Dynamo Theory - All Posts

Dynamo to honor Houston Fire Department and the four fallen firefighters

2013-06-19T00:27:04Z

I would love for each and every Dynamo fan and reader of Dynamo Theory to make it out to every game at BBVA Compass Stadium. But I know that's not exactly a realistic thought.

But every once in awhile a game comes along that deserves a full house - even if it's not necessarily for the soccer.

On Saturday, June 22 (this upcoming Saturday), the Houston Dynamo are hosting Toronto FC. What was once just a battle between two Eastern Conference teams has now become something more. Something that I think all of us should support. This isn't one of those issues where people jump to one side or another and have stressful debates over - this is simply supporting people that put their lives on the line for each and every one of us and honoring the fallen.

On May 31, the Houston Fire Department lost four of their own in the line of duty.

Losing one life is difficult enough, but four of these brave men and women were lost while searching for victims in a motel fire. It was the darkest day in HFD history.

Fire Station 51 (near Bellaire and Bintliff), and Fire Station 68 (near Bissonnet and Gessner) each lost two firefighters each that Friday.

"We arrived on the scene and about 14 minutes after our arrival we had a mayday," said HFD Chief Terry Garrison. "There's no way that I would have anticipated that we would lose four firefighters. I want to tell the residents of Houston their firefighters acted absolutely courageously today, that there was probably a dozen acts of heroism on that scene."

The fallen heroes were:

Captain EMT Matthew Renaud (35) of Station 51
Engineer Operator EMT Robert Bebee (41) of Station 51
Firefighter EMT Robert Garner (29) of Station 68
Probationary Firefighter Anne Sullivan (24) of Station 68

Last Friday, Dynamo President Chris Canetti and a handful of Dynamo players visited both fire stations to pay tribute to the fallen firefighters and to honor the current ones who are coping with the loss of a friend and partner.

Dynamo TV put together a nice video that highlighted the team's visit to the fire stations.

HFD District Chief John Seamans said a couple of powerful statements near the end of the video.

"The worst thing that can happen is for us to lose one of our people. We're not gonna get over that for a long, long time."

In response to the Dynamo visiting the fire stations, Seamans continued, "It gives these guys a short period of time when they can be up for a minute instead of being down all the time."

On Saturday as Houston hosts Toronto, the Dynamo will honor the Houston Fire Department and the four fallen firefighters. If there is ever a time to come together as a soccer community and pack BBVA Compass Stadium this season, it is now.

No empty orange seats. If you can't attend, drop your tickets off at a local fire station.

If you are not a season ticket holder, purchase tickets with the link in this article. $25 gets you in the game, a commemorative t-shirt, and a post game meet and greet with Tally Hall, whose father is a firefighter.

The tribute will include moments to honor the fallen firefighters and their families, a fundraiser to benefit the 100 Club Survivors Fund and a commemorative patch on the Dynamo game jerseys. The game worn jerseys will be available in an online auction (link below).

HPD District Chief made it clear that support like the Dynamo are providing matters to them and says the community has been incredibly supportive.

"Someone asked me the other day am I about to fall down. I said I couldn't fall down if I wanted to, there is a thousand people behind me to catch me," he said.

More: Honoring Houston's Heroes - Dynamo Charities Online Auction

Dynamo fans - come out and come out strong. Let's support our orange as we always do, but most importantly on Saturday, let's support the Houston Fire Department and honor how they selflessly put themselves in harm's way for others each and every day.

Many thanks to Chris Canetti and the Dynamo players for visiting the fire stations, taking the firefighter's minds off this terrible tragedy (even if it's for a brief moment), and honoring these heroes on Saturday.

There is a reason why Dynamo fans support the way we do - this is a world class organization that always seems to do the right thing and set the right example.

Matchday Preview 15: Montreal Impact vs. Dynamo

2013-06-18T22:00:07Z

It's been a long layoff, but the Houston Dynamo finally return to league play tomorrow. Two and a half weeks after holding on to a 1-1 draw in Columbus, the Dynamo travel north of the border to get their first look at the frontrunners of the Eastern Conference, the Montreal Impact.

