THE BASICS
Houston Dynamo vs. Colorado Rapids
Saturday, October 8, 2016, 7:15 p.m. CT
BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston, Texas
BROADCAST INFORMATION
KUBE 57 - 7:00 p.m. (CHANNEL LISTINGS)
650 AM / Radio.com app- 7:00 p.m.
Univision Radio 1010 AM - 7:00 p.m.
PREVIEW
A crucial contest in the Western Conference playoff picture is the lone MLS fixture of the week as the Houston Dynamo play host to the Colorado Rapids on Saturday evening at BBVA Compass Stadium. The Dynamo come into the match fighting for their playoff lives following a 2-0 home loss to New York City FC last weekend, and could be eliminated from postseason contention with the failure to win. The Rapids are still in the hunt for the Supporters’ Shield as holders of the league’s best record, securing their berth in the 2016 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs following a 1-0 win against the Portland Timbers last weekend at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
REFEREE: Jose Carlos Rivero. AR1 (bench): Corey Parker; AR2 (opposite): Brian Poeschel; 4th: Kevin Terry Jr.
MLS Career: 66 games; FC/gm: 26.9; Y/gm: 3.9; R: 17; pens: 29
INJURY REPORT, PRESENTED BY HOUSTON METHODIST (as of September 13)
HOUSTON DYNAMO—OUT: Tyler Deric – left elbow sprain; Agus – left knee sprain
COLORADO RAPIDS—OUT: Jermaine Jones – knee; Dillon Serna – knee
HEAD-TO-HEAD
- ALL-TIME (22 meetings): Dynamo 8 wins, 28 goals … Rapids 8 wins, 29 goals … Ties 6
- AT HOUSTON (10 meetings): Dynamo 5 wins, 20 goals … Rapids 1 win, 14 goals … Ties 4
- RETURN MATCH: Colorado Rapids vs. Houston Dynamo, 2 p.m. MT
- LAST YEAR (MLS): 3/28: HOU 0, COL 0; 8/26: COL 2, HOU 1 (Sanchez 20; Doyle 79 – Davis 37); 9/26: HOU 3, COL 2 (Miranda 3; Barnes 24; Davis 47 – Sanchez 8, 44)
- The Dynamo took the last meeting between the teams, a 3-2 victory Sept. 26, 2015 at BBVA Compass Stadium, their win in league play in the series since 2009. The Rapids won five of the nine meetings in between, with four draws.
- The Dynamo haven’t won at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park since 2008, with the Rapids winning the last three meetings in Commerce City.
- Coaches record: Wade Barrett vs. POR: first game … Pablo Mastroeni vs. HOU: P4 W2 L1 D1
HOUSTON DYNAMO
The Houston Dynamo saw their winning streak put to an end after two games, falling 2-0 to New York City FC on Friday evening at BBVA Compass Stadium. The Dynamo are in 10th place in the Western Conference with 32 points from 30 games.
LAST GAME
- NYCFC took the lead when David Villa opened the scoring in impressive fashion in the 52nd minute. He received a pass following a short corner, took a long touch towards goal, and scored from a very narrow angle to the right of goal, nutmegging Houston goalkeeper Joe Willis in the process.
- NYCFC put the game away in stoppage time, Villa hitting for his second in finishing off an odd-man break on the counter, unleashing a rocket in the 91st minute that ripped underneath the bar from right on the edge of the area.
- Dynamo interim head coach Wade Barrett made no changes to the team that defeated the Portland Timbers 3- 1 at BBVA Compass Stadium.
- HOUSTON DYNAMO (4-2-3-1): Joe Willis - Sheanon Williams, Raul Rodriguez, Jalil Anibaba, DaMarcus Beasley - Collen Warner, Ricardo Clark (Cristian Maidana 63) - Andrew Wenger (Will Bruin 74), Boniek Garcia, Alex - Mauro Manotas (Jose Escalante 81).
TEAM NEWS
- The Dynamo had a three-game undefeated run, along with their two-game winning streak, put to an end in the loss to NYCFC, their first defeat since Aug. 27.
- “We didn’t take care of the ball very well. You know, we were just off tonight,” said Houston Dynamo interim coach “It’s hard to explain, we had a good week of training. It felt like, coming into the game, the guys were pretty confident. For whatever reason, we were kind of flat tonight, in a lot of different ways. I feel like we all kind of got knocked down tonight, myself included.”
- The Dynamo were shut out at the attacking end for the first time in eight games, since Aug. 6. It was the Dynamo’s ninth offensive shutout of the season, tied for fourth-most in MLS this season.
- “We didn’t get as many clean looks as I would have liked. We’re still dangerous on set pieces. We still had a couple of chances, like you said, Raul (Rodriguez) hit the post, Collen (Warner) had a good one pop to him there at the end,” Barrett said. “But you know, that’s the league. You have to try to take your chances when you can, you have to try to close the door on the other end, and I do think we all could have done a little better on the goal. I know all of us are a little disappointed in how that happened.”
- Andrew Wenger made a second consecutive start on the right of the midfield, playing 74 minutes, his first backto-back starts in league play since Aug. 6-14.
- Jose Escalante made his full MLS and Dynamo debut, coming on as a substitute for the final nine minutes in an attacking role.
- “What I still look for out of the group is fight, character, and I thought the group still worked hard. I thought we were off tonight but I still thought the group worked hard. I do want to say, I want to congratulate Jose for getting his first minutes for the club tonight. You saw from his first action on the ball that he’s got something, so I was excited that he got his first minutes tonight,” Barrett said.
- Barrett made no changes to his team for a fourth time in 18 games since he took over the head coaching duties for the May 28 game vs. Vancouver.
- “Every single one of us is motivated to get three points in the next game. That will never change, no matter where we are in the standings. That’s what we all play for. The guys have had the taste of it in the last couple of weeks, getting results, getting wins, and you know what? It’s a good feeling,” said Barrett. “If you don’t have that drive, if you don’t have the want for that every single week, no matter where you are, then you probably won’t have a long career, playing or coaching.”
