Dynamo 2sday: Dos pipeline keeps churning
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
Sunday would start with bittersweet news for the Houston Dynamo 2 team and Houston Dynamo FC as an organization. The club announcesd the transfer of Juan Castilla to Deportivo Cali of Colombia. In 2019, at 15-years-old, Castilla became the club’s youngest Homegrown Player signing and the 13th Dynamo Academy alumnus to sign a professional contract with the Dynamo. Castilla has been an important piece in the team managed by Kenny Bundy. On the good side, this transfer helps bring to life one of the visions of the club, to develop young players and help them further their sporting careers within the club or abroad. The second part of this situation was that this move also opens up the doors to new, up-and-coming talent to pick up where Castilla left off. With five starts so far in this season with Dynamo 2, it seems like Sebastian Rodriguez, at 15 years of age, will be the “next player up” to claim this position on the pitch.
"The greatest thing for player development is to find a way to get results and then make the postseason,” Bundy said this week. “Is that the top priority for us? No. We want to make sure that we're developing the guys in a way that in the future they're able to put it all together for the first team or beyond. It's been an interesting year. We've progressed some guys much faster than we ever thought they were going to do. It's been exciting to see those guys be able to go out and get results.”
As you guys know by now, I am a lover of fielding the same (or mostly the same) starting eleven week in and week out. I could explain why but I would have to write another 500 words just to explain that and ain’t nobody got time for that. This week would not disappoint in that area. With Minnesota United 2 in town at SaberCats Stadium, Dynamo 2 keot with what worked in last week’s win. Starting in goal was Xavier Valdez, with captain Talen Maples and Tate Lampman in front of him. Lampman is another testament of the mentality of “next man up”, at only 16 years of age, he has taken over the starting role after Micael dos Santos moved into the lineup with the first team. Chase Gasper would jump in to get minutes at the left back position, as Omar Grey would do the same on the right side. The middle 3 would be Brooklyn Raines on the left, the youngster Rodriguez would occupy the center, and Diego Gonzalez was on the right side. The front three consisted of Jacob Evans on the left, Zeke Soto as the center forward, another academy product, and Papa Ndoye on the right.
The visitors would strike first in Sunday’s match from the the penalty spot. Emmanuel Iwe sent a long ball to Kameron Lacey who beat Maples to the ball. Lacey was pushed from behind and sent flying in the box to draw himself a chance from the 12 steps. Lacey himself would convert to put Minnesota ahead 1-0 in the 21st minute of play.
In the 30the minute, Ndoye got a really good chance from a cross by Evans but he couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net. This was the clearest chance at a goal that the Dynamo would have in the first half of play, until he 35th minute. Ndoye tried to sneak a header past the goalkeeper on a corner kick but Fred Emmings responded well and keep the Loons on top. Both teams would have some chances in the remainder of the half, but nothing of substance.
The second half started off quick for Dos when a free kick by Papa Ndoye in the 49th minute forced the Minnesota goal eeper make a full stretch save to get and hand on a ball that was going to the bottom corner. The home team wouldn’t have to wait long to get the leveler. In the 54th minute of play, Raines found Gonzalez, who took one touch to control the ball. With his second touch he put a great pass into the box. Ndoye beat his defender on the run, by going around him, and with his left foot put the ball away from the goal keeper to the backpost to tie the game 1-1. Now the climb would start for a winner.
Ndoye wouldn’t let his foot off the gas, and in the 56th minute got another chance by taking a shot with his left foot. The ball missed the right post of the keeper by inches.
The Loons had a great opportunity for the winner in the 67th minute. Juan Mosquera received a ball into the space (clearly offside) and got a one-on-one chance against Valdez. The Dos goalkeeper stood his ground and kept the ball in front of him with a great save. A minute later, Xavier made another save, this time diving to his right to cover a shot from outside the box from Diogo Pacheco.
The game would end in a good back and forth as both teams tried to get all three points. Unfortunately for both side, regulation time came to an end and both teams would have to go to the spot to fight for that second point.
Minnesota ended up gettin the better of the Dynamo, making all five of their kicks to come out victorious in a 5-4 result.
"Win or lose, there's always something positive in the game because our number one goal in every game is to be competitive,” Bundy said after the matc. “Even the games that we lose, we’re competitive in those too. There's always a positive. It just comes down to those moments. We still have to continue to emphasize the attack and the finishing. In either box, that is where we have struggled when we have struggled this year, and those moments are costing us points. So, we need to be a bit better in that. Overall, I don't think that there's a negative message in that. You walk away with a point, but there are so many positives that we can build on."
The next match is a quick turn around as Dynamo Dos will travel to Real Monarchs on Friday night with kickoff scheduled for 9 PM. As always, you can catch the match on Apple TV MLS Season Pass or on the MLS NEXT Pro YouTube channel.
As always… VAMOS LOS PIBES!!! HOUSTON CONTRA TODOS!!!
