MLS Playoffs
Join Glenn Davis and guests for a special edition of Dynamo All-Access on Monday from 9-11 p.m., live from Christian's Tailgate in Midtown. The interview lineup is not yet set, but we'll update this as guests get confirmed. The show will be the perfect opportunity to reflect on Sunday's Eastern Conference semifinal first leg, and discuss the second leg in Kansas City, which will take place on Wednesday.
A huge thanks to Christian's Tailgate for hosting what will be a great event!
Although the Dynamo have been on KPRC Local 2 six times in 2012 and a few other games have been on NBC Sports Network, Saturday will be Houston's first foray onto NBC on a national scale. Here is a cool promo that the folks at NBC put together to get you pumped for the playoffs.
Following last night's 2-1 win over the Chicago Fire in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round, a few Dynamo players / coaches set some personal milestones.
- Bobby Boswell played in his 185th Dynamo game in all competitions to move him into fourth all-time for the Dynamo.
- Will Bruin started his first playoff match and scored his first playoff goals.
- Bruin now has 14 goals in all competitions, becoming the second Dynamo player to reach that mark in a season (Ching in 06 and 08).
- Ricardo Clark appeared in his 141st Dynamo game in all competitions, passing Wade Barrett for eighth on the all-time list.
- Brad Davis started his 16 career playoff match with the Dynamo. He is now tied with Brian Ching atop the Dynamo's all-time list.
- Boniek Garcia started his first MLS playoff game.
- Kofi Sarkodie made his MLS playoff debut, starting and playing 90 minutes against Chicago.
- Tally Hall's postseason save percentage jumped to 89.7 last night. That is first all-time in MLS.
- Dominic Kinnear won his 11th career playoff match, tying Steve Nicol for fourth on the MLS all-time playoff wins chart.
Yesterday, we looked at important playoff games in Dynamo history that took place on October 29. Today, we do the same for October 30. Although Houston has only played one game the night before Halloween, it was an important one, as it set the tone for the Dynamo's 2011 run to the MLS Cup final:
October 30, 2011 vs. Philadelphia Union
Winning on the road has never come easy for the Dynamo and last season was no exception. The Dynamo went winless in their first 15 road matches before finishing the season with consecutive wins against Dallas and Portland away from Robertson Stadium. Having won four of their final five matches, the Dynamo entered the postseason as the No. 2 seed in the East, which set up a conference semifinal showdown with the Philadelphia Union.
Entering the match, the Dynamo were 0-2-2 all-time against Philadelphia and 0-3-2 all-time on the road in the MLS Cup Playoffs. Neither stat left Dynamo fans feeling confident heading into the first leg of the series at PPL Park.
The stats did not trouble the Dynamo, however, as the team jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when Andre Hainault headed home a Brad Davis free kick in the fifth minute. Philadelphia responded quickly and leveled the match only two minutes later when Sebastien Le Toux broke free and placed a shot past Tally Hall.
The Dynamo would not be denied, however, and found what proved to be the game-winning goal in the 30th minute. After Brian Ching received the ball 40 yards from goal, the Dynamo's all-time leading scorer split a pair of Union defenders to find the surging Calen Carr. The Dynamo striker would not be denied as he one-touched the ball to the left of a sliding Faryd Mondragon.
Houston won the game 2-1 and won the return leg 1-0 to set up the ensuing conference final match with Sporting Kansas City.
Ahead of Wednesday's playoff match with the Chicago Fire, defender Bobby Boswell was on the Rod Ryan Morning Show on 94.5 The Buzz. Check out the interview below!
MLSsoccer.com polled the ten managers in the playoffs to see if they preferred to play the home leg first or second or if it didn't matter. Of course, this only comes to play if you are fortunate enough to advance to the conference semifinals where it is a two-game aggregate goal series.
Here is what Dominic Kinnear had to say:
Dominic Kinnear (Houston Dynamo): "In my opinion I think it's always better to have the second game at home. I feel more comfortable having the second game at home. I think in both cases you know exactly what you need to do. I think having the fans on your side for the last 90 minutes is a plus."
October 29 has been a successful date in Dynamo history. The men in orange have played two playoff games, winning one and tying the other. Let's take a look back at those two historic matches:
October 29, 2006 vs. Chivas USA
After falling to Chivas USA 2-1 in the first leg of their Western Conference semifinal series, the Dynamo had their backs against the wall, as they headed back to Robertson Stadium. The Dynamo and Chivas USA had battled four times during the regular season, with the two teams splitting the series with two draws and a win a piece.
Down a goal in the series, things turned in the Dynamo's favor in the second half. Eight minutes after Chivas midfielder Juan Francisco Palencia picked up a red card, Dwayne De Rosario was taken down in the penalty box and the Dynamo were awareded a penalty kick. Brad Davis stepped up the spot and chipped it over the out-stretched arm of future national team goalkeeper Brad Guzan.
With the series apparently headed to overtime, Brian Ching out-jumped a Chivas defender to head home the winning goal to send Houston to its first Western Conference final.
October 29, 2009 at Seattle Sounders
After trading Dwayne De Rosario to Toronto FC in the off-season, the Dynamo rebounded well, finishing the regular season tied with the LA Galaxy atop the Western Conference. After losing the regular season series with LA, the Dynamo were the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, and squared off with expansion club Seattle Sounders in the conference semifinal.
As the No. 2 seed, the Dynamo went to Seattle for the first match, where the Sounders held an impressive 7-2-6 record during their inaugural season in MLS.
In a hard-fought battle, between two clubs that had met three times earlier that season, the Dynamo earned a 0-0 draw, putting them in a comfortable position heading into the return leg at Robertson Stadium. The closest either team came to scoring was in the 14th minute, when Seattle defender Pat Ianni headed a shot to the back post, and Houston midfielder Brian Mullan, guarding the post, leaped and cleared the ball off the line with a header.
The Dynamo defeated Seattle a week later at Robertson Stadium, setting up the infamous Western Conference final match with the LA Galaxy.
When the Houston Dynamo take the field on Wednesday in the Knockout Round playoff match, there will be a familiar face in the middle of the pitch. It was announced on Sunday, that Baldomero Toledo will be the center referee for the match against the Chicago Fire. Frank Anderson and Ian Anderson will patrol the sidelines, while Jorge Gonzalez will be the fourth official.
This will be the fifth Dynamo game of 2012 that Toledo has officiated. Houston is 0-1-3 in the previous four matches, including draws against the New England Revolution (5/19), Toronto FC (8/20) and Sporting Kansas City (9/14), and a loss to the Seattle Sounders (3/23).
In his career, Toledo has officiated 146 MLS games. He has averaged 25 fouls called per game and 3.4 yellow cards per game. Toledo has issued 48 red cards in his career and has given 52 penalty kicks.
In his four Dynamo games this season, Toledo has called two penalties against Houston, one in New England and one in Seattle.