2017 Houston Dynamo season

Houston Dynamo

2017 season
Owner	Gabriel Brenner
President	Chris Canetti
Coach	Wilmer Cabrera
Stadium	BBVA Compass Stadium
MLS	3rd, West 9th, Overall
U.S. Open Cup	Round of 16
MLS Cup Playoffs	TBD
Top goalscorer	League: Erick Torres (12 goals) All: Erick Torres (12 goals)
Highest home attendance	22,115 vs FC Dallas (June 23)
Lowest home attendance	14,148 vs Real Salt Lake (June 3)
Average home league attendance	17,530
Home colors Away colors
← 2016 2018 →

The 2017 Houston Dynamo season is the club's 12th season of existence since joining Major League Soccer for the 2006 season. The club's main objective is to qualify to the MLS Cup Playoffs after missing the postseason the last three consecutive seasons.

It is the team's first year under the leadership of Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera and third season under General Manager Matt Jordan. On the front office end, it is Gabriel Brenner's second season as majority owner and Chris Canetti's seventh as the President of the club.

I am excited to join the Houston Dynamo. It’s a great club with a great history, and I am ready for the challenge. I look forward to working with the ownership group, management, our staff and the players to return the Dynamo to the level that the club and our fans deserve and expect.

— Wilmer Cabrera, October 28, 2016.^[1][2]

Five days after the end of the 2016 regular season, the Houston Dynamo appointed Wilmer Cabrera as the fourth head coach in club history.^[1] Cabrera was promoted from the club's lower league affiliate Rio Grande Valley FC Toros where served as the head coach for the 2015 USL season.

Cabrera took over for interim head coach Wade Barrett^[3] - the only other reported candidate for the job^[2] - and a team that had missed the MLS Cup Playoffs for the third consecutive season. The Dynamo job is the Colombian tactician's second head coaching responsibility in Major League Soccer and one that reunites him with Erick "Cubo" Torres, a former pupil of Cabrera's at the defunct Chivas USA.^[2]

The Houston Dynamo opened the season at home with a 2-1 victory over the defending MLS Cup Champion Seattle Sounders FC, on a night when Erick Torres and Romell Quioto scored their first goals for the club.^[4] Torres and Quioto would score in a second consecutive match the following week, coupled with Alberth Elis' first goal in a Dynamo shirt, as the team collected 3-1 win over Columbus Crew SC.^[5]

The 2-0-0 start was the third time the club began the season with two wins^[6] and a Portland Timbers with the same record set up for an early season matchup between top three teams.^[7] Torres and Quioto scored in Portland to give the Dynamo a 2-1 lead at halftime, becoming the seventh and eight players in club history to score in three consecutive matches.^[8] However, three unanswered goals in the second half by the Timbers would end in the Dynamo's first loss of the season.

Position in the MLS Western Conference at the end of March Template:Fb cl header Template:Fb cl team |}

The Dynamo began the month of April with a 4-1 win over the New York Red Bulls, a match where Erick Torres scored his first hat-trick with the club.^[9] Dylan Remick scored the equalizer in the 14th minute against the Red Bulls, becoming the first non-forward to score in 2017.

The second weekend in April, the team traveled to the New England Revolution in search of their first point on the road. The Dynamo lost 2-0, dropping to 0-2-0 away, as homegrown Memo Rodriguez made his MLS debut.^[10] Goalkeeper Tyler Deric would be benched after his performance against the Revs, giving Joe Willis his first start of the season.

Houston and Minnesota United FC faced off for the first time ever in Major League Soccer as the expansion side took a point in Space City. The Dynamo led at the half thanks to Mauro Manotas and Elis before the Loons would score two of their own to draw.^[11] Needing to respond after winning only one of their previous four matches, the Dynamo outlasted the visiting San Jose Earthquakes 2-0 in a nationally televised afternoon game on UniMás.^[12]

The Dynamo traveled to Toronto FC for their first midweek match of the season that ended in a 2-0 loss at the feet of a Jozy Altidore brace.^[13] The team recorded two wins, two losses and a draw and a goal differential of +1 in the month of April.

Position in the MLS Western Conference at the end of April Template:Fb cl header Template:Fb cl team |}

The Houston Dynamo would begin another month with a blowout at home, this time collecting the second shutout of the season in a 4-0 win against Orlando City SC.^[14] Manotas scored a brace against Orlando as Elis and Quioto each found the back of the net once more. After missing the game versus Orlando due to concussion protocol, Torres returned to the starting lineup and scored the game winning goal against Vancouver Whitecaps FC.^[15]

The road woes would continue, however, as the Dynamo only collected a point as they played three consecutive away matches in the span of 12 days. The Dynamo lost 2-0 at Philadelphia Union^[16], lost 4-1 at Atlanta United FC^[17] and played to a scoreless draw at FC Dallas.^[18] Tyler Deric returned to the starting lineup in the Texas Derby match, ending Willis' run of seven straight matches in goal.

