Player Ratings Houston Dynamo vs. the New York Red Bulls

In the fourth week of Rate the Players the Houston Dynamo player performances rose greatly following a poor showing (only in the 2^nd half) at Portland. This week’s fixture at home against the New York Red Bulls featured an unstoppable Erick Torres who helped propel the Dynamo to a 4-1 win. Everyone saw an increase in their ratings due to their level of play including players coming in for injured or resting starters. The win was a huge comeback following their previous defeat and has made Houston one of the most exciting teams to watch this season. Although Tyler Deric is not one of the voted upon top performers, he once again is up for Save of the Week so please vote regularly for our man between the sticks.

The Top Performers:

Erick “Cubo” Torres, Man of the Match, (9) – There isn’t too much to say about Cubo that hasn’t already been said, but I think it’s safe to say he’s playing some solid soccer at the moment. As the league leader in goals scored, that goes without saying, but scoring six goals in four games is very good including his hat trick he scored against RBNY. His goals came from a variety of ways as well, once again proving he is much more than a goal poacher. He’s been perfect from the penalty spot this year, he’s scored from free kicks, and from the run of play (all of which he did in this game). Above his production are the little things that he does that simply didn’t manifest themselves until recently as a Dynamo player. He’s pressuring opposing defenders while they have possession which forces sloppy passes and results in turnovers. He’s winning headers – a skill of his I’ve criticized in the past. He’s holding the ball up better and getting teammates involved in the offense. So much of this is due to Cabrera’s influence, but one cannot deny that the effort put forth by Cubo and his investment in this system is there and it is working.

Dylan Remick (8.1) – It isn’t easy to step into a four-time World Cup veteran’s shoes, but Dylan Remick looks more than up to the task at the moment – at least given this performance. Someone on Twitter remarked that he reminded him of Craig Waibel and I understood it. Remick was fearless in his clearing headers, often coming out of nowhere to beat multiple attacking players. He put his body in the way to stop runs down the left line of the field, and stepped into and won 50/50 balls. His equalizing goal at the time showed that he, rather on defense or offense, was there at the right place and at the right time. While DaMarcus Beasley should be considered the starter at LB, Remick has proven in this instance his ability to step into some big shoes.

Alex Lima (7.8) – While I would personally rather have Mauro Manotas in this spot as he drew the penalty that put the Dynamo up on the Red Bulls, I think Alex performed very well. Alex has been a surprising revelation since we traded Jason Johnson for him. His versatility to play across the midfield is what gave him playing time to begin with, but his ability to exceed expectation after expectation is what has made him a mainstay. In his role as a central/left/attacking midfielder in Cabrera’s scheme, Alex has been one of the key cogs in what makes this team’s engine run. His dangerous passing, dribbling in tight spots, and his ability to win the ball as a tenacious defender has been one of the underrated components of this new team.

Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera (8.5) – This was quite the rebound game. Lose 2-4 at Portland and come home to win 4-1 against the New York Red Bulls. I still have some reservations about how Cabrera can manage games against some opponents – specifically how he can get his team to hold onto leads, but his tactics more than worked against RBNY. Even with Romell Quioto injured and other starters resting, he got his side to buy into his fast style of play and it worked. Defensively this team will need some work as the goal the Dynamo conceded was poorly defended and the team looked relatively disinterested until that point. However, the team responded and it reinvigorated them to score lots more goals.

The Rest of the Starters:

GK: Tyler Deric (7.8)

DEF: Jalil Anibaba (7.1)

DEF: Adolfo Machado (7)

DEF: A. J. DeLaGarza (7.2)

MID: Eric Alexander (7)

MID: Ricardo Clark (7)

MID: Andrew Wenger (6.4)

FW: Mauro Manotas (7.7)

The Subs:

MID: Oscar Boniek Garcia (7)

FW: Alberth Elis (6.7)

DEF: DaMarcus Beasley (6.9)