Houston Dynamo at Colorado Rapids player ratings

(image via IMAGN)

The Houston Dynamo escaped Colorado with all three points thanks to a last second winner from Brad Smith. Let’s take a look at how everyone performed.

Starters

Steve Clark-7

Steve Clark did not have a crazy amount of work to do in this game. He had one tough save to make coming off his line against Rafael Navarro. Outside of that save, it was a routine night for Steve.

Griffin Dorsey-7

Like Steve, this was very comfortable for Dorsey playing in his hometown. Dorsey failed to create any huge chances going forward but put in another solid defense shift. The work rate was there, as always.

Ethan Bartlow-8

Two massive games in a row now for Ethan as the Dynamo have earned their second shut out with him in the starting eleven. His distribution continues to improve and he is going to give Ben Olsen a real headache when Erik Sviatchenko is back for selection.

Micael-9 (MOTM)

Has Micael had even a mediocre performance this season so far? He just continues to get better and better every week it seems. He had multiple goal saving blocks in the first half and had a whopping thirteen clearances. How on earth did he not make MLS Team of the Matchday?

Franco Escobar-8

Franco Escobar filled up the stat sheet in a big way once again with three tackles and four interceptions. He is just a monster on the left side of the defense. He did scare me a few times thinking he was going to get sent off.

Artur-7

Artur had a very poor first half with multiple bad giveaways. His second half was your typical Artur performance, and he did incredibly well to play out of pressure and setup the winning goal.

Jan Gregus-8

Gregus continues to fill in for Hector Herrera while over performing our expectations. This is probably the best soccer we have seen from Gregus since his first stint with Minnesota. His passing was superb again and he also put in a good shift defensively.

Sebastian Kowalczyk-5

This was not the cleanest game from Kowalczyk, where he failed to create many chances for the forward players. He had some sloppy touches and passes that led to some poor turnovers. His work off the ball was incredible once again.

Brooklyn Raines-8

This was easily the best performance of Brooklyn’s young career so far. He played higher up the field filling in for Coco Carrasquilla. He had some very nice long switches of play that put Aliyu in some dangerous positions. He also looked much stronger on the ball and was able to keep possession ticking at a high level.

Aliyu Ibrahim-4

This was probably Aliyu’s weakest start this season. Not a whole going for the winger in the second half. He had one opportunity setup by Brooklyn that he shot straight at the keeper. You can’t be too upset with Aliyu as he’s been the best attacker most of this season.

Gabe Segal-4

Segal was given another start and failed to make the most of the opportunity. He only had eleven touches in 65 minutes on the field. It’s a shame his efforts off the ball haven’t translated to much production yet this season.

Substitutions

Sebastian Ferreira-7

Sebas is finally back after a lengthy hamstring injury. He looks much more composed and stronger on the ball than we saw last season. It’s too early to tell if he’s the answer, but we can see the improvements that Ben has noted already. Colorado fans are definitely not a fan of this guy as he had now been involved in two stoppage time goals in his last two visits to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

Latif Blessing-N/A

It was very nice to see Latif make his debut for the Dynamo. He barely touched the ball or got involved in the play within his limited minutes.

Brad Smith-N/A

It feels weird to not rate the guy who scored the winning goal but he was only on the field for a few minutes. He barely even saw the ball before scoring the goal. Very happy to see him get on the score sheet, and that will hopefully boost his confidence going forward.

Head Coach

Ben Olsen-9

Ben nailed the lineup once again. Putting Brooklyn in Coco’s position was genius and got the most out of Brooklyn’s skill set. Only 24 minutes have gone by this season with a Designated Player on the field for the Dynamo and he still has the team in the playoff positions, as of now. It just shows Ben’s coaching talent and the players clearly respond well to him. Incredible fighting performance on the road, which is starting to become a normality with this Dynamo team. Who would’ve thought after the start to last season on the road?