After a two week break in MLS play, the Houston Dynamo return to action on Saturday night at BBVA Compass Stadium against Eastern Conference foe D.C. United (7:45 p.m. CT).
D.C. United is seeking its third consecutive playoff appearance and enters Saturday's match in a four-way tie for fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
Head coach Ben Olsen is in his sixth full season with United after playing 221 games and winning nine total trophies for the club as a player.
Costa Rica international forward Alvaro Saborio leads D.C. with four goals this season and has 71 goals in 148 career MLS games, including 63 with Real Salt Lake from 2010-15.
Argentine playmaker Fabian Espindola has been an important player for United since his arrival in 2014. He has 63 goals and 35 assists in 208 career MLS games, and like Saborio spent his early years (2007-12) with Real Salt Lake.
Former Dynamo defender Bobby Boswell anchors the backline. One of the most durable players in MLS, Boswell has started 32 or more games each of the last four seasons. The United captain started for Dynamo in the 2011 and 2012 MLS Cup Finals and won Dynamo Defender of the Year in 2008, 2010 & 2012. Boswell is third on the MLS all-time list for field players with 335 career regular-season starts. He's fourth in Dynamo history with 234 career appearances in all competitions and third with 228 starts.
Luciano Acosta is another Argentine playmaker for Ben Olsen's club. The 22-year-old is in his first season with D.C. United on loan from Argentine giants Boca Juniors, whom he joined in 2007 and made 25 appearances in 2013-14 season. The 5-foot-3 attacking midfielder is nicknamed La Joya, “The Jewel”.