Perhaps the surprise of the conference, the Impact currently sit three places (and four points) ahead of the Dynamo in the table. Riding an unbeaten streak at home and the hot foot of Marco Di Vaio, they started hot and haven't done much cooling off lately - and I don't think their loss at Columbus last Saturday will change that much.

The Dynamo are at the end of a stretch of six of nine away, and it's safe to say that whatever the result here, the stretch wasn't as excruciating as many supporters feared it would be. One point from three at home isn't what Dynamo supporters are used to, but neither is nine points from five away. Whatever happens Wednesday, the Dynamo will emerge from a tough stretch with at least half the points possible - a far cry from the side's usual road woes.

In fact, their recent form is enough to give many Dynamo supporters hope that a result will be snatched from the peak of the Royal Mountain. While this is indeed a possibility, it won't be easy. As I mentioned above, they have yet to lose this month, and between Di Vaio, Patrice Bernier and Justin Mapp (among others), they have plenty of offensive weapons.

In his answers to Dynamo Theory's questions, Montreal blogger Giovanni Sardo mentioned that Di Vaio can be stopped by controlling the midfield, and that Columbus provided a good blueprint on how to do it. I didn't get a chance to watch this match live, but having seen the highlights (and having watched a number of other matches), I'm inclined to agree with his premise.

Di Vaio is like most strikers - he thrives mostly off of service from his midfield. He'll play the backline as close as he can without going offside, and then use a burst of speed to create his chances. And with service from Bernier, Mapp and the rest of that midfield, he's gotten plenty of chances. You're not going to stop Di Vaio - not that easily. He's a good striker, and good strikers will create their chances. What a side has to be able to do is limit those chances, which is something the Dynamo might be able to do.

It won't be an easy task - especially with Brad Davis and Oscar Boniek Garcia still away on national team duty, but we've talked up the Dynamo's depth all season, and for the most part, they've lived up to the hype. For once, the injury sheet looks rather bare, with only Calen Carr and Anthony Arena listed. Giles Barnes, Andrew Driver, Adam Moffat, Ricardo Clark - the bulk of the Dynamo midfield should be available Wednesday night, and even without Davis and Boniek, it's a midfield that supporters have faith in. Not saying that it's certain that they'll be able to shut down the Montreal midfield, but they have as good of a shot as anyone of doing so.

The backline should be there - Corey Ashe, Bobby Boswell, Jermaine Taylor and Kofi Sarkodie are all available, easing one of the questions Dynamo supporters have had recently. Omar Cummings is back and training, so it shouldn't be too long before he's able to prove that he was worth the move that the front office made to get him. Sure, we're missing two crucial pieces at the moment, but everything else is coming back together, and that can only be a good thing.

The time off has allowed the Dynamo to get healthy and rested. Tomorrow night, we'll be able to see whether or not they'll be able to turn that into a result in Montreal. It's a clash of the titans, and while it may not carry the weight of a match against, say, Kansas City, it should be a tough, close match. To use a phrase our Quebecois friends will appreciate (and one readers probably remember), it will be a battle à l'outrance - two sides fighting for points and glory. Here's hoping that the Dynamo can give a good account of themselves in that battle.

Houston Dynamo vs Montreal Impact: Behind Enemy Lines with Mount Royal Soccer

2013-06-18T14:35:56Z

In mid-April, we hit a stretch where we may have worried a bit. Looking at the Houston Dynamo schedule, six of their next nine games were on the road - and in some unkind places. Tomorrow, the Dynamo will close out that stretch with a clash against the Eastern Conference leaders Montreal Impact.

While six of these last nine games were road games, tomorrow's match is the third straight in MLS play. So far, the Dynamo have received nine points from those six matches and didn't lose during this stretch. Along the way, the Dynamo picked up all three in Los Angeles and D.C. in a cross country trip, and snatched a point in Kansas City.

