Canetti's Corner

Canetti's Corner - August 22, 2011

HOU_20110820_Brooks_01_Dynamo_v_RSL_AlexDixon
Canetti's Corner - August 22, 2011 -

Welcome to edition No. 35 of my blog on

HoustonDynamo.com

**Alex Dixon**’s goal, propelling us to a win over Real Salt Lake on Saturday, was the incredible culmination of a very positive week for the Dynamo. We captured seven of nine points with a 2-0-1 record in what were three very compelling matches.

I though the Portland match was a “must-win,” as the kickoff to a very difficult stretch with three games in seven days. Getting that win behind goals from **Adam Moffat** and **Brian Ching** proved big. Both were great goals in different ways – Moffat, a 40-yard bomb; Ching, a beautiful combination play started by **Colin Clark** and **Brad Davis**.

After a disappointing start to the New England game at Foxborough just 72 hours later, we dominated the Revs for most of the match, but couldn’t slip one by Matt Reis until the closing minutes. The late **Bobby Boswell** goal salvaged a road point and showed the team’s never-say-die attitude.

Saturday’s game versus RSL was a classic. We fell behind twice before coming back to claim victory in the final seconds, thanks to the amazing heroics from Dixon — one of our home-grown Academy products. If you weren’t there or haven’t seen the highlights, then click the link below to check them out. It is well worth your time.

The team is playing well. We are 3-0-2 in our last five games and 4-1-5 in our last 10. Dom has done a great job in bringing the team along and getting it to gel after a multitude of changes since last year. The recent additions of Moffat and **Carlo Costly** have proven beneficial, as they have been key contributors since their arrivals.

We are now 8-7-11 (35 points) and sitting in third place in the Eastern Conference. There are eight games left, three at home and five on the road. The next three are at Vancouver, Columbus, and Kansas City. Every game is big, but the Columbus and Kansas City games especially are huge conference battles. This is probably going to be the most exciting and pressure-packed playoff race we have faced in our six years.

Midfielder **Luiz Camargo**, one of our summer acquisitions, finally got through the visa process and arrived on the red-eye flight from Brazil Sunday morning. He was in attendance for the reserve match and had the chance to meet the coaches and players. He should be ready for Saturday’s game at Vancouver.

We are happy to finally see **Calen Carr**, who we acquired in March, back on the field after being out due to lingering effects from a concussion. He worked very hard to get back on the field, and in two matches, we were able to get a good preview of what he can bring to the team the rest of the way. It’s good to see him out there.

We are hoping to see a healthy **Will Bruin** and **Danny Cruz** in the next few weeks. Hopefully they are healed enough to get some rehab time in reserve matches and our upcoming friendly vs. Monterrey on September 4.

There are three regular-season games, one friendly, and hopefully the playoffs left for us at Robertson Stadium. We have played almost 120 games there and are closing in on our two-millionth fan to attend a Dynamo home match. As our time at Robertson winds down, we are very excited about the new stadium and the construction progress that has been made. We are on target for a grand opening in May of 2012. You can see the progress by checking out our **live webcam**.

Thanks for your support. I hope you will continue to follow us this season by attending home games, watching road games on TV or listening on radio, logging onto our website, and proudly wearing our jersey around town.

I’m on Twitter at **@chriscanetti** if you’d like to follow. Thanks again for your time. Look forward to catching up soon. Email comments to ccanetti@houstondynamo.com.