HOUSTON – The Houston Dynamo entered Saturday’s MLS home opener optimistic as they looked to build on their Western Conference Finals run from a year ago, but after a 1-1 draw against Sporting Kansas City, the team left the match disappointed with its performance.
Statistically speaking, the men in orange were the better side on Saturday, leading Sporting Kansas City across all offensive categories and carrying the game’s momentum.
After going down a goal in the 61st minute, newcomer Gabe Segal leveled the game from an Ibrahim Aliyu assist eight minutes later to salvage a point from the home opener.
When speaking to the media after the game, Dynamo players let the media know how upset the draw made them and their answers spoke to their expectations of themselves and the team.
“At home, we want to win every game,” said Sebastian Kowalczyk. “We were angry after the game in the dressing room.”
Griffin Dorsey echoed his teammate’s words.
“I think the whole group was a little disappointed,” said Dorsey. “We come to Houston, a home opener, so we want to win. That being said, we got a point.”
Kowalczyk’s positive for the game was that the team showed a fight in leveling the game after conceding the goal.
Houston Dynamo head coach Ben Olsen said the home opener would never be perfect considering the guys the team is missing and the quick turnaround from Houston’s midweek CONCACAF Champions League bout.
The Dynamo kicked off the season without the services of Hector Herrera, Franco Escobar —both out due to injury — and Amine Bassi, who arrived in Houston a few days before the match after having a VISA issue. Forward Sebastián Ferreira was also out after getting hurt in the CONCACAF Champions Cup match.
The quick turnaround plus the missing players proved to be a tall task, but Olsen liked the energy and the chances his players created in the season opener.
“But there’s just some offensive areas that really could have put us over the top,” said Olsen. “Again, that’s normal. There are some new relationships out there. There are some new guys, and it’s a lot of fun to see them out there.”
For Olsen, his side’s quality was just a hair-off on Saturday.
Houston can get closer to the form it finished the last MLS season, but it may take time, and it’s something Olsen acknowledged after the game.
“These relationships take time to develop in the way they did last year,” said Olsen. “These guys are going to start coming back and this is valuable minutes for a lot of these guys to show that they belong on the field.”
Houston’s (0-0-1, 1 point) congested schedule continues as it sets to host St. Louis City SC in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
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.