Days after playing in his fourth MLS All-Star Game, Brad Davis surpassed a club milestone Saturday in the Houston Dynamo’s 3-1 win over the Seattle Sounders.
Coming to Houston when the club relocated from San Jose, the All-Star has cemented himself as a stalwart in Houston’s lineup. On Saturday, Davis surpassed Brian Mullan as the franchise leader with 185 appearances in all competitions.
“I’ve been here for a while, and it’s great,” Davis said after the match. “Guys like Pat Onstad and Brian Mullan were up there and were a big part of this team, so to be up there with them, I’m proud of it.”
Playing more games than anyone else for the club speaks to Davis’ longevity and to his quality. Davis has been providing outstanding performances for the Dynamo week in and week out, amassing 65 career assists in all competitions along the way.
“His durability over the last four years has been excellent,” head coach Dominic Kinnear said about Davis’ milestone. “You also have to maintain consistency to keep getting selected, so for him I think it’s a great honor.”
In typical fashion, Davis marked the milestone by ringing up his MLS-leading 10 assist of the year, starting the sequence for what was the game winner.
Moffat makes impressive first start
After making just four appearances in 18 MLS games with Portland, Adam
Moffat has featured twice in as many opportunities with Houston and made
a good impression in his first game as a starter.
Against a dangerous Seattle team, Moffat was as advertised. After stepping into the lineup in place of an injured Danny Cruz, Moffat did well to break up Seattle possession and formed a good partnership with Geoff Cameron as the game wore on. While the Dynamo knew of his sturdy play in midfield, they were surprised with his eager and accurate attempts from distance.
“We asked him after the game, ‘You like to shoot, don’t you?’” Kinnear said. “If he keeps shooting like that, we’ll keep encouraging him to do it.”
With a positive first two games under his belt, Moffat is focusing on blending into his new team as the Dynamo work to secure a playoff spot.
“It went well tonight, obviously, but there is still some getting used to each other,” Moffat said after Saturday’s win. “The sooner I can make that transition, the better it is for us overall. We want to make the playoffs, so it was good.”
Clark comes back strong
While Brian Ching’s return got the postgame headlines, Colin Clark also
made an impact while returning from a red-card suspension. Like Ching,
the midfielder missed last week due to a reckless tackle against
Sporting Kansas City’s Aurelien Collin. Saturday, the returning Clark
tallied a goal and an assist while playing one of his most active games
in Dynamo orange.
“The last goal was just awesome hustle from Colin,” Ching said. “I thought he was good up and down [the flank] all night.”
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com. Follow him on twitter at @Dynamoexaminer.
