Dynamo vs San Jose Earthquakes - Player ratings

After each game we’ll be handing out player ratings on a 1-10 scale. The Houston Dynamo picked up their second win in a row, beating the San Jose Earthquakes 4-3 on Saturday night. Let’s have a look at the ratings as the Dynamo picked up the three points at home. All stats referenced are from fbref.

Starters

Steve Clark – 5

You never want your goalkeeper conceding three goals in a match, but we can’t place all the blame on Clark. Houston’s keeper made 4 saves, but his passing was very poor by his standards, completing only 47%. Hopefully Clark bounces back next week with his old club in town.

Adam Lundkvist – 7

The captain’s armband seems to have been a big boost for Lundy, with one solid performance after another since he stepped into the role. Lundkvist had an assist on Sebastian Ferreira’s first goal off a beautifully worked set piece. The Swede also pitched in with 4 interceptions on the defensive end.

Teenage Hadebe – 7

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It’s hard to give a center back a 7 rating when his team concedes 3 goals, but Hadebe played well. Teenage scored his first Major League Soccer goal to give Houston a 3-2 lead in the second half. Defensively, he and Ethan Bartlow allowed Jeremy Ebobisse too much space on his two first half goals. Hadebe only had 38 touches, which is way down from earlier games when he had over 100, but this speaks to the Dynamo only having 33% possession in the match.

Ethan Bartlow – 5

Bartlow’s growing pains continued Saturday in his second MLS start. Like I mentioned above, Ebobisse was running free much too often early on. To Bartlow (and Hadebe’s) credit, they did better limiting the Quakes striker as the match went on. He did pick up a yellow card after giving away a very dangerous free kick in stoppage time that thankfully amounted to nothing. Bartlow will continue learning and improving his positioning, he did have 3 blocked shots, and other aspects of the game as he gets valuable minutes with the first team.

Griffin Dorsey – 6

Dorsey got forward a lot in this game which was an end-to-end affair for big chunks of the match. He had a shot in the second half, that he skied over and created multiple chances for teammates, chipping in 4 progressive passes and 3 progressive carries. On the defensive end, Dorsey picked up 3 interceptions, 3 clearances, and 3 tackles.

Matias Vera – 6

The Argentine’s passing wasn’t its usual high percentage, but Vera did have 6 progressive carries and 2 of the Dynamo’s 4 successful dribbles in the match. Vera had no interceptions but did have a team high 4 tackles.

Adalberto Carrasquilla – 6

Coco returned to the starting lineup and did some typical Coco things. His passing wasn’t great, completing just 71%, but 5 of those were progressive passes, which was a team high. Coco had 5 interceptions, showing how talented he is at reading the game, not just from an offensive perspective but also his ability to see the oppositions’ moves and be one step ahead.

Darwin Quintero – 8

Call him the Pressure Machine. Quintero now consistently leads the team in pressures, this week picking up 23 of them. The engine never stops on Darwin. Oh, did I mention he also scored another goal? His goal was a great microcosm of what Quintero is, he played a perfect ball through to Tyler Pasher on the run into space. When Pasher was unable to get a good shot off, there was Quintero to slot the ball into the empty net.

Fafa Picault – 7

Fafa picked up an assist on Ferreira’s second goal, doing what he does best, running at defenses and into their penalty box. Picault is such a handful for fullbacks. Slow feet don’t eat and Fafa’s feet are never slow, and they never seem to run out of energy.

Tyler Pasher – 6

I said it in last week’s ratings, Tyler Pasher is going to start soon. Tyler Pasher started. The Canadian didn’t seem like his usual self where he’s running at guys and making passes to spur attacks but that is to be expected in his first start of the year. Pasher showed flashes though of his creative abilities and with more starts and longer stretches of minutes, he should find his game and flow.

Sebastian Ferreira – 9

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We told you there was no need to panic. I predicted Sebas would get his first goal in the game preview, and he delivered, times two. Ferreira had 2 shots on target and finished them both to earn MLS Team of the Week honors. His first goal was a striker’s finish, making a curling run to the near post and smashing a one-time shot. His second goal was the finish of a striker in form. The goal went in off the goalkeeper’s hand, but you know, that is the life of a striker. Some weeks you can’t buy a goal but when you’re on, you’re on. It’s good to see Sebas on.

Subs

Memo Rodriguez - 6

He was relegated to the bench this week, but Memo had a solid 20-minute shift. He completed 5 of his 6 passes and had some successful movement to keep the Dynamo going forward and not just into a defensive shell.

Thor Ulfarsson – 5

Thor is still a rookie and at times he seems lost on the field. This week was one of those times when he just never seemed to find the rhythm of the game. He only had 4 touches and completed one pass and never really seemed to be involved during his 20 minutes.

Corey Baird – 5

With Pasher getting his first start of the season, Baird started on the bench Saturday. He came on for a 15-minute cameo but like Thor, was not involved much in the game. After Ferreira’s goal made it 4-2, the Dynamo seemed to hold on to the match, which is fine because they got the win, but it made some of the attacking players obsolete.

Darwin Ceren – N/A

Ceren came on for 3 minutes and stoppage time and managed to pick up a yellow card. He came in to see out the game defensively, but we won’t give him a rating due to his very limited time on the field.

Tim Parker – N/A

It was good to see Parker back out on the field, even for just a few minutes. Like Ceren, he came on in the final 3 minutes to ensure the 3 points and it was a bit nervy but, job done.