THE BASICS
Houston Dynamo vs. FC Dallas
Friday, May 1, 7:00 p.m. CT
BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston, Texas
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Univision Deportes Network - 7:00 p.m. CHANNEL LISTINGS | WATCH IN ENGLISH
Yahoo Sports Radio 1560 AM - 7:00 p.m. (6:30 p.m. pregame)
La Ranchera 850 AM / 101.7 FM - 7:00 p.m. (6:30 p.m. pregame)
PREVIEW
It’s the first meeting for "El Capitán" this season as the Texas Derby kicks off when the Houston Dynamo play host to FC Dallas on Viernes de Fútbol at BBVA Compass Stadium. The Dynamo made it three games in a row without loss last time out, ending in a wild 4-4 draw with Sporting Kansas City on their home ground. FC Dallas gained points from a second consecutive match to start this road swing, reaching a 1-1 draw with the Colorado Rapids.
REFEREE: Jair Marrufo. AR1 (bench): Corey Rockwell; AR2 (opposite): Felisha Mariscal; 4th: Nima Saghafi
MLS Career: 179 games; FC/gm: 23.4; Y/gm: 2.8; R: 34; pens: 52
INJURY REPORT, PRESENTED BY HOUSTON METHODIST (as of Wednesday, April 29)
HOUSTON DYNAMO – PROBABLE: Boniek García – Left knee sprain
FC DALLAS – OUT: Coy Craft – hip pain; Stephen Keel – foot surgery; SUSPENDED: Blas Perez
HEAD-TO-HEAD
- ALL-TIME (21 meetings): Dynamo 9 wins, 31 goals … FC Dallas 5 wins, 26 goals … Ties 7
- AT HOUSTON (11 meetings): Dynamo 6 wins, 18 goals … FC Dallas 2 wins, 16 goals … Ties 3
- RETURN MATCHES: 6/26: FC Dallas vs. Houston Dynamo, 8 p.m. CT (UniMas); 10/4: FC Dallas vs. Houston Dynamo, 4 p.m. CT (ESPN2)
- FC Dallas have won the last two meetings between the teams, over the last two seasons, winning 4-1 on April 5 of last year at BBVA Compass Stadium. It was just the second win all-time for FCD in Houston in 13 meetings in all competitions, the first since 2010.
- The clubs play for “El Capitán”, the 19th-century Mountain Howitzer cannon to be awarded to the winner of the season series by supporters groups for both clubs.
- This will be first year since 2011 the series will include more than one meeting during the regular season, with both clubs now in the Western Conference
- Coaches record: Oscar Pareja vs. HOU: P3 W2 L0 D1 … Owen Coyle vs. DAL: first game
HOUSTON DYNAMO
The Houston Dynamo stretched their undefeated run to three games, hauled back into a 4-4 draw with Sporting Kansas City on Saturday evening at BBVA Compass Stadium. The Dynamo are in a tie for fifth place in the Western Conference with 10 points from 8 matches.
LAST MATCH
- Sporting took the lead just three minutes into the game when Krisztian Nemeth picked up a loose ball and charged toward goal, firing home inside the right post from 25 yards out.
- But the Dynamo had a 3-1 lead by just after halftime. First, a scuffed clearance landed in the path of Giles Barnes, and he sliced a half-volley past SKC goalkeeper Luis Marin to pull the game level in the 11th minute.
- The Dynamo took the lead in first-half stoppage time when Will Bruin scored with a flick off the back of his head from a Brad Davis pinpoint corner kick. Then Barnes struck again less than a minute into the second half, driving up field and taking a shot from some 22 yards out that beat Marin to his right post.
- But Sporting pulled level with goals in short order. First, in the 74th minute, Dom Dwyer pounced on an illadvised back pass and slotted a shot into the open net after rounding Deric in the box. Then six minutes later, Benny Feilhaber converted a penalty after Dynamo defender Jermaine Taylor was ruled to have handled a Nemeth attempt on goal and referee Kevin Stott pointed to the spot.
- The Dynamo again nosed in front in the 84th minute when Raul Rodriguez rushed the near post to head home a Davis free kick. But Feilhaber had the final answer deep in stoppage time, scoring his second of the night by driving home a shot from distance that sailed inside the left post.
- Dynamo head coach Owen Coyle made one change to the team that came back for a 1-1 draw with D.C. United at RFK Stadium. Will Bruin came into the team in place of Luis Garrido.
- HOUSTON DYNAMO (4-4-2): Tyler Deric - Kofi Sarkodie, Raul Rodriguez, Jermaine Taylor (ejected 79), DaMarcus Beasley - Alexander Lopez (David Horst 80), Ricardo Clark, Nathan Sturgis (Luis Garrido 84), Brad Davis - Giles Barnes, Will Bruin (Chandler Hoffman 70).
TEAM NEWS
- The three games without loss is the longest undefeated stretch for the Dynamo this season, though they have yet to win back-to-back games this year.
- “We had the game won … you make a mistake and it puts a lot of pressure on you,” Dynamo head coach Owen Coyle said. “At the end I think we can learn to manage the game better. It’s a point, but it feels like a defeat. We were the better team tonight, no doubt about it.”
- The four goals were the most ever allowed by the Dynamo in a game where they still were able to come away with at least a point.
- “Everybody was saying, ‘where's the offense?’ and now we're starting to score goals. I knew we would. But obviously, giving up four goals - for our defenders, we never want to see that,” said DaMarcus Beasley.
- Giles Barnes scored a pair of goals, the fifth time in his four MLS seasons he’s hit for multiple goals in a game. He has three goals in the last three games and leads the Dynamo with four goals this season.
- Brad Davis recorded a pair of assists – and is now third all-time in assists in MLS with 115 for his league career. It was the 22nd multiple-assist game of his MLS career, now fourth on the all-time list.
- Nathan Sturgis recorded an assist in his sixth consecutive start, his first assist in more than a year, since last April 5 when he was with the Colorado Rapids. Sturgis has five assists in 133 appearances for his league career.
- The Dynamo started the match with Giles Barnes as the lone out-and-out striker, as they have aligned throughout the season. But there was a significant at the halftime break when Will Bruin came on to form a strike pair with Barnes, with Luis Garrido going off and Nathan Sturgis remaining as the deep-lying central midfielder.
- “Nate’s got a number of attributes that we utilize,” Coyle said. “When we’ve played the one protecting the back four then Nate knows that game and he’s probably suited to that area because he’s good in there because he can hit the ball and he has an understanding of when to be at the right place at the right time. … It’s not just helping the center backs. It’s when we’re in position to really be instrumental at passing and switching the play and Nate has that in his locker.”
- Will Bruin made his first start since March 28 and scored his first goal of the season. His last goal came Aug. 29 of last season, also vs. Sporting KC.
