HOUSTON (July 2, 2024) – Houston Dynamo FC travels to face Real Salt Lake on Wednesday, July 2, with kickoff scheduled for 8:30 p.m. CT at America First Field.
Houston enters Wednesday’s match seventh in the Western Conference with an 8-6-6 (WLD) record and 30 points. The Dynamo are undefeated in their last six matches, while finding the back of the net 14 times during that stretch.
Notably, earlier this week, Dynamo captain Héctor Herrera was named to the roster for the 2024 Major League Soccer All-Star Game. The midfielder is one of two players selected by MLS Commissioner Don Garber, alongside Columbus Crew’s Darlington Nagbe. This will be Herrera’s second consecutive All-Star Game appearance after representing Houston in last year’s match versus Premier League side Arsenal FC. The MLS All-Stars will face a team of All-Stars from LIGA MX on July 24 in Columbus, Ohio. Dynamo fans can watch the game on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
The Dynamo are coming off a 1-0 home victory versus Charlotte FC on Saturday behind an early goal from forward Aliyu Ibrahim in the fifth minute of the match. Forward Amine Bassi recorded his team-leading sixth assist of the season on the play, while forward Sebas Ferreira also tallied his second assist of the season on the play.
Goalkeeper Steve Clark earned MLSSoccer.com Team of the Matchday honors for his performance versus Charlotte. His impressive match included four saves for this fourth clean sheet of the season. The veteran shot stopper’s biggest moment came in the 75th minute to stop Liel Abada’s shot with a crucial diving save to the left.
The Dynamo continue to boast one of the best defensive records so far this season, despite a shuffling back line that has seen seven players start due to injuries. The team has allowed just 23 goals this season, which is tied for the fewest in the Western Conference and third fewest across MLS. Additionally, Houston leads the Western Conference with 58 percent possession across the season, allowing the Dynamo to control matches and dictate pace of play.
Real Salt Lake enters Wednesday’s match as one of the strongest sides in the league, sitting third in the Western conference with a 11-3-7 (WLD) record and 37 points. However, Salt Lake’s historic 15-match unbeaten streak came to an end with a 1-0 home defeat to the LA Galaxy on Saturday. Prior to the loss, Salt Lake had been undefeated for the previous 103 days, which is the second-longest unbeaten streak in a single season in MLS history.
Houston and Salt Lake have a long history of matchups and will look to break the tie of their 13-13-11 (WLD) all-time regular season record. The two clubs met six times in 2023 between regular season, U.S. Open Cup and MLS Cup Playoffs matches. The Dynamo finished undefeated in regulation against Salt Lake with a 3-0-3 (WLD) record in all competitions. Last season, Houston eliminated Salt Lake from the MLS Cup Playoffs, winning 4-3 on penalties in Game 3 of the Round One Best-of-3 series to advance to the Western Conference Semifinals for the eighth time in club history.
In a rematch of last season’s Western Conference Final, Houston next hosts LAFC on Sunday, July 7, with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT at Shell Energy Stadium. Tickets for that match are available HERE.
