Houston Dynamo vs Real Salt Lake: Highlights, stats, and quotes
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
The Houston Dynamo defeated Real Salt Lake 3-1 in added extra time Wednesday night to punch their ticket to the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup final. Houston will travel to south Florida to take on Inter Miami in the final on September 27.
MATCH SUMMARY
Houston Dynamo FC 3 - 1 Real Salt Lake (aet)
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
Venue: Shell Energy Stadium - Houston, Texas
Referee: Lukasz Szpala
Assistants: Jose Da Silva, Chris Elliot
Fourth Official: Elton Garcia
VAR: Richard Friedman
Attendance: 11,137
Weather: 93 degrees, partly cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY
HOU: Héctor Herrera (Amine Bassi) 45+5’
RSL: Anderson Julio (Jefferson Savarino) 64’
HOU: Adalberto Carrasquilla (Amine Bassi) 105’
HOU: Luis Caicedo (Amine Bassi) 120+5’
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY
HOU: Griffin Dorsey (caution; foul) 22’
HOU: Héctor Herrera (caution; foul) 38’
RSL: Brayan Vera (caution; foul) 39’
RSL: Cristian Arango (caution; foul) 59’
RSL: Emeka Eneli (caution; foul) 67’
RSL: Andrés Gómez (caution; foul) 72’
HOU: Adalberto Carrasquilla (caution; foul) 93’
RSL: Justen Glad (caution; foul) 106’
RSL: Nelson Palacio (caution; foul) 114’
HOU: Artur (caution; foul) 118’
RSL: Brayan Vera (ejection; foul) 119’
LINEUPS & STATS
Houston Dynamo FC: Andrew Tarbell; Franco Escobar, Micael (Ethan Bartlow 79’), Erik Sviatchenko, Griffin Dorsey (Daniel Steres 109’); Héctor Herrera (Luís Caicedo 96’), Artur, Adalberto Carrasquilla; Nelson Quiñónes (Brad Smith 108’), Amine Bassi, Corey Baird (Aliyu Ibrahim 62’)
Unused Substitutes: Steve Clark, Iván Franco
Total shots: 30 (Héctor Herrera 6)
Shots on goal: 10 (Héctor Herrera 3)
Fouls: 14 (Adalberto Carrasquilla 4)
Offside: 2 (Nelson Quiñónes and Corey Baird tied with 1)
Corner kicks: 6
Saves: 1 (Andrew Tarbell 1)
Real Salt Lake: Zac MacMath; Andrew Brody, Brayan Vera, Justen Glad, Emeka Eneli (Marcelo Silva 71’); Diego Luna (Andrés Gómez 46’), Jasper Löffelsend (Nelson Palacio 71’), Braian Ojeda; Jefferson Savarino (Maikel Chang 96’), Damir Kreilach (Anderson Julio 56’), Cristian Arango (Danny Musovski 70’)
Unused substitutes: Gavin Beavers
Total shots: 11 (Justen Glad 3)
Shots on goal: 2 (Justen Glad and Anderson Julio tied with 1)
Fouls: 18 (Emeka Eneli and Cristian Arango tied with 3)
Offside: 2 (Diego Luna and Anderson Julio tied with 1)
Corner kicks: 7
Saves: 7 (Zac MacMath 7)
HOUSTON DYNAMO HEAD COACH BEN OLSEN
On the victory:
“We talked about creating a winning culture. That is one of the three things we continue to speak about. That includes doing well in the (Lamar Hunt) U.S. Open Cup. And, of course, getting into the postseason. This is just a really good step for this group, and the organization. To put ourselves in a situation to play in the finals. After the year that we had last year, and the last few years, it shows that there's at least some growth here. It was not an easy game, they are physical, they have a very good coach, and it's a good team. They have a lot of weapons. For most of the night, we played at a high level, and created a bunch of opportunities, plenty of shots to win that game. They're a hard team to keep off the board. They're greedy. So, they found their goal. I was a little bit of a blow for us. After the Charlotte game and a few of the games against the Mexican teams where we gave up late leads. More times than not, we have managed to stay steady and get through it. That's a sign that there's real belief in the group and each other. A proud day for me and the staff, the organization. Now we must enjoy it for the night. But we play them again. It's going to be a very difficult game. And I'm sure they're not going to be happy about it. So, we have to refocus tomorrow. It's just great to be part of an organization that's in the finals, it’s hard to get there.”
On the Open Cup run:
“The Open Cup journey is a circus. We should have lost in Tampa. Kansas City, they had a red card and we skirted by them. Then Minnesota comes in and they got a red card. So, it is just the first two or three games. It's a wild ride, and then you get into the quarters and then you tighten it up and you go forward and obviously tonight, we put our best foot forward and got the result. Each one that I've ever gone through, as a player and as a coach is a wild ride. That's all I can say, you got referees, different types of referees, you're going to small cities, you get the home game versus the away game with a coin flip, It takes a little luck but again, once you get into quarters those games get real. I'm proud of these guys for getting through the last two games.”
HOUSTON DYNAMO MIDFIELDER LUIS CAICEDO (IN SPANISH)
Sobre las sensaciones en el plano personal por el éxito personal obtenido:
“Inmensamente agradecido con Dios y con el cuerpo técnico ya que siempre me dan la oportunidad. Es un premio al duro trabajo que uno realiza durante la semana y a que cuando uno entra de cambio hace las cosas bien, y súper feliz porque la emoción de todo futbolista es marcar un gol”.
Sobre que a pesar que aun falta un mes para la final, que se siente ya saber que el rival será Lionel Messi:
“Es una sensación muy bonita de tener la oportunidad de enfrentarse al mejor del mundo. No solamente yo, sino todo el equipo, todos lo equipos de la MLS quisieran tener esta oportunidad y, afortunadamente, nosotros la tenemos”.
Sobre la ayuda que le brindan Artur, Héctor Herrera y Adalberto “Coco” Carrasquilla desde el medio campo:
“Sin darse cuenta, ellos me han venido ayudando a elevar mi nivel porque me han ayudado a mejorar. Me sirven para tener más nivel de compromiso y menos margen de error”.
Sobre el papel de la afición:
“Estamos muy contentos por haber logrado el pase. La afición se lo merece porque desde el comienzo de año han estado aquí, apoyándonos. Hemos respondido, por lo que hoy ellos como nosotros estamos muy felices”.
Sobre cómo disfrutan este boleto a la final, y sobre cómo derrotar a Miami:
“Se disfruta hoy porque mañana ya hay que volver al trabajo. Esa final será especial y muy linda por la clase de jugadores de talla mundial que tiene Miami, simplemente vamos a ir a disfrutar”.
