Houston Dynamo open 2025 MLS season with Texas Derby
(image via Ricky Vega)
The wait is over, the 2025 Major League Soccer season has arrived. The Houston Dynamo get the new campaign started tonight at Shell Energy Stadium, hosting FC Dallas for a Texas Derby.
When: Saturday, February 22 | 7:30 PM CT
Where: Shell Energy Stadium; Houston, Texas
TV/Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
Radio: TUDN Deportes Houston 93.3 FM (Spanish)
Here We Go Again
A new season brings with it a fresh start and new hope. After being eliminated in the playoffs by the Seattle Sounders, the Dynamo have undergone some big changes this offseason. Former captain Hector Herrera is gone, his contract option not exercised after an injury-hampered 2024 season. Coco Carrasquilla was sold to Pumas in Mexico and Micael is close to joining Palmeiras in Brazil. Herrera has been replaced by up-and-coming star Jack McGlynn. The 21-year-old joins from the Philadelphia Union and will be looked to this season to lead the Dynamo midfield. It’s a lot of pressure on a young player but one that McGlynn will look to use to springboard this club and his career. There are certainly more question marks than answers at this point; who replaces Micael? Where is the DP 10? But those questions will all ulimately be answered, and it starts tonight.
Ponce’s Time
The Dynamo are down to just one Designated Player. Herrera is now in LigaMX and Sebas Ferreira returned to South America after having his contract bought out. That leaves Ezequiel Ponce. The club-record signing is the man that this Houston offense rests on. He scored a goal every other game after arriving in 2024. If he can continue that, or even improve on it, as he continues to familiarize himself with the league and his teammates, the sky could be the limit. But, with no DP playmaker yet, and only Gabe Segal behind him in the depth chart, Ponce will have the weight of the goal-scoring squarely on his shoulders. How will he respond?
Lucho and The Moose
FC Dallas comes into this match with a lot of change of their own, notably at the top with a new head coach in Eric Quill. On the field, they made a big splash late in the offseason to bring in former MLS MVP Luciano Acosta. Dynamo head coach Ben Olsen coached Acosta with D.C. United and knows how much of a handful he can be. He spoke on Friday about his ability to change a game and how his team will have to be switched on at all times. The combination of Acosta and Petar Musa, who Olsen called one of the best forwards in MLS, gives Dallas a dangerous attack. With Franco Escobar questionable and Daniel Steres or Ethan Bartlow having to step in now at center back, Houston’s defense will be given a big test early on in 2025.
Houston Dynamo – Out: Lawrence Ennali (knee), Nelson Quinones (knee); Questionable: Franco Escobar (lower body)
FC Dallas – Out: Paxton Pomykal (knee), Geovane Jesus (knee), Show (illness)
Predicted Lineup
