cruz has missed time due to injury in his third professional season, but the Dynamo are 7-2-5 when the 21-year-old sparkplug starts a match.

All-Star Geoff Cameron has made eight starts on defense in 2011, including the final six regular-season games and Sunday's first leg. When Cameron starts on defense, Houston's goals against average has been exactly 1.00, while it rises to 1.26 in all other MLS games.

Although Houston's wins in its last three road games were its first road wins of the year, the Dynamo were among the hardest teams to beat all year when playing away from Robertson Stadium. Houston ranked second in the league in road ties with nine, trailing only New York (10), and tied for the fourth fewest road losses of any team with six, trailing Seattle (3), New York (5), and LA (5).

Houston has scored in the final 11 minutes to win or tie a game on 10 separate occasions this season, including six times in a nine-game span from August 6-September 24.

With a 10-3-4 home record, the Dynamo finished tied for second in MLS in home points per game (2.0) and tied the club record for home regular season wins, set in 2008 with a 10-1-4 record. The Dynamo are 6-0-2 in their last eight home games, dating back to a 2-0 loss to Columbus on June 18.

Houston has scored first in 15 out of 35 MLS games on the season; the Dynamo are 10-1-4 when notching the first goal and 3-8-7 when the opponent scores first; there have been two 0-0 ties. Houston's 10 results when allowing the first goal tied Seattle for the most in MLS; the Dynamo's winning percentage when allowing the first goal (.361) ranked third.

Spreading the Wealth

The Dynamo received goals from 17 different players in 2011 out of a total of 25 field players who have taken the field in an MLS game. Houston has seven players with at least four goals, including co-scoring leaders Bobby Boswell, Geoff Cameron, Brian Ching, and Will Bruin with five goals each and Colin Clark, Brad Davis, and Cam Weaver with four goals apiece.

Better Late than Never

The Dynamo scored 23 of 45 regular-season goals (51.1%) in the final 15 minutes of a half, portions of the game that make up 30 percent of a match. Houston scored 14 goals in the final 15 minutes, second in MLS.

Re-Writing the Record Books

Brad Davis is playing his way to the top of the Dynamo statistic charts. Davis is the all-time club leader in games played in all competitions (198) and MLS (159); games started in all competitions (180) and MLS (145); minutes played in MLS (12,372); and assists in all competitions (72) and MLS (62). Davis also ranks second in team history in minutes played in all competitions (15,222) and third in goals in all competitions (23) and MLS goals (21).

Always There

Goalkeeper Tally Hall was one of just four players in MLS to contest all 3,060 minutes of the MLS regular season. Hall and midfielder Brad Davis were the only Houston players to start each MLS game.

Up Next: To Be Determined

The winner of the series will advance to the Eastern Conference final, to be played on Sunday against either Sporting Kansas City or the Colorado Rapids. Kansas City held a 2-0 edge going into Wednesday's second leg, and Sporting would host the conference final with a win or a tie Wednesday. If the opponent is Colorado, the winner of the Houston-Philadelphia series would host the single-game playoff.

New Blood

Of the Dynamo's 26 players on the roster, 14 are new to the orange in 2011. Houston acquired three players via draft (Kofi Sarkodie, Will Bruin, Evan Newton), four via trade (Colin Clark, Jason Garey, Calen Carr, Adam Moffat), five via international signings (Hunter Freeman, Jermaine Taylor, Je-Vaughn Watson, Carlo Costly, Luiz Camargo), and two via the Dynamo Academy (Alex Dixon, Josue Soto).

Local Flavor

Almost one-third of the Dynamo's current roster has close ties to Texas. Six players are native Texans (Bobby Boswell, Tyler Deric, Alex Dixon, Hunter Freeman, Francisco Navas Cobo, Josue Soto), Colin Clark attended SMU in Dallas, and Jason Garey (Gonzales, La.) has a sister, Melissa, who was a standout player at Texas A&M University in College Station.

