Houston Dynamo FC close a two-game road trip on Sunday at PayPal Park when they face the San Jose Earthquakes at 8:30 p.m. CT. The match will air live in English on AT&T SportsNet Southwest and in Spanish on TeleXitos 47.2.
The Dynamo look to bounce back after Tuesday’s loss in the state capital against Austin FC. Houston took the lead early in the match after defender Adam Lundkvist found midfielder Coco Carrasquilla on the left flank. Carrasquilla muscled his way past an Austin defender to score the opening goal of the game and his second tally of the season. Lundkvist now leads the team with five assists and that marks a new regular season high for the Swedish outside back.
Lundkvist’s first assist of the season came in Houston’s 4-3 victory over San Jose at PNC Stadium on April 9. Forward Sebas Ferreira finished with a brace in Houston’s victory on April 9 and his goal in the eighth minute was his first goal for the Dynamo. Forward Darwin Quintero also scored a goal and defender Teenage Hadebe found the back of the net in the second half.
The Dynamo have won two of the last three meetings with San Jose and enter Sunday’s game with a 15-9-4 (WLD) record in the all-time series. Houston is looking for their fifth victory on the road against the Earthquakes and the first since a 2-1 triumph on Aug. 19, 2016. The two teams played to a 1-1 draw in the last meeting at PayPal Park on July 24, 2021.
San Jose has won two of their last three games and enter Sunday’s game with a 5-3-4 record (WLD) since Alex Covelo was named the interim head coach on April 18. Covelo replaced Matias Almeyda after the Earthquakes began the season winless in their first seven games and started with a 0-4-3 record. The Earthquakes enter Sunday’s match unbeaten in their last eight matches at home, their lone loss at home was the home opener against the New York Red Bulls.
The Dynamo return to PNC Stadium on Saturday, July 23 to host Minnesota United FC. The first 2,500 fans will get a plush Diesel Shoulder Buddy courtesy of Heriberto Ramos. The shoulder buddy has a magnetic tab you can slip under your shirt to allow Dynamo Diesel to perch on your shoulder all game long. For tickets and additional information visit HoustonDynamoFC.com.
Here are three key points ahead of Sunday’s game:
- BACKLINE KEY IN DYNAMO OFFENSE: Dynamo defender Adam Lundkvist tallied his fifth assist of the season on Tuesday and the backline has played a key role in Houston’s offense this campaign. Lundkvist has two assists in his last five games and defender Teenage Hadebe scored the equalizer in the 2-2 draw with FC Dallas on July 9. Lundkvist is tied with forward Sebas Ferreira for the second most chances created this season with 18 and Zeca has the third most passes ending in the final third with 200. Both outside backs will look to provide service into the heart of the box where the Dynamo have scored 16 of their 25 goals this season. To date, six goals have been scored from a cross from open play.
- SUMMER ROAD TOUR TAKES DYNAMO COAST-TO-COAST: Sunday’s road trip kicks off a stretch that will take the Dynamo on the road for five of their next seven matches. The Dynamo will travel nearly 12,000 miles over the next two weeks beginning this weekend and take a pit stop in Houston for their match against Minnesota United on July 23. The Dynamo close the month with a cross-country road trip beginning with a match against the Philadelphia Union on July 30 and five days later the team will face the Vancouver Whitecaps at B.C. Place.
- SAN JOSE FIND MOMENTUM AWAY FROM HOME: San Jose earned four points from their recent two-game road trip. The Earthquakes opened the trip with a 3-2 victory over the LA Galaxy on Wednesday and they played Toronto FC to a 2-2 draw on July 9. Jeremy Ebobisse scored the second goal of the match against the Galaxy and is now tied for the second most goals in the league at 11. Defensively, goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski leads the league with 76 saves and has earned two clean sheets this season.
