Preview: Houston Dynamo at New England Revolution

THE BASICS
Houston Dynamo at New England Revolution
Saturday, September 28, 6:30 p.m. CT
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA

BROADCAST INFORMATION
CSN Plus - 6:30 p.m. (6:00 p.m. pregame) CHANNEL LISTINGS
Mega TV - 6:30 p.m. (6:00 p.m. pregame) CHANNEL LISTINGS
ESPN 97.5 FM - 6:30 p.m. (6:00 p.m. pregame)
La Ranchera 850 AM - 6:30 p.m. (6:00 p.m. pregame)

PREVIEW

The New England Revolution and Houston Dynamo face off in a crucial match in the postseason futures for both teams when they meet Saturday evening at Gillette Stadium. Both teams come into the game holding spots in the top five in the division, the Dynamo in fourth place, three points ahead of the Revolution. The Dynamo have won back-to-back games, following their dominant 5-1 home win against Chivas USA last weekend; the Revolution snapped a two-game losing streak last weekend in a 2-1 home win vs. D.C. United.

REFEREES

REFEREE: Edvin Jurisevic. AR1 (bench): Sean Hurd; AR2 (opposite): Peter Balciunas; 4th: Mathieu Bourdeau MLS Career: 65 games; FC/gm: 22.7; Y/gm: 3.5; R: 8; pens: 9

INJURY REPORT, PRESENTED BY HOUSTON METHODIST

HOUSTON DYNAMO -- OUT: Brian Ownby – Right knee sprain; QUESTIONABLE: Calen Carr – Left knee; Eric Brunner – Right ankle sprain; Andrew Driver – Right calf strain;

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION -- OUT: Gabe Latigue – Right ACL surgery; Ryan Guy – Right groin irritation; Clyde Simms – Right turf toe; QUESTIONABLE: Juan Agudelo – Right hamstring strain; Luis Soffner – Right hip flexor strain

HEAD-TO-HEAD

• ALL-TIME (16 meetings): Revolution 7 wins, 21 goals ... Dynamo 4 wins, 16 goals ... Ties 5
• AT NEW ENGLAND (8 meetings): Revolution 2 wins, 12 goals ... Dynamo 2 wins, 11 goals ... Ties 4
• The teams are meeting for the third time this season. Adam Moffat scored a pair of goals – both on long-range bombs – to lead Houston to a 2-1 victory July 13 at Gillette Stadium. Diego Fagundez and Juan Agudelo scored goals in a 2-0 New England victory on May 18 at BBVA Compass Stadium.
• The Revolution have won on five of their last seven visits to Houston. New England last defeated Houston at Gillette Stadium in 2010.
• The teams have played for three cups. They met in back-to-back MLS Cup Finals in 2006 and 2007, the Dynamo winning on both occasions (on penalty kicks in MLS Cup 2006; 2-1 in MLS Cup 2007). They also met in the 2008 SuperLiga final (won by New England on penalties).
• Coaches record: Dominic Kinnear vs. NE: P21 W7 L7 D7 ... Jay Heaps vs. HOU: P4 W1 L2 D1

HOUSTON DYNAMO

The Houston Dynamo won their second successive match in impressive fashion, rolling to a 5-1 win against Chivas USA on Saturday evening at BBVA Compass Stadium. The Dynamo are in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with 43 points from 29 matches.

LAST MATCH

• The Dynamo took the lead in the 39th minute. Brad Davis placed a corner kick in the perfect spot for Giles Barnes, who shook loose of a defender to nod home the game’s first goal. Davis became the seventh player to notch 100 regular-season assists in MLS history.
• Chivas found an equalizer in the 50th minute. A giveaway led to a shot from Carlos Alvarez, whose effort clanged off the left post. But the rebound floated across the box and Eric Avila headed it into the empty net.
• Houston grabbed the lead back just four minutes later. Barnes was played in on an excellent through ball by Ricardo Clark, and he cashed in from just outside the penalty area.
• In the 63rd minute, the Dynamo made it 3-1. Chivas USA defender Steve Purdy seemed to have clearance of a through ball under control, only for the ball to nick past his outstretched foot and fall kindly for Will Bruin as he advanced into the penalty box alone, and he made no mistake, placing his effort out of goalkeeper Dan Kennedy’s reach.
• The Dynamo made it 4-1 in the 79th minute following a fluid passing sequence where Boniek Garcia was the beneficiary, knocking home a low bouncer. The rout was complete in stoppage time after Garcia converted a penalty kick goal after a handball at the goal line.
• Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear made two changes to the team that defeated Philadelphia Union 1-0 at PPL Park. Corey Ashe came in at left back and Boniek Garcia returned to the midfield, in place of Jason Johnson and Cam Weaver.
• HOUSTON DYNAMO (4-4-2): Tally Hall - Kofi Sarkodie, Jermaine Taylor, Bobby Boswell, Corey Ashe - Boniek Garcia, Warren Creavalle, Ricardo Clark, Brad Davis (Servando Carrasco 83) - Will Bruin (Omar Cummings 81), Giles Barnes (Cam Weaver 75).

TEAM NEWS

• The Dynamo tied their club record with their five goals vs. Chivas USA. They had previous scored five goals in the first game in club history, a 5-2 win vs. Colorado on April 2, 2006.
• “We made a little bit of a boo-boo for them to get their goal. But the guys kept on pressing and were relieved to get a goal back right away,” said Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear. “I think to get that goal it gave them a lift and maybe [Barnes' second] knocks them down a little bit. That goal right after they scored was huge for us.”
• The consecutive wins have also come after a four-game winless streak, the second-longest of the season for the Dynamo, after going seven games without a win from May 12-June 30.
• “I think the way we responded says a lot about this team,” said goalkeeper Tally Hall. “It’s something we hadn’t done earlier and the middle part of this season and it’s something we’re doing now.”
• Giles Barnes scored a pair of goals in a game for the second time this season, the first time coming when he netted his last goals in MLS play, in the 3-1 win vs. Seattle on Aug. 17.
• Boniek Garcia also scored his first two goals of the season, his first league goals since scoring in the final game of the 2012 regular season vs. Philadelphia.
• Brad Davis recorded an assist for a second consecutive game and now has 100 assists for his MLS league career, the seventh player in league history to reach the century mark in assists.
• Will Bruin scored his first goal since Aug. 17, and also added an assist, his seventh of the season. It was the fourth time this season he’s scored a goal and contributed an assist in the same game, including each of the last three MLS games where he’s hit the back of the net.
• “A few weeks ago, maybe we put our heads down and feel sorry for ourselves,” said Bruin. This week we’ve had a few meetings and have really come together a lot as a team and these last two performances have shown that.”
• On Wednesday, the Dynamo remained undefeated in the CONCACAF Champions League with a 2-0 win against W Connection FC of Trinidad & Tobago at BBVA Compass Stadium. Jason Johnson and Bobby Boswell scored on either side of halftime for the Dynamo. The Dynamo will win the group with a tie or win in the final group match, vs. Árabe Unido on Oct. 24 in Panama.
• Here’s the Dynamo team: Tyler Deric; Kofi Sarkodie, Bobby Boswell, Jermaine Taylor, Mike Chabala; Warren Creavalle (Ricardo Clark 58), Servando Carrasco, Alexander López (Boniek Garcia 69); Omar Cummings (Giles Barnes 79), Cam Weaver, Jason Johnson