With Andre Hainault (Canada) and Jermaine Taylor (Jamaica) away with their national teams for the Gold Cup, Houston will sport a new look in central defense in the coming weeks.
Bobby Boswell is a staple on the Dynamo back line, but he’ll get a new partner Saturday night when Houston heads west to face the San Jose Earthquakes (9:30 p.m., Galavisión, SportsTalk 790, La Ranchera 850).
Veteran Eddie Robinson is an option, as is Geoff Cameron — a member of the MLS Best XI at center back in 2009. While it’s not clear who head coach Dominic Kinnear will select to pair with Boswell, the team is counting on experience and chemistry to get them through the coming weeks.
“It doesn’t matter who’s in there because I’ve played a lot of games with both of those guys,” Boswell said. “We knew guys were going to be missing due to tournaments and things like injuries. So whoever [Kinnear] puts out there, we’re going to try and work together and get a win.”
Stadium Update
The Dynamo’s new soccer-specific stadium is beginning to
take shape. The club’s president of business operations, Chris Canetti,
led a tour of the site on Wednesday, previewing what 22,000 fans will
see at the 2012 home opener.
WATCH: Video from stadium site tour
With construction progressing ahead of schedule, the target date of May 2012 is well within reach. Of course, that could render Houston homeless for the early stages of next season.
“If we have to start the first six weeks on the road, everyone’s prepared to do that,” Canetti said, while also mentioning the potential of playing one or two home games at another venue. “We want to get as many of our games in this stadium as possible, so whatever it takes. That’s the goal.”
In addition to the travel, there are other scheduling issues. Because Houston’s future home is in the heart of the city’s sports landscape, the team will have to cooperate with its fellow professional sports teams to avoid issues of parking and traffic.
“This year there were actually eight conflicts,” Canetti said. “We’ll have to work with the Astros on scheduling, because it’ll be too congested if we both play at the same time.”
While there are still logistics to finalize, the Dynamo front office is pleased with the progress so far. The construction of the stadium structure is slated to begin in August.
MORE: Follow stadium construction with webcam
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com. Follow him on twitter at @Dynamoexaminer.
