HOUSTON – The Houston Dynamo kicked off the Major League Soccer season with a 2-1 come-from-behind win against the Chicago Fire. The win marks Houston’s first season-opening match victory since 2021. Here are three thoughts from the Dynamo’s first three points of the season.
Nonchalant First Half
Despite the large number of new signings in the offseason, the Houston Dynamo looked very much like the team from a year ago for the first 45 minutes of Saturday’s match. Slow and sluggish to start the game, and a self-inflicted wound to concede a goal. The latter was a result of newcomer Mateusz Bogusz, the biggest transfer in Dynamo history, who sent a back pass past the Dynamo defense that Chicago striker Hugo Cuypers pounced on for the opening goal.
“For the first 20 minutes, we had a little trouble figuring them out and deciding how to go about it. As I have said, we are a work in progress, and sometimes it takes a bit of grinding it out,” said Dynamo head coach Ben Olsen. “We gifted them a goal in an unusual moment, which I do not expect to be a regular thing.”
Chalk it up to newcomers getting adjusted to their new team, and yes, even new positions, as Duane Holmes stepped in to play right wing back due to Griffin Dorsey’s trade to the Orlando City SC. Any notion that this year’s Dynamo is akin to last year’s was put to bed early in the second half, with Olsen crediting the comeback to the personality of the team.
“There was no hanging of heads, and they just got back to work,” said Olsen. “I thought in the second half we were the better team and deserved a few goals.”
The comeback win bodes well for the start of the season for Houston since last season, when they had zero wins, 13 losses, and two draws when trailing at halftime, according to DynaStat.
Guilherme Santos Shines in Debut
While one newcomer gifted the Fire a goal, another, winger Guilherme Santos, scored a brace, hitting the back of the net in the 67th and 78th minute. The Brazilian’s output earned him a place in MLSSoccer.com Team of the Matchday for Matchday 1. The brace follows the hat-trick he scored in Houston’s final pre-season match.
“I kind of practiced last week to be ready for this week,” said Guilherme through an interpreter. “The hat trick last week gave me confidence for tonight. I knew that getting a chance, I’d be ready to score. And that’s what I did.”
Guilherme’s signing raised a lot of questions for Houston chief, among them, could the Brazilian replicate his goal output from Brazil’s Série A? It’s one game, but the early indications are that Guilherme has the skills and quality to make an impact for Houston. That skill and quality were on display in his first goal, where his calm, cool composure on the ball allowed him to slot past Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady.
“You can see the quality he brings, both between the boxes and also in the final third, so hopefully there is more of that to come,” said Olsen. “He is a fun guy to watch, and he is also working his tail off.”
Ezequiel Ponce’s Work Rate
Ponce, one of Houston’s top-paid players, hasn’t lived up to the expectations that befell him after Houston acquired him in a then-club-record deal. The Dynamo were expecting a finisher to lead their front line, but that has yet to materialize into consistency from Ponce. In one and a half seasons, the Argentinian has found the back of the net 15 times, including 10 last season.
Part of that can be chalked up to personnel on the pitch not getting enough service, and perhaps the tactics. One game into the season, with new tactics and personnel, Ponce looks like a different player. Ponce was heavily involved in both of Houston’s goals.
In the first goal, he dragged a Fire centerback as he received the ball, creating space for Guilherme to run behind. Ponce laid off his pass to Jack McGlynn, who played a first-time pass to a streaking Guilherme en route to his first goal.
On the second goal, Ponce elegantly brought down a pass from Bogusz in the box and let out a power shot in traffic, causing Fire goalkeeper Brady to make the save. Guilherme jumped on the rebound for his second goal of the night.
While Ponce didn’t score, he contributed heavily to Houston’s goals. If the goals don’t come for Ponce this season, his work rate and assists would be a boon for the Dynamo.
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.