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.
