In front of more than 18,000 fans, the Houston Dynamo set a new standard for home dominance in Major League Soccer with their historic win against the Chicago Fire. Behind a solid performance from captain Brad Davis (1 goal, 1 assist), the Dynamo beat the Fire 2-1 to set a new MLS record for a home unbeaten streak.
The San Antonio Scorpions are celebrating the opening of Toyota Field, their very own soccer specific stadium. Tonight's opponent is the Tampa Bay Rowdies who feature a Dynamo midfielder on loan in Alex Dixon.
Follow the match live as all NASL games are streamed via USTREM.
Read: Match Preview: Scorpions vs Rowdies Read: Gameday Tonight: Rowdies at Scorpions Game Notes:
Alex Dixon is not in the starting XI for the Tampa Bay.
On Sunday, the Chicago Fire march into town looking to stop the Dynamo from making history. Coming off their first win of the season, the Fire are hungry for more points and hope to be the first team to defeat the Dynamo at home since June 2011.
Enjoy the following videos to get you ready for the match.
Back to Earth. That's really the only way to describe it. After phenomenal performances in two straight matches at home, the Houston Dynamo reverted back to their woeful road form from last month. Defensive lapses, magnified by the weather and a slick FieldTurf surface, were exploited by a Portland Timbers side that overcame two first-half injuries to notch their first win of the season.
The Houston Dynamo welcome the Chicago Fire to BBVA Compass Stadium and will look to break an MLS record. The Dynamo head into the match unbeaten in 34 home matches, tying Real Salt Lake for the longest ever. One more game will break that record.
On Sunday, the Houston Dynamo will take the field with MLS history on the line.
On Sunday, the Houston Dynamo will take the field with MLS history on the line. That history is more important to the fans for bragging rights and pride. The Dynamo haven't lost a competitive match in Houston since June 2011 and currently are tied with Real Salt Lake for the longest home unbeaten streak in MLS history - 34 games.
Coming into Portland, the feeling exuded from the team can only be described as business-like and optimistic. After all, they just tied RSL's home win streak, beating last year's Supporter's Shield-winning San Jose 2-0. Davis called for a "playoff-like" approach to beating Portland, and I personally was expecting a win.
The day after a loss is always tough. Was it real? What the hell went wrong? Is it the end of world? Why can't we play all our games at BBVA Compass Stadium?
In a nutshell... it was real, a lot went wrong, it's not the end of the world, and that last one is a stupid question.
Behind a Ryan Johnson brace, the Portland Timbers took care of business (aka the Houston Dynamo) and got their first win of the season.
The Houston Dynamo lost 2-0 to the Portland Timbers led by Ryan Johnson and Darlington Nagbe. The Dynamo played without regular starters Will Bruin and Oscar Boniek Garcia due to injuries, and struggled to find form in the hostile confines of Jeld-Wen Field. Houston Dynamo Player Ratings:
Tally Hall (4) - The Houston goalkeeper can thank the woodwork for keeping this game only 2-0.
The Houston Dynamo continue their poor road form with a 2-0 loss against the Portland Timbers at Jeld-Wen Field. Behind a second half brace by Timbers forward Ryan Johnson, Portland got their first win of the season.
It was a tale of two halves as Houston and Portland battled in the first half in a tough physical match.
This is a move the Houston Dynamo needed to make. Alex Dixon was buried deep beneath the absolute mountain of midfield talent acquired over the last couple of seasons, and it was most likely stunting his growth as a player. In his time with the Dynamo Alex Dixon has notched four regular season MLS matches.
The MLS schedule is quirky. There are a few reasons, but mostly it can be reduced to the fact that the league is split into two uneven conferences, a Western Conference with nine teams and an Eastern one with ten. Because of this, teams from opposing conferences only play once a season. And in a quirk, eight of the nine Western Conference matches the Houston Dynamo will play are grouped together.
Unless you follow the league as a whole, you may not know too much about the Portland Timbers - other than the fact that they're hosting the Houston Dynamo this Saturday. We caught up with Stumptown Footy editor Geoff Gibson and traded questions. His answers are below, and my answers to his questions can be found here.
