THE BASICS
Houston Dynamo at LA Galaxy
Friday, May 22, 9:30 p.m. CT
StubHub Center, Carson, California
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Univision Deportese - 9:30 p.m. CHANNEL LISTINGS | WATCH IN ENGLISH
Yahoo Sports Radio 1560 AM - 9:30 p.m. (9 p.m. pregame)
La Ranchera 850 AM / 101.7 FM - 9:30 p.m. (9 p.m. pregame)
PREVIEW
The LA Galaxy and Houston Dynamo meet for a second time this season when the Western Conference clubs face off in the second match on Viernes de Fútbol at StubHub Center. The Galaxy saw their overall and road winless streaks extended, now five games in a row without a win, following an historic 4-0 loss at Orlando City SC on Sunday. The Dynamo have won back-to-back games for the first time this season, after their 3-1 home win vs. the Portland Timbers.
REFEREE: Ismail Elfath. AR1 (bench): Ian Anderson; AR2 (opposite): Marco Arruda; 4th: Alejandro Mariscal
MLS Career: 47 games; FC/gm: 25.6; Y/gm: 3.1; R: 13; pens: 12
INJURY REPORT, PRESENTED BY HOUSTON METHODIST (as of Thursday, May 14)
HOUSTON DYNAMO – PROBABLE: Nathan Sturgis – Right shoulder dislocation
LA GALAXY – OUT: Brian Perk – ankle fracture; QUESTIONABLE: Kenney Walker – groin; Jose Villarreal – hamstring; Robbie Keane – groin; Todd Dunivant – quad; Robbie Rogers – ankle
HEAD-TO-HEAD
- ALL-TIME (19 meetings): Galaxy 6 wins, 19 goals … Dynamo 8 wins, 22 goals … Ties 5
- AT LA (9 meetings): Galaxy 3 wins, 11 goals … Dynamo 3 wins, 3 goals … Ties 3
- FUTURE MATCH: 7/25: Houston Dynamo vs. LA Galaxy, 8 p.m. CT
- The teams are meeting for the second time this season. The Galaxy’s Robbie Keane and the Dynamo’s Nate Sturgis traded goals in the opening 11 minutes as the clubs reached a 1-1 draw, March 21 at StubHub Center.
- The Galaxy’s last league victory against the Dynamo came May 25, 2011, a 1-0 win in Carson. The Dynamo had won four consecutive league meetings between the teams before the draw in first encounter this year. The Dynamo have come away with points on their last two regular season trips to StubHub Center.
- The teams met in three MLS Cups over a four-year period, the Galaxy winning all three, in 2009, 2011 and 2012, all in Carson.
- Coaches record: Owen Coyle vs. LA: P1 W0 L0 D1… Bruce Arena vs. HOU: P13 W5 L6 D2
HOUSTON DYNAMO
The Houston Dynamo won back-to-back games for the first time this season, defeating the Portland Timbers 3-1 on Saturday evening at BBVA Compass Stadium. The Dynamo are in fifth place in the Western Conference with 16 points from 12 matches.
LAST MATCH
- The Dynamo opened the scoring in just the ninth minute. After Giles Barnes earned a free kick on the left sideline, Brad Davis sent the set piece across the box to the edge of the six-yard box where an unmarked Will Bruin headed down an easy goal for the early lead.
- The Timbers pulled level just three minutes after the halftime restart. After a collision at midfield, Portland playmaker Diego Valeri picked up the ball and played a well-weighted ball into the path of Fanendo Adi, who held off a defender and deflected a shot off goalkeper Tyler Deric’s boot and into the goal.
- The Dynamo found the eventual winner with a quarter-hour to play. Getting a quick pass from Giles Barnes on the right side of the area with time and space, substitute Alexander Lopez instead laid it off back to a wide-open Barnes for a powerful blast from 12 yards out to the bvack of the net.
- The night was completed in the 83rd minute after a long ball from Jermaine Taylor found Bruin running at goal. With goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey off his line, Bruin floated his shot over the ‘keeper’s outstretched arms and into the goal to cap the scoring.
- Dynamo head coach Owen Coyle made one change to the team that defeated Toronto FC 2-1 at BMO Field. Brad Davis came into the midfield in place of Alexander Lopez.
- HOUSTON DYNAMO (4-4-1-1): Tyler Deric - Raul Rodriguez, David Horst, Jermaine Taylor, DaMarcus Beasley - Boniek Garcia (Alexander Lopez 74), Luis Garrido, Ricardo Clark, Brad Davis - Giles Barnes - Will Bruin (Rob Lovejoy 90).
TEAM NEWS
- The Dynamo have won back-to-back games for the first time this season following the victory vs. Portland – the club’s first consecutive wins since last Aug. 29-Sept. 6 – coming off of back-to-back defeats and a four-game winless run.
- “We certainly felt we would get creativity, we would get goals, and so it proved. … We’re good players, we’re building, we think, a good team,” said Dynamo head coach Owen Coyle. “Having said that, there’ll be ups and downs as we go, but what we do know is that we have character and they showed that.”
- Said Will Bruin: “We expect three points every game at home and when we’re locked in and mentally on like that for 90 minutes, we’re a very tough team to break down and to beat, and we’ve got guys that are going to score on the other end of the ball. So this is no surprise to us.”
- Bruin hit for multiple goals in a game for the sixth time in his MLS career with his third and fourth goals of the season.
- “I’m his biggest admirer … I’ve got nothing but encouragement for him. We never lost belief and faith we had in him,” Coyle said. “What we had to do was get Will that sharpness he’s got to go with everything he’s brought. He’s had it since that D.C. [United] game. When Will’s in that form, he’s an easy pick. You hang your hat on him and away he goes because that’s what he does.”
- Said midfielder Ricardo Clark: “He’s a beast up there. He’s always working hard and doing the dirty work. Once he adds his finishing touch he’s a great player and a hard one to stop.”
- Playing as the underneath forward, Giles Barnes scored his sixth goal of the season – tied for third place in the MLS Golden Boot standings – his first goal since May 1.
- “He’s got more pace and power than Dwayne [De Rosario], but I can see a similarity there sure,” midfielder Brad Davis said of Barnes. “I think he’s playing with extreme confidence right now and he should be. Personally, I’m trying to put myself in a position to get him the ball because he can be dangerous from anywhere. Teams definitely have to be aware of that and I think we all need to be in spots to get him those dangerous balls, because we know he can finish.”
- Coming off the substitutes’ bench after starting the five previous matches, Alexander Lopez collected his first assist of the season and the second of his MLS career, his first since Sept. 8, 2013 – which was his second Dynamo appearance.
- Brad Davis returned to the lineup after a one-match absence and collected his fourth assist of the season, his first since April 25.
