Postgame Notes | Houston Dynamo at Real Salt Lake

The Win…

• Was Houston’s first-ever victory at Rio Tinto Stadium. The Dynamo entered the match with a record of 0-4-2 since the facility opened in 2009.
• Was the second win at Real Salt Lake in club history. The Dynamo’s only previous win in Utah came on Oct. 15, 2007 at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
• Secured a win in the season series, giving the Dynamo a 2-1-0 record against Real Salt Lake this year.
• Was Houston’s 11th all-time win over Real Salt Lake. With the win, Houston’s all-time record against the Claret and Cobalt stands at 11-8-5.
• Improved Houston’s record on the season to 6-11-11.
• Gave the Dynamo positive results in three consecutive road games for the first time since the 2013 season (Sept. 14 – Oct. 27, 2013). · Improved interim head coach Wade Barrett’s record on the Dynamo sideline to 3-4-9.
• Was Barrett’s second road victory on the Dynamo sideline and improved his record away from home to 2-3-4.

Team Notes

• The Dynamo used the same starting lineup that took the field in last Friday’s match at Sporting Kansas City. It marked the fifth time in 27 games this season that Houston used the same starting XI in back-to-back outings.
• The Dynamo scored first for the 15th time this season. Houston’s record when netting the first goal is now 6-4-5.
• The Dynamo led at halftime for the 10th time this season. Houston is now 4-3-3 on the year when leading at intermission.
• The six cautions issued to Dynamo players were the most this season. The previous high in a game was three, which occurred multiple times.

Player Notes

• MF Alex scored his fifth goal of the season in the 36th minute, beating Real Salt Lake GK Nick Rimando with a left-footed effort from the top of the penalty area.
• Alex has scored in three consecutive games, making him the first Dynamo player to do so since Giles Barnes did so in 2014 (Oct. 8, 12 & 16).
• Alex now has a team-high seven goals across all competitions this year, with five goals in league play and two in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
• Alex equaled a career-high with his 24th start of the season, matching his starts total in 2014 with the Chicago Fire.
• Alex set a career high in minutes played the moment that the match kicked off. He entered the match with 1,986 minutes played on the year, which equaled his career-high set in 2014 with Chicago.
• Alex surpassed 2,000 minutes played for the first season in his MLS career in the 14th minute of tonight’s match.
• Alex picked up a yellow card in the 33rd minute for a tactical foul on Juan Martinez outside the Dynamo penalty area. It was his seventh caution of the season, which equals his MLS career total coming into the season.
• MF Eric Alexander made his seventh appearance with the Dynamo when he came on for MF Cristián Maidana in the 74th minute.
• F Will Bruin made his 25th appearance of the season when he came on as Houston’s final substitute in the 84th minute, replacing F Mauro Manotas.
• MF Ricardo Clark moved past Jesse Marsch into sole possession of 22nd on the league’s all-time starts list with his 287th career regular-season start.
• Clark was credited with an assist on Alex’s goal in the 36th minute after his interception fell to Alex and created the goal-scoring opportunity. It was Clark’s third assist of the season and the 24th of his career.
• MF Boniek García made his 99th career start in MLS regular-season play, passing interim head coach Wade Barrett for 14th on the club’s all-time starts list.
• MF Cristián Maidana received a caution for dissent after he spiked the ball into the turf in disagreement with a call. It was his first caution of the season and only his second in three MLS seasons.
• MF Andrew Wenger came on as a substitute for MF Alex in the 54th minute, making his first appearance in three games after suffering a calf strain in training prior to Houston’s home match vs. FC Dallas on August 27.
• D Sheanon Williams received a yellow card for time wasting in the 54th minute. It was his second caution of the season.