Montreal is likely to be the biggest test so far though. First, the Impact haven't lost at home in six matches. Second, they boast the second highest amount of goals scored (in East) so far this season, led by striker Marco Di Vaio. Di Vaio has nine goals on the season and currently sits in second place in that area among MLS players.

Looking ahead, I spoke to Giovanni Sardo at Mount Royal Soccer to get some insider information on the Impact. Here in Houston, we may only remember the Brian Ching and Jesse Marsch saga... but this Impact team is making a name for themselves in 2013 and have solidified themselves as a top team in the East.

More: Impact vs Dynamo: Three Questions with Dynamo Theory

Montreal is off to a great start in 2013 and currently hold the top spot in the Eastern Conference. What has been the driving force behind the hot start?

Coach Marco Schallibaum is one of the main factors. He's found a way to extract the best out of his players and work a system that suits this big mix of North American and European players, something Jesse Marsch struggled with heavily last year. Troy Perkins is having one of his best seasons ever in the MLS and is a top 3 MLS goalkeeper. Patrice Bernier is having an excellent season. His new position, just in front of the defensive line, has made the team more efficient at both ends of the field. He's been a bulldog at the back while being able to relaunch the attack quickly. Finally, Marco Di Vaio has just been sensational. A threat in almost every game. His intelligence and talent make him the most dangerous striker in the league.

Marco Di Vaio looks like has been the top player in terms of offensive production this year with 9 goals. What's been the reason for his success and do you think the Dynamo backline could neutralize him?

The reason for his success lies in the midfield. Coach Marco has taught his midfield players what kind of service Di Vaio needs to be successful. The Italian striker lives and dies on the offside line so the timing of the service from his teammates is crucial. Once the ball takes off from his teammate's foot, he can distance himself quickly from any defender and have a great chance on net.

If you want to learn how to shut down Di Vaio, you just need to watch Saturday's game against Columbus. If the Dynamo can control the midfield and cut off his supply of passes then he will go off quietly into the night. There is nothing more frustrating to him than lack of service and if he feels like all of his runs are being wasted for nothing, he will show is displeasure on the field.

Aside from Di Vaio's goal scoring, who has been the biggest contributor for Montreal this year? The goals are nice, but this team has won eight matches so far and is clearly doing something right.

The biggest contributor would be Patrice Bernier. He has been a great two way threat for the team this year. Playing in a defensive midfielder's role, he is able to become like a third center back and support the defense all while relaunching the attack and finding his favorite target, Marco Di Vaio. He's also been a very good leader, wearing the armband since Captain Davy Arnaud got a concussion on May 1st. He is definitely MVP of the team and should receive a vote or two for MLS MVP.

Lineup Prediction:

Troy Perkins

Jeb Brovsky - Alessandro Nesta - Matteo Ferrari - Dennis Iapichino

Andrea Pisanu - Patrice Bernier - Felipe - Justin Mapp

Daniele Paponi - Marco Di Vaio

Final Score Prediction:

Draw 2-2. Don't know, just a hunch.

Mac Kandji leaves Kalloni FC for Levadiakos, while Andre Hainualt ponders future with Ross County

2013-06-17T17:37:00Z

From time to time, it's nice to check in on some former players that once donned the orange. Last season, the Dynamo's two most prolific losses were forward Mac Kandji and defender Andre Hainault. Both jumped continents to pursue dreams of playing overseas and both look to be content with their success. Additionally, former Dynamo midfielder and Homegrown Player Josue Soto seems to have found a home in a fun place to work this year.

Let's see what the fellas have been up to.

Former Dynamo striker Mac Kandji is on the move again after a successful run in the Greek Football League. Kandji was with Kalloni FC in the second division and scored six goals in 19 appearances to help them earn promotion to the Greek Superleague. Kalloni FC won their final four matches and finished third in the table with a 20-13-7 record. Although his club was promoted, Kandji announced he would be changing clubs to Levadiakos FC of the Greek Super League when the new Greek season begins.

