Houston Dynamo at Minnesota United player ratings

(image via Travis Gallipo)

The Houston Dynamo handed Minnesota United their first home loss of the season on Saturday night. Let’s take a look at how everyone performed.

Starters

Steve Clark-9

One of the best games you’ll see from a goalkeeper this season. Steve made five tremendous saves including multiple saves in stoppage time to secure all three points. There was not a whole lot he could do on the goal Minnesota scored, but no shut out keeps him from a perfect ten.

Griffin Dorsey-6

A very good effort from Dorsey in a game he was asked to do a lot more defending than attacking. While he wasn’t particularly great, he rose to the occasion in a few moments defensively, which is a massive improvement in Dorsey’s game. It’s always hard for Dorsey to pull off a spectacular game when the Dynamo barely see the ball in long stretches of the second half.

Ethan Bartlow-9 (MOTM)

While Dorsey struggles in these games, Ethan Bartlow seems to thrive while under heavy amounts of pressure. Ben Olsen said this was Ethan’s best game and I would have to agree with that. He was excellent in all aspects of the game. His goal line clearance will stand as one of the most impressive highlights of this MLS season.

Erik Sviatchenko-7

Another injury for Erik is incredibly upsetting to see. For the 33 minutes he played, he was incredibly solid defensively and contributed to the offense as well. He nearly created a goal for Kowalczyk early on following an impressive bit of skill for a center back at this level.

Daniel Steres-7

We all know what we’re going to get from Daniel Steres at this point. Whenever he is asked to step in for Dorsey or Escobar he puts in a very solid defensive shift. This was definitely a very good game environment for Steres who thrives under pressure.

Artur-8

Artur continues to step up without Hector Herrera in the lineup. He was excellent defensively, making four tackles and two interceptions. He had a few rough passes in this game, but who didn’t? He stepped up massively in the final ten minutes of the game while defending the narrow lead. You have to be disappointed with the shot he took to end the first half where he could have played in Aliyu for an easy second goal.

Coco Carrasquilla-5

Coco was moved back into a center midfield role and had a very up and down game. If you look at the stat sheet, you’d think he had a tremendous game, but he really struggled in some massive moments. His poor effort to get back and cover a man severely cost the team on the goal Minnesota scored.

Amine Bassi-8

Another great game for Amine Bassi as he is finally settling himself into this season. This is the second game in a row where he put in loads of effort defensively that is leading to goals. His playmaking ability has drastically improved now that he’s not leading the line.

Latif Blessing-5

This was Latif’s first start in a very long time, and he struggled to keep up with the pace of the game at times. He didn’t get involved in the play as much as we’d have liked to. By the time the second half came, he looked exhausted and Ben Olsen said he should have subbed him out earlier. However, there were definitely positive signs going forward for Latif, especially in the work rate department.

Aliyu Ibrahim-9

It’s quite rare to see an attacker make this much of an impact on a game without contributing to a goal. Ibrahim’s work off the ball was some of the best you’ll see across this entire league. He causes so much trouble to opposing center backs trying to play out of the back and he always turns their giveaways into dangerous moments for the Dynamo going forward. The amount of times Aliyu was able to play out of pressure and buy just a few more seconds for the Dynamo defenders to collect themselves goes under the radar to a lot of people unfortunately, but plays a huge role in securing three points in these tough road environments.

Sebastian Kowalczyk-8

Sebastian had another great game when it came to his work off the ball, especially in the first half. For most of the second half he was a ghost in possession, but when it mattered most he stepped up and scored the game-winning goal.

Substitutes

Micael-8

The team was not expecting Micael to play a whole lot of soccer, but he stepped up massively when Sviatchenko came off injured in the first half. In just his first minutes on the field he was involved in the own goal that opened the scoring for the Dynamo. He held down the fort with Ethan in the second half to hang on for the win.

Brad Smith-5

Brad came off the bench following Minnesota’s equalizing goal. He barely saw the ball at all, making only six touches in 20 minutes. He played solid help defense when the pressure started mounting at the end of the game. It was a perfect game environment for Ben to make that sub and help Steres.

Brooklyn Raines-N/A

Raines came off the bench with only six minutes left to play. He looked sharp in those few minutes and helped the team get the win, but not quite enough time on the field to rate him.

Head Coach

Ben Olsen-10

How can you not give Ben a perfect score going into Minnesota and beating them for the first time in club history? Minnesota has been very dominant against the Dynamo in Minnesota for years and this year they have been dominant against everyone. Ben got the lineup spot on and made the right subs to see out the victory.