THE BASICS
Houston Dynamo at Colorado Rapids
Sunday, June 1, 7:00 p.m. CT
Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, CO
BROADCAST INFORMATION
CSN Houston - 7:00 p.m. (6:30 p.m. pregame) CHANNEL LISTINGS
MLS LIVE - 7:00 p.m.
Yahoo Sports Radio 1560 AM - 7:00 p.m. (6:30 p.m. pregame)
La Ranchera 850 AM - 7:00 p.m. (6:30 p.m. pregame)
PREVIEW
The Colorado Rapids and Houston Dynamo meet in a key interconference matchup for both clubs when the two clash Sunday evening at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. The Rapids put an end to a three-game winless skid last time out, rolling to a 4-1 win against the MontrÈal Impact in Commerce City. The Dynamo are completing a three-game road swing that started with two shutout defeats, last a 3-0 loss at the San Jose Earthquakes.
REFEREE: Drew Fischer. AR1 (bench): Kevin Klinger; AR2 (opposite): Scott Kachmarik; 4th: Baboucarr Jallow
MLS Career: 30 games; FC/gm: 26.5; Y/gm: 3.0; R: 2; pens: 9
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: HOU: Brad Davis (USA); Boniek Garcia (Honduras)
INJURY REPORT, PRESENTED BY HOUSTON METHODIST (as of Friday, May 30)
HOUSTON DYNAMO -- OUT: Ricardo Clark – Concussion; Tony Cascio – Right knee surgery; Mark Sherrod &ndash Left knee ACL tear
COLORADO RAPIDS -- OOUT: Gale Agbossoumonde – lower abdominal pain; Edson Buddle – R groin strain; Vicente Sánchez – L knee sprain; Nathan Sturgis – R foot injury; QUESTIONABLE: Marc Burch – R hamstring soreness
HEAD-TO-HEAD
- ALL-TIME (18 meetings): Rapids 6 wins, 22 goals ... Dynamo 7 wins, 24 goals ... Ties 5
- AT COLORADO (10 meetings): Rapids 5 wins, 10 goals ... Dynamo 3 wins, 7 goals ... Ties 2
- RETURN MATCHES: None.
- This is the only league meeting between the teams this season.
- The Rapids have a seven-game undefeated streak alive against the Dynamo. Houston's last victory in the series came in a 1-0 win, April 19, 2009; the teams reached a 1-1 draw last April 28 in Houston in their only meeting.
- Colorado's only win ever in Houston came in a 2-1 win May 4, 2011 at Robertson Stadium. The Dynamo have not won at Colorado in their last four visits, since a 3-1 victory Oct. 4, 2008.
- Coaches record: Pablo Mastroeni vs. HOU: first game ... Dominic Kinnear vs. COL: P26 W11 L7 D8
HOUSTON DYNAMO
The Houston Dynamo continued their road swing with a second loss, falling 3-0 to the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday evening at Buck Shaw Stadium. The Dynamo are in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with 17 points from 14 games.
LAST MATCH
- The Quakes took the lead after Dynamo defender David Horst played the ball back to goalkeeper Tally Hall, who picked it up just outside his own six-yard box, giving the Quakes an indirect free kick. Shea Salinas nudged the ball into the path of Khari Stephenson, who hammered a shot to the back post for the 38th-minute opener.
- The lead was doubled just before hour mark. Steven Lenhart went down in a collision with Houston fullback Corey Ashe after being playing in by Yannick Djalo, and referee Geoff Gamble pointed to the spot. Stephenson coolly converted the penalty for his second goal.
- It was 3-0 in the in the 70th minute. Chasing down a long ball out of the back, Atiba Harris caught Hall outside of his box and in no-man's land. Harris saw his header go off the right post, but he won the footrace and touched home the rebound.
- Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear made one change to the team that dropped a 2-0 decision to D.C. United at RFK Stadium. Servando Carrasco came into the side in place of Mark Sherrod.
- HOUSTON DYNAMO (4-2-3-1): Tally Hall - Kofi Sarkodie, Jermaine Taylor (A.J. Cochran 72), David Horst, Corey Ashe - Servando Carrasco, Warren Creavalle (Alexander Lopez 59) - Omar Cummings, Giles Barnes, Andrew Driver (Jason Johnson 46) - Will Bruin.
TEAM NEWS
- The trip to Commerce City concludes a three-game road swing for the Dynamo, which started with shutout defeats at D.C. United (0-2) and San Jose (0-3).
- "It makes your job a lot harder. Obviously, we had a game Saturday night, followed by a game Wednesday night, followed by a game Sunday night; it's tough. You have to really try and look out for yourself," said midfielder Andrew Driver. "The flights make it even harder. We are disappointed, but I do think we need to perform better even if we we're tired."
- Said Servando Carrasco: "I think it's fortifying the defense a little bit," Carrasco said. "I think we've been solid all year ... maybe just focus a little bit at times. I think if we all focus on our individual game in the long run, hopefully by next week, we can change those mistakes and move forward."
- The Dynamo have gone 209 minutes since scoring, their second-longest goalless streak this season, after being shut out in three consecutive games and going an MLS-high 335 minutes without a goal from April 5-27.
- "I think it comes down to the character of the team. This is a test: we've been knocked down with two bad results on the road and now it's about going back home, having a good week of training and focusing on the game in Colorado," said Carrasco. "Winning changes everything so we're going to focus on that."
- The Dynamo were hit with another season-ending injury when it was determined Mark Sherrod suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
- "It seems like every year you go through a spell where you're putting guys in positions they don't usually play and guys are getting a chance to make a name for themselves and this year's no different," said goalkeeper Tally Hall.
- The Dynamo were forced to recall Jason Johnson and Anthony Arena from loans with USL PRO side Pittsburgh Riverhounds; Johnson made his first MLS appearance of the season at San Jose, coming on as a substitute at halftime.
- "You have guys that maybe the fans haven't seen very much but the team knows and has confidence in, and we're ready for them to be a big part of our success," Hall said. "We just have the mentality right now to just be a positive force for the team and sometimes that's what it takes to win."
