COLUMBUS, Ohio (March 8, 2025) – Houston Dynamo FC earned a point in a scoreless road draw versus Columbus Crew SC at Lower.com Field this afternoon, marking the team’s first clean sheet of the season.
Notably, the match saw midfielder Nico Lodeiro make his first start for the Dynamo after scoring a goal in his last appearance. This also marked the experienced Uruguayan’s 196th regular season start across the three MLS clubs that he has played for.
Goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell contributed five saves to today’s clean sheet, with his first coming in the 10th minute, where he dove to block the direct set piece attempt from Diego Rossi.
Lodeiro took his chances from outside of the box in the 32nd minute, but the attempt was not threatening enough to beat goalkeeper Patrick Schulte.
Tarbell was called into action again in the 45th minute, reacting quickly to come out and block the shot of Mohamed Farsi when a ball was played over the top to keep the match tied going into halftime.
Houston had a dangerous chance in the 48th minute with a combination play between defender Griffin Dorsey and forwards Ezequiel Ponce and Amine Bassi. The play saw the Argentinean striker find Bassi inside the box with a backheel pass, where he laid off the ball to Dorsey for a left-footed shot that was blocked by the Crew’s backline.
Tarbell prevented another scoring opportunity from Columbus in the 52nd minute by redirecting a shot from Darlington Nagbe that came from outside the box. The Louisiana native was then called into action one last time in the 87th minute after Rossi forced a save from Tarbell with a powerful shot towards the near post.
The Dynamo return to Shell Energy Stadium on Saturday, March 15 to host Real Salt Lake for their 40th MLS regular season matchup. Tickets for all of Houston’s home matches are available HERE.
