Houston Dynamo FC begin play in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday, April 26 when they travel to Florida to face the Tampa Bay Rowdies at 6:30 p.m. CT.
Wednesday’s match will mark the 16th edition of the tournament to feature the Dynamo. The club won the competition in 2018 after they defeated the Philadelphia Union in the final in downtown Houston. That was the third domestic trophy for the Dynamo and the first since back-to-back MLS Cup titles in 2006 and 2007.
Houston enters the match with a three-game unbeaten streak after they defeated Inter Miami CF 1-0 at Shell Energy Stadium on Saturday. Defender Daniel Steres scored the game-winning goal and earned both Man of the Match honors and a spot on the MLSSoccer.com Team of the Matchday. The goal began with an intricate sequence in the buildup that was capped by a well-placed header from forward Corey Baird into the path of Steres.
With the victory, the Dynamo have now won four consecutive games at home for the first time since the 2019 season. The triumphs also marked the first time in league history that a team opened their home slate with four consecutive clean sheet victories.
Tampa Bay returns to Al Lang Stadium after a narrow, 1-0 defeat, on the road against San Diego Loyal on Sunday. Three regular contributors missed the match due to injury or excused absences. Lewis Hilton missed the match after sustaining an injury in warmups in San Diego. Jake Areman and Forrest Lasso did not travel with the team to Southern California.
The Rowdies reached the Third Round of the tournament in 2022, falling to Orlando City SC. The team would reach the Eastern Conference final of the USL Championship that year, falling to Louisville City. The Rowdies currently sit in 11th place in the Eastern Conference after playing seven games this season. The team has one victory in their last five outings and looks to build momentum before they travel to Michigan this weekend to face Detroit City FC.
The Dynamo return to league play on May 6 when they host Real Salt Lake at Shell Energy Stadium.