Kandji will have some work to do with his new club as it was not as fortunate as his last. Levadiakos finished 11^th in the table (of 16 teams) with a 9-7-14 record.

Meanwhile, over in Scotland, Andre Hainault finished the season on a high note for Ross County after a slow start. Hainault was finally able to break into the starting lineup and secure a spot in the Staggies lineup. Reports from overseas are linking him to a contract renewal with Ross County.

The highlight for the season for Hainault was surely this 10 yard volley for Ross County's only goal against rival Inverness. Now we'll wait and see if Hainault returns to the Staggies or plies his trade elsewhere.

Chivas USA has been the center of silly headlines this year, but former Dynamo Homegrown Player Josue Soto looks to have found a home with the goats. Soto, who apparently emailed his resume to Jose Luis Sanchez Sola (aka El Chelis), was invited to preseason camp and earned a contract shortly before the MLS season began.

Soto appears to be playing well, evidenced by The Goal Parade voting him the Player of the Month for May 2013. The votes are from the fans and readers of the site and the article says it was a landslide victory.

With El Chelis out only time will tell if Soto will continue to be in the plans for the Rojiblancos, but it's certainly nice to see him having a successful start to 2013.

Finally, while Calum Elliot never found a home in Houston, the big striker has made a couple of moves since his preseason trial ended. After leaving the Dynamo camp, Elliot signed for Alloa Athletic F.C. in the Scottish second division. He went on to score four goals while with Alloa.

It appeared Elliot was content and would continue on with Alloa, but reports say contract negotiations weren't handled properly on Elliot's side. Elliot reportedly agreed to a deal with Alloa, but then entered into negotiations with Raith Rovers in the Scottish first division. In the end, Elliot officially joined Raith, but the move definitely left a bad taste in his former clubs mouth.

If you're surprised the Dynamo crashed out of the Open Cup, you really shouldn't be

2013-06-13T14:18:35Z

Getting knocked out of the US Open Cup is not a big deal in the big scheme of things. Getting knocked out of the US Open Cup by FC Dallas stings a little because it's Frisco and nobody enjoy losing to them. None the less, it's not a big deal.

Dominic Kinnear knows this is a fact and it's not like it's a shocking surprise that he didn't prioritize the Open Cup with the Dynamo dealing with injuries and international absences. Why stress your roster even more for a tournament whose only appeal is a guaranteed spot in the CONCACAF Champions League? Getting into that tournament is a big deal because of the marketing potential and more importantly, because it exposes the Dynamo to players from around the region.

More importantly, the Open Cup is really just a giant, annoying expense for most teams that simply adds more travel or hosting costs to the bottom line for games that are barely attended, never televised and barely promoted by anyone beyond bloggers and an extremely hard working and well done website.

Kinnear knows what's important and he certainly didn't set out to loose last night, but he also knows there are other roads to the CCL. To be completely honest, this team has bigger goals like competing for an MLS Cup and making sure they qualify for the current CCL's knockout round when the group stage gets underway later in the summer.

I'm fine with prioritizing those goals over the Open Cup because while there's a certain charm to the tournament thanks to lower division teams pulling off upsets, it's not important. You simply cannot be successful on three different fronts in MLS with the salary cap, somewhat limited rosters and the fact that the league still clashes with international breaks (though they're getting a little better about that). You've gotta pick your battles and there are bigger battles ahead.

More importantly, how can you ask MLS teams to get really worked up over the Open Cup with the organization that puts the damn thing on barely realizes it exist?

No doubt some will disagree with me on my general disdain for the Open Cup or claim this is simply sour grapes because the Dynamo lost to Frisco. It's not...really. They put out a stronger lineup and wanted to continue, the Dynamo have bigger fish to fry and a weakened roster at the moment. Plus the Dynamo worked hard in the second half and gave it a go, but they just weren't the better team on the night.

