Dynamo 2sday: Dos on the verge of playoffs

Welcome, welcome everyone to another edition of Dynamo 2sday. We are back to recap another great match and victory by the boys from Houston Dynamo 2 up in the land of the Loons after coming back from a bye week.

The starting XI for the Orange were Xavier Valdez, Mujeeb Murana, Talen Maples, Micael, Isaiah LeFlore (who started with this team as a left winger and at times played as a forward, and now starts as a left back), Paulo Lima, Juan Castilla, the newest signing to this team Paolo Rios, with Kyle Edwards, Jacob Evans and Beto Avila up top.

The game started off well for Minnesota United 2. In the 7th minute the home side were able to get the first shot of the game that went just wide of the goal defended by Bronx native, Xavier Valdez. DynaDos responded quickly, when in the 11th minute of play, Evans played a great ball for Edwards. The Houston striker went one on one with the goalkeeper for the Loons (who played a tremendous game by the way) and was and denied on an attempted chip.

Minnesota United FC

The 25th minute would be the turning point in this match. After a corner kick for Minnesota, Evans found the ball after a rebound and saw Avila making the run to open space. After beating the goalkeeper one on one he was fouled right before the final touch, giving the Dynamo an opportunity from the penalty spot. Edwards was able to put the penalty kick in the back of the net to give the Dos the advantage.

Minnesota never let up and pushed for a tying goal. In the 30th minute they had a golden opportunity that was saved by Valdez. The ensuing corner kick brought two great chances for the Loons. After a series of rebounds in the box, Minnesota had some shots on goal that were blocked by the Houston defense, just attacking the ball and using their bodies as shields in front of their goal.

Paolo Rios had a chance to get his first goal as a Dynamo player in the 34th minute off a header from a cross after a great series of passes to get to the goal. The last opportunity of the half came from another corner, where Talen Maples beat his man in the air but the goalkeeper would again deny Dos. The rebound fell to Evans who would try a shot, but was also blocked by the Loon’s defense.

The second half was a little more muted than the first, but Dynamo 2 had a great opportunity right out of the locker room. Edwards was able to make himself some space and get a shot off that went just wide. In minute 57, after a dead ball from Castilla (a beautiful service to the box I may add) found the legs of a Dynamo forward who was able to re-direct the ball but once again, Fred Emmings, the great goalkeeper for the Loons made a another save to keep his team alive. To close down the match, Emmings had another huge save when Lima was able to get a shot of from outside the box but once was denied.

Like I said before, the second half didn't bring as much excitement as the first half but DynaDos were able to put the game to bed, and keep the lead all the way to the end to get the 3 points away from home from a difficult opponent.

Head coach Kenny Bundy was pleased with the performance of the team. “Coming off a bye week, coming off the performance at home against Colorado where we still got a point. This was one of our better games of the season,” Bundy said after the match. “To come into a stadium like this and come away with three points. It’s always our goal. The fight that the boys showed, the way they closed the game out - the fact that they were continually creating chances, and we were very stingy at the back. It shows the personality and the growth of the team”

With practically one foot in the MLS NEXT Pro playoffs, DynaDos have one of the most challenging games this upcoming weekend as they face the best team in the league, the newest addition to MLS next year, St. Louis City. Not only they could get Houston punch playoff ticket punched this weekend with a victory, but they could also get a step closer to taking the Western Conference title from St Louis City.

You can go support the boys this upcoming weekend as they will play at AVEVA Stadium this Saturday, September 3rd, at 7 PM.

VAMOS DOS!!!