Player Ratings: Houston Dynamo vs. Toronto FC

The Houston Dynamo snapped their winless streak last week with a 5-1 win over Toronto FC. While Toronto opted to rest players due to their Champions League Final, the Dynamo nevertheless were able to gain some confidence with the win. Romell Quioto in particular shined, but the Dynamo looked solid top to bottom.

The Top Performers:

Romell Quioto, Man of the Match, (9.2) – This was as complete a performance as you could hope for from a player who had his hand in just about all of the goals for the Dynamo, which was five. While he finished with one goal of his own and two assists, he also passed with 81.3% accuracy. He opened the scoring by winning a ball off a defender and finding Mauro Manotas and then continued to work down the left side of the field by supplying balls to attackers that helped Eric Alexander, Leonardo, and Alberth Elis all find the back of the net. Quioto’s own goal was not overly impressive, but he had perfect placement with the effort to beat Clint Irwin.

Alberth Elis (8.3) – The engine of the Dynamo offense was able to find a little more room against a shorthanded TFC side, but he also benefited from having Romell Quioto create danger from the opposite side of the field. Elis led the team in shots and came close to finding the net several times. Following a very good run by DaMarcus Beasley through the center of the field, Beasley picked out Elis who fired a shot that forced a finger tip save by Irwin which still struck the top of the crossbar. Elis did find the back of the net on a cross by Quioto. Elis used his strength to get in front of his defender and put in an awkward touch which managed to find its way into the goal.

Joe Willis (8) – Joe Willis was a surprise start in goal for the Dynamo with Cabrera likely using the shorthanded TFC side as a reason to get his other goalkeeper some minutes. Willis quietly put in an outstanding shift. The standout of his performance was his late penalty denial, he had six total saves overall. It’s unclear if this performance was enough to unseat the usual starter Chris Seitz, but he certainly showed that Houston has an outstanding 1-2 at the goalkeeper position.

Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera (7.4) – It’s tough to say how much of this win was Houston executing its game plan and how much of it was Toronto not playing all of its usual starters, but Houston deserves a ton of credit for finishing its chances which had been a problem in recent games. Cabrera may have found his right back until A. J. DeLaGarza is healthy in Andrew Wenger, and getting minutes for Willis was also smart. Putting on Alejandro Fuenmayor later was also a good move late as the new center back has struggled and this was good to get him more minutes.

The Rest of the Starters:

DEF: DaMarcus Beasley (7.4)

DEF: Leonardo (6.6)

DEF: Adolfo Machado (6.9)

DEF: Andrew Wenger (7.4)

MID: Darwin Cerén (6.8)

MID: Eric Alexander (7.1)

MID: Tomás Martínez (7.5)

FW: Mauro Manotas (8)

The Subs:

MID: Oscar Boniek García (6.6)

FW: Arturo Álvarez (6)

FW: Alejandro Fuenmayor (6)