The Dynamo would end the month with their fourth match in 15 days, keeping their home record free of losses after a 5-1 win over Real Salt Lake.^[19] The five goals matched the club record for goals in a game and give the club a +4 goal differential for the month of May.

Position in the MLS Western Conference at the end of May Template:Fb cl header Template:Fb cl team |}

After managing to pick up their first point on the road a week before, the Dynamo lost yet another game on the road as they fell 1-0 to the Seattle Sounders.^[20] This time the damage came from a familiar face, the club's second all-time scorer Will Bruin. The team took a few days off as they did not have a match the following week due to a FIFA international break.^[21]

The Dynamo entered the 2017 edition of the U.S. Open Cup in the fourth round against North Carolina FC. Given that this match was on the east coast and the team had a league match on the west coast a few days later, Wilmer Cabrera featured a majority of young players in the 3-2 extra time win over NCFC.^[22] Memo Rodriguez scored the game winner, his first with the Dynamo, to help the team advance to the round of 16. Three days later, the team almost picked up their first win on the road before a Romain Alessandrini goal drew the LA Galaxy level in the closing moments of the match.^[23]

Two rivalry matches would end the month for the Dynamo, the first being another draw with FC Dallas. In this latest instance, Torres and Maximiliano Urruti traded goals to end the match 1-1 in the second Texas Derby match of the season.^[24] A reserve-heavy Dynamo would then lose 2-0 to a Sporting Kansas City side that featured many of their regulars, bowing out of the U.S. Open Cup.^[25]

Position in the MLS Western Conference at the end of June Template:Fb cl header Template:Fb cl team |}

The Dynamo started the month of July on opposite ends of a 3-1 scoreline. They lost their seventh match on the road at the Colorado Rapids,^[26] a match in which they went into the half tied at one-a-piece.^[27] The team then dismantled a Piatti-less Montreal Impact at home,^[28] heading into a two-week break in league play due to the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup group stage.

As of July 7, 2017.^[29]

No.	Position	Player	Nation
1	GK	Tyler Deric (HGP)	United States
2	DF	Jalil Anibaba	United States
3	DF	Adolfo Machado	Panama
5	MF	Juan David Cabezas	Colombia
6	MF	Eric Alexander	United States
7	MF	DaMarcus Beasley	United States
8	MF	Joseph Holland	England
9	FW	Cubo Torres (DP)	Mexico
10	MF	Eric Alexander	United States
11	FW	Vicente Sanchez	Uruguay
12	FW	Romell Quioto	Honduras
13	MF	Ricardo Clark	United States
14	MF	Alex	Brazil
15	DF	Dylan Remick	United States
16	DF	Kevin Garcia	United States
17	FW	Alberth Elis (on loan from Monterrey; DP)	Honduras
18	MF	Memo Rodriguez (HGP)	United States
19	FW	Mauro Manotas (DP)	Colombia
21	DF	George Malki	United States
22	DF	Leonardo	Brazil
23	MF	José Escalante	Honduras
24	GK	Calle Brown	United States
26	DF	Taylor Hunter	United States
27	MF	Boniek Garcia	Honduras
29	MF	Christian Lucatero (HGP)	United States
31	GK	Joe Willis	United States
36	MF	Charlie Ward	England

|}

Position	Staff
Head Coach	Wilmer Cabrera
Goalkeeper coach	Paul Rogers
Sports Performance Director/Fitness Coach	Paul Caffrey
Performance Analyst	Oliver Gage
General Manager/Vice President	Matt Jordan
Assistant General Manager/Director of Soccer Operations	Nick Kowba
Equipment Manager	Chris Maxwell
Asst. Equipment Manager	Eddie Cerda
Director of Sports Medicine/Head Athletic Trainer	Theron Enns
Assistant Athletic Trainer	Rory Blevins
Head Team Physician	Timothy C. Sitter, MD
Primary Care Physician	David A. Braunreiter, MD
Director, Youth Development/Academy Director	James Clarkson
Soccer Programs Manager	Adrian Moses
Center of Excellence Manager	Justin Neese

Per Major League Soccer and club policies terms of the deals do not get disclosed.

Date	Player	Position	Previous Club	Notes	Ref

Date	Player	Position	Destination Club	Notes	Ref

Per Major League Soccer and club policies terms of the deals do not get disclosed.

Date	Player	Position	Loaned from	Notes	Ref

  Win   Draw   Loss   Upcoming fixture

Place	Position	Number	Name	MLS	MLS Cup	Open Cup	Total
1	FW	9	Erick Torres	10	0	0	10
2	FW	17	Alberth Elis	5	0	0	5
3	FW	12	Romell Quioto	4	0	0	4
4	FW	19	Mauro Manotas	4	0	0	4
5	DF	15	Dylan Remick	1	0	1	2
Total				24	0	1	25

As of 15 June 2017.