The Houston Dynamo have been pushing upward in the Western Conference while on a four-match unbeaten streak and will look to continue their momentum when they visit Austin FC on Saturday.
While the three-team Copa Tejas competition already has a champion in FC Dallas, a visit to the Texas capital still has plenty of meaning for the Dynamo (12-8-9, 45 points), who are in search of a club-record eighth road win.
The Dynamo are 1-0-2 in September, all at home. The club’s last road match was Aug. 31 when it claimed a 2-0 victory at Los Angeles FC.
“For us, I think there are big (matches) here to finish as high as we can,” said Dynamo general manager Pat Onstad, whose team is in seventh place, with the top nine making the playoffs. “Our goal is to try and finish in the top four and that gives you home-field advantage in the first round.”
On Wednesday, Houston played to a 1-1 tie against the visiting Vancouver Whitecaps. Ezequiel Ponce scored on a penalty kick in first-half stoppage time before the typically stingy defense gave up the tying goal in the 73rd minute.
Dynamo midfielder Hector Herrera missed Wednesday’s match with a hamstring injury.
Ibrahim Aliyu leads Houston with six goals, while Ponce has three in six MLS matches since his transfer from Greece’s AEK Athens in June. The club’s 33 goals allowed are best in the Western Conference.
Austin FC (9-12-8, 35 points) also used a visit to LAFC to revive themselves, earning a 1-1 tie Wednesday to sit four points behind Minnesota for the final playoff spot in the conference. Jader Obrian scored in first-half stoppage time before LAFC equalized in the 62nd minute.
Obrian leads the team with six goals. Sebastian Driussi has five but has been a shell of his former self this season. He is the club’s all-time leader in MLS goals (43) and goals across all competitions (49) but missed the match at LAFC because of yellow-card accumulation.
“I laid it out to the guys pretty clearly: The most important people in this game are the people that are here,” Austin coach Josh Wolff said after Wednesday’s tie. “…It’s what’s here, the people, the character, the quality.”
Austin is 1-2-1 since the end of Leagues Cup play but has scored two goals over the last three matches. The side has not won at home since a 2-1 decision against New York City FC on July 6.
–Field Level Media