HOUSTON – The Houston Dynamo sit in fourth place in the Western Conference with 38 points, but head coach Ben Olsen doesn’t want to hear it.
“I don’t look at the standings. I swear,” Olsen said after Houston dispelled the Columbus Crew 2-0 Wednesday night, extending their winning streak to four games across all competitions.
“I know we’re up there a little bit, but I also know that it’s just about LA right now and pushing these guys to stay hungry and want more points — and I think they do.”
Houston is smacked dab in the middle of the standings, where one win takes them to second place, or a loss puts them in eight. In a tight Western Conference, every point matters.
Griffin Dorsey, whose cross to Corey Baird in the first half gave Houston a one-goal lead, agrees with his head coach.
“As a player, we don’t, at least I don’t, look past the next game,” Dorsey said. “Right now, we’re looking at LA Galaxy, and we’re looking for three more points.”
Firing on all cylinders
Houston’s four-game winning streak that has surged them up the MLS standings and into the U.S. Open Cup Final has been a collective effort on both sides of the ball. In the post-game conference, Olsen mentioned the word, collective, six times.
The former DC United coach stressed to the media that this Dynamo run has been the collaborative work of the entire team.
“It’s collective. It’s the front pressure. It’s Hector’s understanding of when to go and when to hold next to Artur. It’s the wide midfielders doing the extra work to help the wide backs behind them,” Olsen said. “So, it’s everybody doing their part. We take a lot of pride in it.”
Houston has hit the back of the net 13 times during its winning streak, with ten players notching a goal. Corey Baird, who struggled earlier in the season to find the back of the net, has three during this winning streak and 5 in the last seven games across all competitions.
While Olsen preached about his team’s collective effort, he knows the individual plays a significant role.
“It’s individuals, and it’s collective,” Olsen said. “And we hope to get the individual playing at the highest level they can, and then you trust that the collective will kind of see it through.”
As the offense has ratcheted up, the defense has clamped down its opponents.
Dynamo defense shines
The Dynamo have conceded one goal during its winning streak and registered 11 shutouts during the MLS season, the most of any team.
“Everybody on this group is going to play both sides of the ball. It’s always going to be the case here,” Olsen said. “I think modern soccer, it has to be that way anyway. So, they’re dialed in, and they have a pretty clear understanding of how we want to defend, and I think we have different ways to go about it.”
Dynamo ‘keeper Steve Clark has played a massive part in the team’s defensive prowess this season. His 11 clean sheets have him tied with Seattle’s Stefan Frei for most this season.
“He makes big saves, but also, he controls the game for us,” Olsen said. “One of the best goalkeepers in the league as far as connecting and helping us build and keeping teams on their heel when he has the ball.”
But beyond his skills on the play, Olsen relies on the veteran in the locker room, calling him a leader and someone who helps him out in the locker room.
The team has evolved from the one that started the season. Hector Herrera said the team has learned to suffer together and that those moments have brought the group closer together.
The surging Dynamo now set their eyes on the LA Galaxy, a team that sits second to last in the Western Conference. A potential fifth consecutive win and third overall on the road could help Houston maintain pace in the Western Conference.
Jesus Acevedo Jr. is the Editor-in-Chief of The Bayoucitian. He’s an award-winning bilingual journalist from Houston, TX. A graduate of the University of Houston, he has written for the Houston Chronicle, La Voz de Houston, MLSsoccer.com, and ProSoccerUSA.
Before becoming a journalist, Jesus spent his early 20s drumming his way across Houston with two bands — Shortcomings and InsertNameHere. The memories that Jesus made as a musician were the seeds that started the idea for the comedy, Houmans: The Series.