The Houston Dynamo come back to BBVA Compass Stadium on Sunday for the first time in nearly a month, and they’re hoping the return home means a return to points in the standings.
After starting the year with a win and a draw on home soil, the Dynamo went on the road for two weeks in a row and despite decent performances, were unable to add to that point total. A week off on a bye has the group recharged and ready to get back in front of the home support against the Seattle Sounders (2:45 p.m. CT; TICKETS)
“I think we had a lot of good stuff against New York and Vancouver [on the road], but obviously we want to bring back all the good results we had at home,” defender Raúl Rodríguez said. “I think we all agree that that’s going to be the key for us moving forward in the season, just to keep going at the same rate that we did at home since the beginning, using the fans, the crowd, using the environment.”
The team has a short turnaround after Sunday’s match for another matchup against the LA Galaxy on April 15 (5:45 p.m. CT; TICKETS), giving them an opportunity to stack results together to keep pace in the Western Conference.
“We’re only four games into the season—this will be the fifth—but we can’t keep saying ‘it’s the beginning of the season, the beginning of the season’,” DaMarcus Beasley said. “We’ve got to start picking up momentum and points and even if we win ugly, even if we tie, we still need to get points. That’s the name of the game.”
The Dynamo expect their recent performances to lead to more results and more points, contributing to the excitement level that built at BBVA Compass Stadium in the first two weeks as the team continues to gel. The Dynamo have lost only one of their last 12 MLS matches in Houston dating back to last May—an 8-1-3 record—and averaged nearly two and a half goals in those matches.
“The main thing that I felt in these games at home was the excitement, not just from the crowd, which was great, but from us,” said Rodríguez. “You can see in the goals that we scored and in the results, in the Dallas game especially, how the excitement from the fans and the way we started in these home games, you can see that there’s something different there. So hopefully we’re going to keep bringing it to the [upcoming] games.”
Beasley agrees, as the team has a prime opportunity to regain their form and climb into the upper echelon of the conference standings in the early goings.
“It starts Sunday. We had our break, we had our chance to breathe and relax for a little bit over the weekend, but it’s time to get back to work, so hopefully we can get a good start on Sunday and get three points.”
