Houston Dynamo midfielders Boniek Garcia and Luis Garrido each played 90 minutes to help the Honduras national team qualify for the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup with a 3-0 win on Sunday in the second leg of a two-leg qualifying playoff with French Guiana. The victory helped Los Catrachos overcome a 3-1 deficit from the first leg for a 4-3 aggregate series win and the final berth in this summer’s regional championship.
Former D.C. United defender Andy Najar scored two goals and Olimpia forward Anthony Lozano tallied the third as the Hondurans secured the decisive win at Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano in San Pedro Sula. Garcia assisted on Najar's second goal with a pinpoint cross from the endline that Najar headed home at the back post. It was Garcia's 97th cap and Garrido's 29th appearance for Honduras.
Honduras joins the United States, Panama and Haiti in Group A of the Gold Cup. Honduras will open the tournament against the U.S. on July 7 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
Meanwhile, Dynamo forward Giles Barnes earned his first start for the Jamaica national team and scored the equalizing goal in his Reggae Boyz debut. Dynamo defender Jermaine Taylor also started for his 78th cap for Jamaica, which rallied for a 2-1 friendly win over Venezuela as Vancouver Whitecaps forward Darren Mattocks scored the winning goal.
Jamaica will face Cuba in a friendly on Monday night and is in Group B at the 2015 Gold Cup, with Costa Rica, El Salvador and Canada. The Jamaicans play at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston on July 11 and open the group stage July 8 in Carson, Calif.
All four players will rejoin the Dynamo this week to prepare for Saturday's road game against Seattle Sounders FC.
