After the Houston Dynamo’s 1-0 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps last Saturday, Twitter was abuzz with commentary on the club’s season outlook.
“Embarrassing,” some called it.
“There goes the playoffs,” others said.
Hyperbole has become the norm in the age of social media, but for the Dynamo the loss is just that: one loss.
“You have to keep it as level-headed as possible,” Houston head coach Dominic Kinnear said. “When you win, you’re not the best team in the world, and when you lose, you’re not the worst.”
Accepting the outcome is important for Houston. The truth of the matter is that the wheels have not come off on the Dynamo's season.
With both Sporting Kansas City and the Columbus Crew taking disheartening losses last weekend, Houston missed an opportunity to make a move up the Eastern Conference standings. But the Dynamo’s defeat ultimately left them right where they were when they started the week: in third place in the conference and well within reach of the playoffs.
But that doesn’t mean the Dynamo are taking the loss lightly.
“I will say Saturday was the angriest we’ve been in the locker room in a long time,” Kinnear said. “It was a missed opportunity, especially when you look at what happened on the weekend and that it was a chance to move forward. It’s one of those where the guys spent a lot of time in the locker room, but you can’t dwell on it. We just have to look at it, point out the mistakes, and move on.”
The Dynamo are set to face Mexican side Monterrey on Sunday night in a friendly at Robertson Stadium but will not take part in league action again until Sept. 10 against Sporting. With the week off from league play, the Dynamo have a chance to rest, get healthy, and refocus.
“I don’t think it’s hard [to bounce back], because we can look at the way we’ve been playing,” said goalkeeper Tally Hall. “It was just one game, and it wasn’t a case of putting us in or keeping us out of the playoffs. We know we’re dangerous, and we know we’ll create opportunities and can play good soccer. I’m confident that we’ll keep doing that and make a push towards the playoffs.”
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com. Follow him on twitter at @Dynamoexaminer.
