Houston Dynamo 0, Sporting Kansas City 0: Rate the Players and Quick Thoughts

At the beginning of the year I introduced a new way for the Dynamo Theory community to be a part of Player Ratings. After matches everyone will get a chance to submit how each player did on a scale of 1 to 10 which will be averaged out in a later article usually on Tuesday mornings depending when the game takes place. These ratings are interesting because we all view how players perform differently. Rating websites like WhoScored.com view things from an analytical perspective, but a statistic, even one as big as a goal, doesn’t quite tell the entire story as some goals are bigger and more important to a game than others. I think seeing how we as a community feel can create fun conversations. Of course, how we feel individually matters as well so please comment about player performances as you wish in the comments.

Quick Thoughts about the Game:

1) Tyler Deric put this team on his back and played arguably the best game of his career as he recorded a career high 9 saves including this huge save late in the game:

Deric had saves like that all game as he put on a super human display. He is without a doubt the man of the match for this game.

2) Wilmer Cabrera once again managed this game well. He had his starters back and he got them back out there for one of the most important games of the season. The Houston Dynamo began the match by attacking well, and while Sporting Kansas City was able to find their way into the game which definitely tilted in momentum towards SKC getting chance after chance, the Dynamo defense and goalkeeping were able to absorb the pressure. The offense, which had some quality moments of its own, could have used some better passing among the forwards and midfielders who did not always seem on the same page. Cabrera made some super subs with Romell Quioto and Vicente Sanchez who brought a boost to the offense although it wasn’t enough to get one passed Andrew Dykstra.

3) Defensively, there were several quality performances with Adolfo Machado making 3 tackles, Leonardo blocking 6 shots, Ricardo Clark intercepting a team high 3 passes in midfield, and A. J. DeLaGarza blocking a pair of shots as well. Still, there were some missteps that led to a lot of pressure on Houston’s goal. Machado nearly had a headed own goal as a ball he was heading curved away from him which affected the direction it was headed. Overall, Sporting Kansas City was not pressured well and Dynamo outside backs were a little too narrow which let SKC switch the side of the field they had possession on. This allowed them to increase time of possession in our half and find moments to have a shot on goal. Thankfully, when they did take a shot someone was there to block it, make the tackle, or save the ball.

4) Get excited Dynamo fans because the postseason is almost here and we are officially participating in it for the first time since the 2013 season where the club was eliminated in the Conference Finals by, of all teams, eventual champions Sporting Kansas City. There’s still a game left in the season which will help determine seeding, but it’s time to dream, scream, and believe because it’s noodle time!

Rate the Players: