HOUSTON (March 7, 2025) – Houston Dynamo FC make their first road trip of the season this week, traveling to face Columbus Crew SC at Lower.com Field on Saturday, March 8, with kickoff scheduled for 1:30 p.m. CT. Fans can watch the match via MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Saturday’s match will mark the first meeting between Houston and Columbus since the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16, after the Dynamo Houston defeated St. Louis CITY SC in the Round of 32 to advance further in the international competition than any other MLS Western Conference team.
Houston looks to bounce back this weekend from last weekend’s home loss to Inter Miami CF. Despite the result, the match did see midfielder Nico Lodeiro score his first Dynamo goal, while midfielder Erik Dueñas recorded his first assist in orange on the play. Lodeiro’s goal came in the 85th minute, when his left-footed finish found its way over the Inter Miami goalkeeper following a through pass from Dueñas. Additionally, the match featured the return of defenders Franco Escobar and Erik Sviatchenko to the starting lineup.
Columbus heads into Saturday’s fixture after falling 3-0 to LAFC in the first leg of the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16, while they are looking to build on their runner-up finish in the 2024 edition. In their most recent MLS regular season action, the Crew secured a 1-0 victory over Eastern Conference opponent New England Revolution, with Jacen Russell-Rowe scoring the lone goal at Gillette Stadium. Columbus currently sits second behind the Philadelphia Union on the Eastern Conference standings with six points through two matches.
Each team will look to take the lead the all-time regular season series record between the two sides this weekend, as Houston and Columbus both have eight wins, eight losses and 11 draws each. The last time the Dynamo and the Crew faced off in MLS action was in August 2023, when the Dynamo earned a 2-0 victory at Shell Energy Stadium with goals from forward Aliyu Ibrahim and former Dynamo forward Corey Baird.
The Dynamo currently have multiple connections to the Columbus Crew on the roster, including in current captain and midfielder Artur. The Brazilian started his MLS career in Columbus, playing six seasons from 2017-22 and winning the MLS Cup in 2020 and the Campeones Cup in 2021.
Additionally, President of Soccer Pat Onstad and Technical Director Asher Mendelsohn each spent five-plus years in Columbus. Onstad served as the team’s assistant coach (2014-2018) before being promoted to vice-president of soccer (2018-2021), while Mendelsohn served as the Crew’s director of soccer operations from 2014-18. Even further, assistant coach Josh Wolff spent 2014-18 in Columbus as an assistant coach.
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.
