The Houston Dynamo first team was not the only squad to tie the Colorado Rapids on Sunday as both the Dynamo U-16s and U-18s earned draws in their respective matches against the Colorado Rapids Academy Sunday morning at the Houston Amateur Sports Park.
The Dynamo U-16s, presented by Statoil, extended their unbeaten run to 13 consecutive games with a scoreless draw against the Rapids. Despite playing the second half against a ten-men Rapids squad, the Dynamo were unable to find the back of the net. Houston's best opportunity came in the first half when Christian Lucatero's penalty kick hit off the post. With three games to go in the season, the Dynamo U-16s are now 17-3-4 and are locked into one of the automatic playoff spots given to the top three teams in the Frontier Division.
In the first match on Sunday's Dynamo / Rapids tripleheader, the Dynamo U-18s, presented by Statoil, drew the Rapids U-18 squad 1-1. Alex Braman put the Rapids ahead in the 54th minute off a corner kick. Dynamo homegrown striker Bryan Salazar equalized for Houston in the 66th minute, beating a pair of Rapids defenders to the endline and slotting the ball into the far corner of the net. The goal was Salazar's team-leading 12th of the season. With the draw, the Dynamo U-18s extended their unbeaten streak to six games and have lost only once in their previous 12 matches.
Both teams will continue their three-game homestand when they take on Real Colorado Saturday afternoon at the Houston Amateur Sports Park. The U-18s will kick off at 10 a.m. with the U-16s to follow at 12:30 p.m.
PLAYOFF UPDATE
Although the Dynamo U-16s have already clinched a spot in the USSDA playoffs, the team is still jockeying for playoff position. Currently, they sit in first place in the division in points (55) but second place behind Solar Chelsea in points per game (2.29). The Dynamo have played two more games that both Solar (the team in first place) and FC Dallas (the team in third place). Mathematically, the U-16s cannot drop out of the top three spots, but nine points in their final three games would move them up the overall standings and give them a better draw in the overall playoff seeding.
Following Sunday's draw, the Dynamo U-18s are now 13-4-7 and sit in second place in the division on points (46) and fourth place in the division on points per game (1.92). Things are not as cut-and-dry for the U-18s, who could finish anywhere from first to fifth in the Frontier Division, depending on the results on the remaining games. The U-18s are currently third in the overall wildcard standings. The 13 teams with the highest points per game across the country that did not finish in the top three of their division earn a wild card berth.
U-18: Houston Dynamo (13-4-7) vs Colorado Rapids (8-10-14)
April 28, 2013 -- Houston Amateur Sports Park
USSF Development Academy League
Scoring Summary:
COL -- Alex Braman 54
HOU -- Bryan Salazar 66
U-16: Houston Dynamo (17-3-4) vs Colorado Rapids (12-7-3)
April 28, 2013 -- Houston Amateur Sports Park
USSF Development Academy League
Scoring Summary:
All statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial.
