THE BASICS:
Houston Dynamo at Real Salt Lake
Sunday, Sept. 29 – 6:30 p.m. CDT
TV: KUBE-TV
RADIO: Univision Radio 1010 AM
MATCH CENTER
THE PREVIEW
The Houston Dynamo travel to Sandy, Utah later today to close a two-game road trip against Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium. The Dynamo look to bounce back after falling to Los Angeles Football Club 3-1 on Wednesday at Banc of California Stadium.
Dynamo goalkeeper Joe Willis matched a season-high in saves with six against Los Angeles. The Dynamo shot stopper has started 88 games for Houston after Wednesday’s game, the third most for a goalkeeper in club history. Midfielder Boniek Garcia is also within reach of two milestones in the final matches of the regular season. The Honduran midfielder needs to appear in one match to reach 200 appearances with the club and he is 24 minutes shy of 15,000 played with the club in league play.
The Dynamo hold the edge in the all-time series with a 12-10-7 record and Houston will aim for their third victory in Utah to improve their record on the road to 3-7-5 against Salt Lake. Houston and Salt Lake played to a 1-1 draw to open the MLS season on March 2. Mauro Manotas scored the equalizer in the 62nd minute and that was the first of 13 goals scored so far this season. The Colombian forward can reach 50 goals in league play with a brace on Sunday and tie Will Bruin for second-most goals scored in league play for the Dynamo.
Utah enters the match with a three-game winless streak after they fell 2-1 to the LA Galaxy on Wednesday. Salt Lake currently sits in fifth place in the Western Conference as five teams battle for the three remaining spots in the 2019 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. This is the final home game for Real Salt Lake who will close the regular season in the Pacific Northwest. Salt Lake City will face Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Decision Day, presented by AT&T, to secure a spot in the playoffs for the second consecutive year.
The Dynamo return to BBVA Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 6 to host Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the LA Galaxy for Fan Appreciation Night which will include a DaMarcus Beasley sendoff, presented by BBVA.
THREE POINTS
DYNAMO TAKE NEW ROLE - The Dynamo were eliminated from the 2019 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs on Wednesday and face a Real Salt Lake side that is one of five teams competing for the three remaining spots in the Western Conference. Houston will look to spoil Salt Lake’s party much like they did last year when they defeated the LA Galaxy on Decision Day, presented by AT&T, to finish the year with a victory on the road. A Dynamo victory would not eliminate Salt Lake, but it would force the Utah side to get a result in their match next Sunday against the Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place.
HOUSTON LOOK TO EXTEND STREAK - Houston enters today’s game with a 1-0-2 record in their final road game of the year going back to 2016. The last time the Dynamo lost their final road game of the year came in 2015 when they fell 3-0 to Vancouver in the Pacific Northwest. The Dynamo will look to finish their road trip on a positive note as they have only won two games away from BBVA Stadium this season. A victory later today would give the club the most road victories since 2014 with three.
SALT LAKE LOOK FOR BUFFER - Salt Lake missed an opportunity to qualify for the 2019 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs on Wednesday as they dropped points at home against the LA Galaxy. Salt Lake’s two-point cushion leaves the door open for three teams to jump the Utah side by the end of the day. Salt Lake’s direct rivals are the Portland Timbers who face Sporting Kansas City, FC Dallas who travel to Denver to face the Colorado Rapids and the San Jose Earthquakes who host Seattle Sounders FC. Real Salt Lake will look to Nick Rimando to shutout Houston as he takes the field at Rio Tinto Stadium for the final time during the regular season. The goalkeeper will retire from MLS after a 20-year career that includes two MLS Cup trophies and six MLS All-Star Game appearances.