Miscellaneous Stats - 2011 Season

Quickest goal Bruin (4), 4/29 vs. DC

Quickest goal against Richards (0:39), 5/21 vs. NY

Game-winning goals after 75' (4) Freeman (86), 4/17 vs. NE

Dixon (93+), 8/20 vs. RSL

Bruin (79), 9/17 vs. SJ

Cameron (87), 9/24 at FCD

Game-tying goals after 75' (6) Boswell (83), 4/23 at CHI

Clark (87), 5/28 vs. FCD

Ching (89), 6/25 at DC

Cameron (84), 8/6 at PHI

Boswell (90), 8/17 at NE

Carr (86), 9/14 at CLB

Game-winning goals against after 75' (2) Palguta (84), 5/4 vs. COL

Salinas (86), 8/27 at VAN

Game-tying goals against after 75' (3) Zakuani (80), 3/25 at SEA

Ballouchy (91+), 5/21 vs. NY

Collin (90), 7/16 vs. KC

Hat tricks (1) Bruin, 4/29 vs. DC

Hat tricks against (1) Braun, 7/23 at CHV

Own goals (1) Pearce (55), 6/11 vs. CHV

Own goals against (0) none

Red cards (7) Sarkodie (72), 5/28 vs. FCD

Palmer (52), 6/18 vs. CLB

Clark (51), 7/16 vs. KC

Ching (69), 7/16 vs. KC

Watson (70), 7/23 at CHV

Moffat (94+), 8/17 at NE

Costly (64), 9/10 at KC

Red cards against (3) Amarikwa (93+), 7/3 at COL

Reis (94+), 8/17 at NE

Ekpo (11), 9/14 at CLB

Penalty kicks (3-3) Davis goal (12), 5/21 vs. NY (Sutton)

Davis goal (41), 6/25 at DC (Hamid)

Davis goal (47), 9/17 vs. SJ (Busch)

Penalty kicks against (5-5) Plata goal (50), 5/7 at TFC (Hall)

Donovan goal (46+), 5/25 at LA (Hall)

Fernandez goal (37), 7/30 vs. SEA (Hall)

Mendoza goal (64), 9/14 at CLB (Hall)

Mendoza goal (76), 9/14 at CLB (Hall)

Youngest goalscorer Will Bruin (21y,168d), 4/10 vs. VAN

Oldest goalscorer Brian Ching (33y,88d), 8/20 vs. RSL

Youngest starter Kofi Sarkodie (20y,3d), 3/25 at SEA

Oldest starter Brian Ching (33y,160d), 10/30 at PHI

How the 2011 Dynamo Were Assembled

Date Player Transaction type

12/16/05 Eddie Robinson Moved with club from San Jose (SJ acquired 01 SuperDraft)

12/16/05 Brian Ching Moved with club from San Jose (SJ acquired 03 Supplemental Draft)

12/16/05 Brad Davis Moved with club from San Jose (SJ acquired 05 trade)

1/12/07 Corey Ashe 2007 MLS SuperDraft, Round 2 (pick 26)

12/12/07 Bobby Boswell Traded from D.C. United for Zach Wells

1/18/08 Geoff Cameron 2008 MLS SuperDraft, Round 3 (pick 42)

1/15/09 Danny Cruz 2009 MLS SuperDraft, Round 3 (pick 41)

1/23/09 Tally Hall Signed as discovery player on free transfer from Esbjerg (Denmark)

2/27/09 Tyler Deric Signed as home-grown player (first in club history)

4/14/09 Andre Hainault Transferred from SIAD Most (Czech Republic)

6/9/09 Cam Weaver Traded from San Jose Earthquakes for Chris Wondolowski

3/4/10 Francisco Navas Cobo Signed as home-grown player

9/15/10 Colin Clark Traded from Colorado Rapids for Brian Mullan

12/3/10 Jason Garey Signed after rights traded from Columbus Crew for future draft pick

12/17/10 Hunter Freeman Signed after rights traded from New York Red Bulls for allocation money

1/13/11 Kofi Sarkodie 2011 MLS SuperDraft, Round 1 (pick 7)

1/13/11 Will Bruin 2011 MLS SuperDraft, Round 1 (pick 11)

1/18/11 Evan Newton 2011 MLS Supplemental Draft, Round 1 (pick 7)

1/19/11 Josue Soto Signed as home-grown player

1/19/11 Alex Dixon Signed as home-grown player

2/16/11 Jermaine Taylor Transferred from St. George's (Jamaica)

3/23/11 Calen Carr Traded from Chicago Fire for Dominic Oduro

4/15/11 Je-Vaughn Watson Transferred from Sporting Central (Jamaica)

7/21/11 Adam Moffat Traded from Portland Timbers for Mike Chabala and Lovel Palmer

8/4/11 Carlo Costly Loaned from Atlas de Guadalajara (Mexico)

8/9/11 Luiz Camargo Loaned from Clube Paran (Brazil)

Check out the Houston Dynamo FC Statistics

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