The Houston Dynamo traveled to Red Bull Arena carrying a five-game winning streak and an eight-game unbeaten streak. After 90 minutes, neither streak remained intact as the Red Bulls defeated the men in orange 2-0. It was the first defeat for Houston since a 4-2 loss to the Montreal Impact on July 23. It was also the first time the Dynamo allowed more than one goal in a match since the Montreal loss. Along with the Dynamos' run up the Eastern Conference standings, Houston also made a strong push in the weekly power rankings, coming in at No. 2 ahead of the showdown in Harrison. After the loss, though, the writers at MLSsoccer.com knocked Houston down a notch to No. 3. They had this to say about the current state of the Dynamo:
Houston's unbeaten run had to end sometime, and it makes sense that it happened at RBNY, who are the league's only other side unbeaten at home. The Dynamo still put up a quality fight, and with better finishing – their one ongoing concern – could have come away with a point.
ESPN.com's Jeffrey Carlisle, who moved the Dynamo to the top spot after their dismantling of New York on August 3, dropped Houston one spot to No. 2. Carlilse moved the San Jose Earthquakes back to the top spot, which is tough to argue with after the club stole another three points with a last-minute goal at Buck Shaw Stadium. Over at SI.com, Avi Creditor was a little more harsh on Dominic Kinnear's men, dropping them two spots to No. 4.
So where do you put the Dynamo after week 23 of the MLS season? Are they still in your top 5?
