THREE POINTS: Houston Dynamo FC open the regular season on Sunday at PNC Stadium

Houston Dynamo FC open their 17th campaign in Major League Soccer on Sunday when they welcome Pablo Mastroeni and Real Salt Lake to PNC Stadium at 6 p.m. CT.  

Tickets for all 2022 Dynamo home games are available at HoustonDynamoFC.com/Tickets, with ticket prices starting from $7-20 for all matches. The first 5,000 fans through the gates at PNC Stadium on Sunday will receive a free Dynamo Diesel Bobblehead courtesy of PNC Bank.  

Opening Day marks the debut of head coach Paulo Nagamura, who joined the Dynamo as the fifth head coach in Club history on Jan. 3. The 38-year-old is the youngest head coach in Club history and joins the Dynamo after five years as a coach with the Sporting Kansas City organization. The Dynamo finished with a 3-2-1 record under Nagamura in preseason with victories over Toronto FC, the Colorado Rapids and Phoenix Rising from the USL Championship.  

Dynamo forward Sebastian Ferreira was key in two of the preseason triumphs under Nagamura by scoring the opening goal in Houston’s 2-1 victory over Toronto FC. Ferreira also tallied a goal in Houston’s 3-2 victory over the Rapids in the Desert Showcase in Tucson, Ariz. earlier this month. The 24-year-old signed as a Designated Player in a full transfer from Club Libertad Asunción in Paraguay in January. The forward is the most expensive signing in Club history and the first Designated Player signed by Dynamo general Manager Pat Onstad. 

Ferreira is one of five new players to join the Dynamo in 2022. The latest player to join the Dynamo is Brazilian Olympic Gold Medalist Zeca. The outside back is the third addition to the defensive end of the field with the trade for centerback Daniel Steres from the LA Galaxy and picking up goalkeeper Steve Clark as a free agent in December. Houston added depth to the front line by drafting Generation adidas forward Thor Úlfarsson.  

Real Salt Lake finished the preseason with a 3-0 loss to the Portland Timbers in Oregon as part of a preseason friendly. Salt Lake also drew 0-0 with Minnesota United and lost 4-1 to Viking FK from Norway. The Dynamo and Salt Lake played to a 1-1 draw on Feb. 3 as part of the Desert Showcase. Dynamo forward Fafa Picault scored for the Dynamo, who enter Sunday’s game with a 10-3-3 record against Salt Lake at home.  

Real Salt Lake is managed by head coach Pablo Mastroeni, who served as an assistant coach for the Dynamo in 2020 under Tab Ramos. Mastroeni joined Salt Lake as an assistant coach for the 2021 season and served as the interim head coach after Freddy Juarez left the club in Aug. Mastroeni led the team to a postseason berth following a last-minute game-winning goal from Damir Kreilach on Decision Day. Salt Lake ultimately reached the Western Conference finals by defeating Seattle Sounders FC in penalty kicks and Sporting Kansas City on the road. The playoff run ended in Oregon against the Portland Timbers on Dec. 4.  

The Dynamo finished with a 0-1-2 record against Salt Lake last season, including a 0-0 draw in the lone meeting at PNC Stadium on July 31. Houston enters the match winless in their last eight games against Real Salt Lake. Houston’s last victory against the Utah-based club came on May 31, 2017 in a 5-1 triumph at home.  

The Dynamo will take their first road trip of the regular season next week. Houston will travel to Children’s Mercy Park to face Sporting Kansas City at 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, March 5. The Dynamo return to PNC Stadium on Saturday, March 12 to host the Vancouver Whitecaps.  

Here are three key points ahead of Sunday’s home opener: 

1. NAGAMURA MAKES DYNAMO DEBUT: Dynamo head coach Paulo Nagamura will make his debut as a MLS head coach on the touchline at PNC Stadium on Sunday. Dynamo head coaches combine for a 3-1-0 record in their debut with the club and Nagamura aims to be the fourth head coach (Dominic Kinnear, Owen Coyle and Wilmer Cabrera) to earn three points in their first game in charge of the Dynamo. The 38-year-old is the youngest coach to take the helm for the Club and aims to lead the team to a postseason berth for the first time since 2017. Nagamura will be tasked with revamping a Dynamo backline that conceded 54 goals last season, tied for the second most in the conference. Offensively, the Dynamo will look to top their mark of 36 total goals in 2021, the second fewest in the Western Conference last season.  
2. NEW FACES MAKE IMPACT IN PRESEASON: Designated Player Sebastian Ferreira scored two goals for the team in preseason and he is one of five new faces to join the team for the 2022 season. Defender Daniel Steres and goalkeeper Steve Clark have made an argument for a role in the starting lineup throughout preseason and both started in all six games for the Dynamo. Rookie forward Thor Úlfarsson scored the game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Toronto FC and the Icelandic attacker tallied a goal over the weekend for Dynamo 2 in a preseason friendly against San Antonio FC. The only player added to the roster that did not feature for the team is defender Zeca, who will join the team pending his Visa.  
3. MASTROENI RETURNS TO PNC STADIUM: Real Salt Lake open the season under the direction of head coach Pablo Mastroeni, who shed the interim title in December after leading the club to the Western Conference Finals. The former USMNT midfielder spent a season with the Dynamo as an assistant coach under Tab Ramos, his first role with an MLS team in nearly two years. Mastroeni’s previous role came with the Colorado Rapids as their head coach from 2014 to 2017. He finished with a 38-51-35 record with the Rapids and a 7-7-0 record as the interim head coach of Salt Lake in the regular season.