The weekend began and ended with the Houston Dynamo in first place in the Western Conference, but the defending MLS Cup champions are taken nothing for granted as they head for the home stretch. Their 3-1 win against Colorado on the road Saturday night clinched them a playoff berth, following Columbus as the second team to secure a postseason spot, but the Dynamo continue to take each match as a head-on challenge.
"It was a very important game," goalkeeper Pat Onstad said of the clinching victory against the Rapids. "This time of the season we have a lot of experienced guys, and this is a time when you've got to start knuckling down and making sure you get results on the road. I thought [Saturday night] might not have been our best performance overall, but it was very typical of what you'll see of how we'll play in a playoff game."
Upping the ante, Houston has had two CONCACAF Champions League games in midweek over the last two weeks, including a 1-1 draw with San Francisco FC in Panama and a 4-4 tie against Pumas UNAM in Mexico City last week, giving them a stretch of four matches played in four different countries through Saturday's match in Colorado.
"It's hard right now," acknowledged head coach Dominic Kinnear after defeating the Rapids. "We've had a lot of travel, we've played a lot of games, and a lot of guys have played a lot of minutes. We're trying to share the minutes as we go. When guys get injured and guys get called away, it makes it a little more difficult."
The road gets a little smoother for the Dynamo in the coming weeks, as the team now returns home to play host to San Francisco FC on Tuesday in another CONCACAF showdown, followed by three consecutive league games at home against D.C., San Jose, and Los Angeles and one more CCL home game (against Pumas) before closing the MLS regular season in L.A. against Chivas USA.
The San Francisco match is important as it provides the first chance for the Dynamo to gain home points. Their first Champions League at Robertson Stadium, against El Salvador's Luis Angel Firpo, was postponed due to the effects of Hurricane Ike. The Dynamo sit tied for third place in Group B with San Francisco, both with two points, behind Pumas (five points) and Firpo (three).
If Onstad is right, the Dynamo have reason to be optimistic after dispensing with a surging Rapids side that hadn't lost a match in a month. Though Onstad acknowledged some defensive lapses for the team as a whole, resulting in a 20-8 shot tally favoring Colorado, Onstad's work between the posts ensured extending Houston's own streak to five matches without a loss.
"It was a big win," Onstad reiterated in the wake of his five-save performance. "Every game we play we try to get three points. That's our mentality. We don't try to get draws or anything. We were fortunate [Saturday] to get scoring opportunities the first half."
The defending champs took the lead on a Brian Ching goal in the second minute and scored three goals in the first 19 minutes, disarming the Rapids as they steamrolled to their first road win since July, having lost once in New York in August and then having tied four consecutive games in all competitions in September.
"This is one of the deepest teams that I've ever been on," Ching said after Saturday's match. "It's perfect to be able to go on a stretch like this."
The depth will come in handy as Ching answers a call-up to the U.S. national team for an October 11 qualifier against Cuba in D.C.
With the added CONCACAF Champions League matches, the national team call-ups, and a busy road schedule, Kinnear has made a point to pace his players' playing time as much as possible, mindful of keeping his players fresh for the home stretch and ready for the playoffs while giving nothing away on the field.
"We've heard some whispers that people might think we're tired and we're cruising," Kinnear said after countering those claims with the victory in Colorado. "We take offense to that."
Owen Perkins is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
