The battle for El Capitan continues Saturday

Saturday, the Houston Dynamo heads to Frisco to play FC Dallas in the third game of the Texas Derby. The two have played to 1-1 draws each time they have played this season.

The game on Saturday will be the lone game in Frisco for the series as the two earlier games were played in Houston. The two first faced each other on July 21 when the two sides traded goals in the first eight minutes of the game. Dallas got out to an early lead scoring in the first minute of the game. However, Mauro Manotas scored in the eighth minute to bring his side level. The 1-1 scoreline would hold until the final whistle. In the rematch on August 23 the sides once again finished with a 1-1 scoreline. Instead of early goals the two teams waited until after the 82nd minute to start scoring. The Dynamo gave up a late goal to Michael Barrios that looked like it would be a game winner. Fortunately, second half substitute Ronaldo Pena scored for the Dynamo in the 88th minute to level the game up at 1-1.

Now the series goes on the road to FC Dallas’ home field and while the Dynamo can win at home they haven’t proven they can do so on the road. They have just one win on the road this season - against the Chicago Fire. A tie may be best case scenario for the team on the road. They have lost seven games on the road this season but have managed four ties as the visitor.

Wednesday night the Dynamo lost on the road to the New York Red Bulls by a 1-0 deficit. The starting lineups for both sides consisted of a number of second stringers. Rookie Brian White scored in the second half of the game after Chris Seitz was pulled out to the post and didn’t get back when the ball was passed to White. Seitz’s positioning left the net wide open for a tap-in goal.

Dallas are coming off of a 4-3 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes. Dallas jumped out to an early lead thanks to a goal in the eighth minute from Maximiliano Urruti. San Jose’s Valeri Qazaishvili scored in the fifteenth minute and then again right before the half. Dallas scored six minutes into the second half, but Magnus Eriksson scored three minutes later to regain the lead for San Jose. Dominique Badji tied the game up 3-3 in the 58th minute. It would be San Jose who scored last and secured the win thanks to a 62nd minute goal from Chris Wondolowski.

Dallas currently has a one point lead in the Western Conference over Sporting Kansas City. The Dynamo sit in 10th place ten points out of sixth place. After failing to pick up any points against the Red Bulls the Dynamo have pretty much played themselves out of the playoffs. Winning El Capitan and the US Open Cup (final on September 29) are the current priorities for the Dynamo.

Things kick off in Frisco at 7:00 pm CT.