Houston Dynamo vs. Montreal Impact | MLS Match Preview

HOUSTON DYNAMO vs MONTRÉAL IMPACT
BBVA COMPASS STADIUM, Houston, Texas
March 15, 2014 (WEEK 2, MLS Game #13)
7:30 p.m. CT (CSN-Hou; TVA)

The Houston Dynamo will be looking to continue their impressive start to the new campaign when they play host to the Montréal Impact in a playoff rematch from a year ago on Saturday evening at BBVA Compass Stadium. The Dynamo, who defeated New England 4-0 in their season opener, knocked off the Impact 3-0 in last year’s Knockout Round meeting. The Impact are on the road for a second consecutive week, having started the season with a 3-2 loss at FC Dallas.

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REFEREE: Yader Reyes. SAR (bench): Stefan McHardy; JAR (opposite): Luis Guardia; 4th: John Dearmond
MLS Career: 22 games; FC/gm: 27.1; Y/gm: 3.5; R: 7; pens: 3

SUSPENDED: MTL: Marco Di Vaio (through March 22); Andres Romero (through March 22)
DISABLED LIST: none
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none

HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (6 meetings): Dynamo 2 wins, 7 goals … Impact 3 wins, 12 goals … Ties 1
AT HOUSTON (3 meetings): Dynamo 2 wins, 5 goals … Impact 0 wins, 1 goals … Ties 1
RETURN MATCHES: 6/29: Montreal Impact vs. Houston Dynamo, 7:30 p.m. ET; 9/6: Houston Dynamo vs. Montreal Impact, 7:30 p.m. CT

LAST YEAR (MLS):
6/19: MTL 2, HOU 0 (Martins 14; Di Vaio 32)
8/24: MTL 5, HOU 0 (Di Vaio 35, 70; Martins 37; Brovsky 58; Pisanu 91+)
10/4: HOU 1, MTL 0 (R. Clark 6)

• The teams met last year in the Knockout Round of the MLS Cup Playoffs, the Dynamo claiming a 3-0 victory at BBVA Compass Stadium behind a pair of goals from Will Bruin.
• The Dynamo have not lost in all four lifetime meetings in all competitions at BBVA Compass Stadium, including a 1-0 regular season victory last year.
• The Impact have won all three meetings lifetime in Montréal, including a 5-0 win in the second meeting last year, Aug. 24 at Stade Saputo.
• Coaches record: Dominic Kinnear vs. MTL: P6 W2 L3 D1 … Frank Klopas vs. HOU: P7 W1 L1 D5

HOUSTON DYNAMO

The Houston Dynamo started off their 2014 campaign on the right foot, easing to a 4-0 win against the New England Revolution on Saturday evening at BBVA Compass Stadium. The Dynamo are in a tie atop the Eastern Conference with 3 points from 1 game.

LAST MATCH

• The Dynamo were in the lead just 64 seconds into the game. Kofi Sarkodie sent the ball back for Will Bruin on the right, and he was left alone to settle and strike a half volley across goal for the opener.
• Just 12 minutes later Bruin struck again. Corey Ashe picked off a pass then sent a cross to the back post for Bruin, who was wide open again to finish with a sliding effort.
• It was 3-0 before the break. This time Bruin played provider, shrugging off two Revs defenders to set up Boniek Garcia in the box, and he made no mistake with his finish.
• The rout was complete in stoppage time as Revolution goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth could do nothing when Ricardo Clark’s arching shot from the top of the box deflected off Omar Cummings' head and into the goal.
• Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear had two newcomers in his team to open the new season. Tony Cascio (on loan from Colorado) manned the right side of midfield and David Horst stepped into central defense.
• HOUSTON DYNAMO (4-3-1-2): Tally Hall - Kofi Sarkodie, Jermaine Taylor, David Horst, Corey Ashe - Tony Cascio (Andrew Driver 57), Ricardo Clark, Brad Davis - Boniek Garcia - Giles Barnes (Omar Cummings 78), Will Bruin (Mark Sherrod 90).

