Tyler Deric wants to make most of opportunity as Dynamo’s starting ‘keeper

HOUSTON –  It’s been a long time coming for Houston Dynamo ‘keeper Tyler Deric, but the Homegrown Player finally made it back onto the pitch as La Naranja’s starting ‘keeper.

Deric started the Dynamo’s past two road games and while they split the games, Deric is thankful for the opportunity to start once again.

“Just getting that opportunity from Wilmer again, I’m excited for the next couple of games coming up,” Deric told The Bayoucitian. “And hopefully, I can finish the season strong.”

No one could have predicted that Deric would be fighting for the starting position a couple of years after logging 2,340 minutes across 26 games in 2017. A year in which he had 76 saves and posted a record of 10-6-10.

In short, Deric had made the ‘keeper position his under Cabrera and cemented his place in the starting XI.

But in the fall of 2017, the cement cracked.

The Houston native was arrested in the fall of 2017 in connection with an alleged domestic dispute. Worse yet was the timing of the arrest.

Days earlier, Deric had been named Major League Soccer’s Player of the Month for October 2017.

Additionally, it happened as the Dynamo were entrenched in the MLS playoffs and a day after he helped the Dynamo hold the Portland Timbers to a nil-nil draw at home in Leg 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals.

What followed was an immediate suspension from the league that lasted well into the 2018 season. Eventually, in May 2018, Harris County District Attorney entered an Order of Deferred Adjudication and placed Deric on community supervision.

The Homegrown Player was finally reinstated by MLS July 2018 but getting back to the Dynamo’s starting XI took longer.

Finding his way back to the Dynamo

The Orange, upon Deric’s reinstatement, loaned him to their USL-side Rio Grande Valley FC. And while the 6’3 ‘keeper made two starts for the Dynamo in the 2018 season, the games were essentially meaningless in the grand scheme of things as Houston was well out of playoff contention.

But these past two road games, at Atlanta United and Toronto FC, carry more weight as Houston is battling to make a return to the MLS playoffs.

What constituted the change at ‘keeper for the Dynamo?

Cabrera said it was a multitude of things, including Deric having good training sessions, and wanting to change things up with the team.

“When something goes wrong for so many games we need to make changes,” Cabrera said. “We need to make sure we make changes to shake things up. And Tyler was doing well. He was waiting for his opportunity, working hard.”

How did Deric feel making a return to the starting XI?

“It’s great. I’ve had a lot of support around me that I really do appreciate it,” Deric said. “It’s great to come in there with a great group of guys.”

It was a rude awakening for Deric as his first start came against a strong Atlanta United side. That Alberth Elis was shown a red card less than ten minutes into the game did him no favors in an eventual 5-0 Dynamo loss.

“I think in Atlanta it was always going to be a tough game and especially going down a man early and it was against a possession-based team like that, in their own stadium,” Deric said.

“But with everything that happens like that we can learn from. And I think there were a lot of learning points in that Atlanta game.”

Speaking of learning, Deric made sure to work on his game in training sessions while waiting for his opportunity.

“It was just more cleaning up everything. Distribution was a point of emphasis,” Deric said on the specific things he worked on.

“And make sure the whole game is calm and collected and I’m not trying to do too much, I’m just trying to be myself.”