Dynamo host Real Salt Lake in playoff opener: What to watch for
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
For the first time since 2017, the Houston Dynamo are back in the MLS Cup Playoffs. Houston will kick off the best-of-three first round series tonight against Real Salt Lake. Game 2 will be in Utah on Monday, November 6. Game 3 will be back at Shell Energy Stadium on Saturday, November 11, if necessary. The first team to win two games will advance. If a game is tied after 90 minutes it will go straight to penalty kicks to determine a winner.
When: Sunday, October 29 | 5:09 PM CT kickoff
Where: Shell Energy Stadium; Houston, Texas
TV/Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV - Free
Radio: ESPN 97.5 FM (English), TUDN Deportes Houston 93.3 FM (Spanish), SiriusXM
Packing the Shell
It’s been six long years since the fans in Houston have got to watch live playoff soccer. That drought ends this evening. Shell Energy Stadium has become a fortress for the Dynamo in 2023 and it could become even bigger with a full house in the stands. If you don’t have tickets yet, what are you waiting for? Get out there. Head coach Ben Olsen knows how important the fans will be today and hopes to see some new faces. “It's been a while since we've been in the postseason,” Olsen said this week. “We need the fans on Sunday. We needed them all year. The people that have showed up for us consistently have given us a real boost at home. We’re hoping, because of the event itself, that we get some new people in those seats that give us even more of an electric atmosphere.”
Winners win
When rebuilding the roster this offseason, the Dynamo front office made it a point to bring in players with experience winning trophies. This has already paid off this season as Houston lifted the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Now, that experience will once again be big as the Dynamo set off on a playoff journey that hopes to lead to another trophy. Having players in the locker room who have “been there, done that” is a plus. “It has helped,” Olsen told us on Friday. “We like to see MLS Cup tattoos on the players that we bring in. When we have players from overseas, it's nice when they have some silverware. If you can have some of the guys that you rely on, that have experience and confidence in knockout games or competitions, I think that helps. Make no mistake, we’ll have to play really well and be sharp in all the phases.”
Another meeting with RSL
Houston and Real Salt Lake have met three times this season, already. The teams drew 0-0 at Shell Energy Stadium in May. Then the teams met twice in four days in August, with the Dynamo winning both. Houston won 3-1 in added extra time in the Open Cup semifinal and then traveled to Utah for arguably their best performance of the season, winning 3-0 on the road. Real Salt Lake brings in experience of their own but the Dynamo come in with confidence, having seen this team multiple times. "It gives us a belief that we have done it before, “ defender Erik Sviatchenko said this week. “When you go into that kind of decisive game, it's not always what you have been doing prior. We have confidence in ourselves, especially because we have a game plan that works against a lot of teams and that's what we will aim to do again against Salt Lake."
Houston Dynamo – Out: Ifunanyachi Achara (knee), Tate Schmitt (knee)
Real Salt Lake – Out: Paulo Ruiz (knee); Questionable: Brayan Vera (ankle), Erik Holt (shoulder), Chicho Arango (hamstring), Justen Glad (adductor), Marcelo Silva (bereavement)
Predicted Lineup