TEAM NEWS

• The victory was the largest for the Dynamo since a 4-0 win against D.C. United last May 8 – when Will Bruin also scored a pair of goals. It was the third consecutive year Houston has won its season opener, after going five seasons without winning the first game of the year.
• “I thought the first half an hour you could say it’s the best I’ve ever seen this team play, and that’s the saying something,” head coach Dominic Kinnear said. “I thought the goals were excellent. Our reaction when the ball turned over was really good and we were really sharp in front of goal. At halftime walking up the tunnel I was a little bit dumbfounded because we didn’t expect it. But I will say I have a great seat watching these guys play, and they were excellent.”
• Will Bruin scored multiple goals for the fifth time in his MLS career, hitting for a pair of goals in the opening 13 minutes of the win vs. New England.
• “I know I can score goals,” Bruin said. “I never lost confidence in myself and neither did the guys in the locker room. ... There’s always going to be stuff on the outside, but you never let it come in the locker room.”
• Bruin’s second-minute goal matched the second-earliest in club history. It was also the second time in club history a Dynamo player had hit for multiple goals in the season opener – after Brian Ching scored four goals in the club’s first game ever in 2006.
• “We knew what he was capable of,” said Bruin’s strike mate, Giles Barnes. “Everyone knew what he was capable of in this locker room, but to come out and get two goals was good for him and you can see from the celebrations that we were all happy for him.”
• Winger Tony Cascio was forced from the field before the hour mark after suffering a knock, and was kept out of full training in the week leading up to the Montréal game. “He twisted his knee a little bit, which is unfortunate because I thought he had played well. … We’re keeping him out of practice right now, and we’re hoping he can join us later in the week,” Kinnear said. “I play it by ear. Sometimes you get good news, and sometimes you get bad news.”
• With both Warren Creavalle and Servando Carrasco still out with injuries, Boniek Garcia moved from his usual wide role into a central attacking position in the midfield.
• “It’s hard to tell right now,” Kinnear said about the pair’s fitness level. “This is the first Warren’s really stepped in. Servando was fine before he got hurt. It’s good to see them out two days in a row for both of them without any problems.”

MONTREAL IMPACT

The Montréal Impact saw their season opener end with a defeat, FC Dallas scoring three goals on either side of halftime on their way to a 3-2 win Saturday evening at Toyota Stadium. The Impact have 0 points from 1 game.

LAST MATCH

• Montreal took the lead 10 minutes in when when right winger Justin Mapp beat two defenders down the right side and crossed a ball across the goalmouth to a waiting Sanna Nyassi, who easily turned it past goalkeeper Chris Seitz.
• FC Dallas were level just six minutes later. Jair Benítez sent a cross from the left to Je-Vaughn Watson, who sent it forward into the box for Blas Pérez. He pushed the ball into the path of winger Fabián Castillo, who picked his spot at the far post and calmly finished past goalkeeper Troy Perkins.
• In the 23rd minute, Mauro Díaz drew a penalty when he drew contact with defender Jeb Brovsky and referee Edvin Jurisevic pointed to the spot. Perez stepped up and drilled the attempt into the roof of the net to give FCD the lead.
• Two minutes after the second-half restart, from a handball just outside the top of the area, Diaz sent a gorgeous free kick into the upper left corner.
• Andrew Wenger pulled Montreal back to within a goal in the 65th minute, easily heading home an early looping ball from Felipe Martins.
• New Impact boss Frank Klopas had just one newcomer to the squad in his opening day lineup – Eric Miller slotting in at right back.
• MONTREAL IMPACT (4-2-3-1): Troy Perkins - Eric Miller, Matteo Ferrari, Hassoun Camara, Jeb Brovsky (Calum Mallace 77) - Collen Warner, Hernan Bernardello - Justin Mapp, Felipe Martins, Sanna Nyassi (Santiago Gonzalez 69) - Andrew Wenger.

TEAM NEWS

• The Impact lost their season opener for the second time in three MLS seasons, opening their inaugural season in 2012 with a 2-0 loss in Vancouver.
• "It’s going to be hard to win when you give up three goals,” Montreal head coach Frank Klopas said. “There were soft goals ... There were goals in situations that we could have avoided and handled better. We just have to go back to training, watch the tape, correct things and get ready.”
• The Impact have now given up three goals in their last two official games, after suffering a 3-0 defeat in Houston in the Knockout Round of the MLS Cup Playoffs in their last competitive match in 2013.
• With Marco Di Vaio suspended for three matches to open the new season, Andrew Wenger was slotted into the target striker role and scored his first goal of the season. A year ago, Wenger scored 1 goal in 24 league appearances (8 starts).
• “What he did was just focus on his strength, and his hold up play was excellent,” head coach Frank Klopas sid. “He got in the box, he was very dangerous and he scored a fantastic goal. I mean, just the cross from Felipe and his movement in the box. I was happy for him, but regardless, I think the effort was there.”
• Said Wenger: “Marco is a fantastic player, a huge portion of our offense. A lot of different guys stepped up tonight, helped create opportunities, and if we can continue that through the entirety of the season, we’ll be lethal.”
• Sanna Nyassi also scored his first goal of the season, after netting once in 22 league appearances (11 as a starter) in 2013.
• “We pushed the game, so I’m happy about that,” Klopas said. “We created chances. Early on, we could have been at least one or two up. But I think that we have to limit the goals. It’s going to be difficult, because we scored two goals on the road and had many more chances, and you figure that you’ve got to walk away with points.”
• Rookie Eric Miller, the club’s first-round selection (No. 5 overall) in the SuperDraft out of Creighton University, made his full professional debut, starting at right back.
• "Every guy feels unfortunate that we didn't get more out of this game,” said defender Jeb Brovsky. “Being away from home, I think we pressed pretty well, had our chances and their goalkeeper came up with some big saves. We're not happy at all but I think it's a nice building block to start the season and head forward to Houston.”