If the Dynamo made a run in the tournament and even won it, of course I'd be pleased. It's a trophy and those are always fun to win, but t's not the end of the world. The book is closed and I can stop caring about it for another year despite the endless stream of people on social media trying to tell me how great the USOC is.

I'll leave you with this summation of the Open Cup:

Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken.

Houston Dynamo vs FC Dallas: Dynamo bow out of U.S. Open Cup with 3-0 loss to Dallas

2013-06-13T03:28:08Z

Well, that was painful to watch. The Houston Dynamo bowed out (rather embarrassingly) from the 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tonight with a 3-0 loss to in-state rival FC Dallas. Yep, if you missed the game, that scoreline is not a typo.

While Dallas fielded their normal starters for the match, Dominic Kinnear fielded a mix of starters and reserves looking for a result. While the lineup appeared competitive to me prior to the match, it was clear nothing less than an all out effort with starters would do the trick for Houston.

Kinnear lined his players up in a 4-3-3, relying on Andrew Driver, Will Bruin, and rookie Jason Johnson as his offensive weapons. He also had Alex Dixon in front of Warren Creavalle and Luiz Camargo in midfield to add some creativity, but nothing worked in the end.

Kenny Cooper, who is consistently a Dynamo killer, scored two goals for the Hoops, while Zach Lloyd added the third.

What was concerning was Houston's continued issues with defending on set pieces once again. It seems the Dynamo's most potent offensive weapon has also become their primary defensive concern. Not only that, in two matches against Dallas this year, the orange has leaked six goals (while only scoring two).

With the loss, the Dynamo are out of the U.S. Open Cup and FC Dallas will continue on to the quarterfinals.

The positives to take from the match really all boil down to the gameday roster. While the starters were mixed with regulars and reserves, several Dynamo players who have been struggling with injuries were back and available for selection.

Omar Cummings got to see some minutes towards the end of the match after he struggled with recovering from knee surgery in the preseason. Cam Weaver also came off the bench after spending some time on the injury report, and Giles Barnes was available. Finally, Jermaine Taylor whose injury caused him to miss Jamaica's recent World Cup qualifiers, was also available for selection.

Next up for the Dynamo is a tough road test against Montreal on Wednesday. The Impact are first in the Eastern Conference with 26 points and haven't lost at home this year. In six matches at Stade Saputo, the Impact have won five.

It's safe to say the players returning from injury will provide a much needed boost to Houston ahead of the clash with first place Montreal.

Give us your thoughts on the Open Cup match. Does the result matter to you? Did the starters surprise you? Sound off Dynamo fans.

Houston Dynamo vs FC Dallas: Live Gamethread

2013-06-13T00:18:51Z

In the fourth round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the Houston Dynamo travel north on I-45 to face in-state rivals FC Dallas.

Dynamo players returning from injuries

2013-06-11T15:48:55Z

In a striking turn of events, three players practiced in full who were previously on the injury report. Omar Cummings, Jermaine Taylor, and everybody's favorite Shiny Sorta New Toy, Giles Barnes, all made it onto the practice pitch and put in a full workout. After the last few weeks of struggling to keep players healthy and on the field, this is welcomed news.

Taylor was injured back on May 18th against the New England Revolution. He has been nursing a bruised left shoulder ever since. Cummings has been out with his chronic knee soreness and pain, but practicing in full is a good step in the right direction. He made a short appearance in the Reserve League match against the Charleston Battery, and so it is positive news to hear he was able to turn around and practice in full as well.

The best news of the day, though, may be hearing Giles Barnes practiced in full. After sustaining an injury to his ankle which many here thought would keep him out for a little bit, and then the tweet from Barnes which let everyone know there weren't any fractures, this just helps to confirm he is the bionic man. The guy simply will not quit. Well, practicing in full means we should expect to seem him returning to more regular quasi-forward duties very soon.

Also, Adam Moffat according to Dominic Kinnear is currently doing some "stuff off on the side" of practice. So hey, maybe he will be back soon, too!

I guess there may be something to this Jalapeno mess after all.

Or maybe not...

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