Houston Dynamo vs Sporting Kansas City: Highlights, stats, and quotes
(image via Aldo Canale)
The Houston Dynamo opened the Major League Soccer season Saturday night at Shell Energy Stadium, drawing 1-1 with Sporting Kansas City. Gabe Segal came off the bench to score the equalizer, his first goal for the club.
MATCH SUMMARY
Houston Dynamo FC 1-1 Sporting Kansas City
Saturday, February 24, 2023
Venue: Shell Energy Stadium - Houston, Texas
Referee: Jaime Herrera
Assistants: Raidel Toledo, Irvin Castilla
Fourth Official: Christoper Calderon
VAR: Ian Anderson
Attendance: 18,818
Weather: 70 degrees, clear skies
SCORING SUMMARY
SKC: Erik Thommy (unassisted) 61’
HOU: Gabe Segal (Aliyu Ibrahim) 69’
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY
SKC: Johnny Russell (caution; dissent) 57’
SKC: Erik Thommy (caution; foul) 67’
LINEUPS & STATS
Houston Dynamo FC: Steve Clark (c); Griffin Dorsey, Micael, Erik Sviatchenko, Tate Schmitt; Brad Smith (Gabe Segal 67’), Brooklyn Raines (Jan Gregus 67’), Artur, Adalberto Carrasquilla, Sebastian Kowalczyk; Aliyu Ibrahim
Unused Substitutes: Daniel Steres, Andrew Tarbell, Stephen Annor, Jan Gregus, Kieran Sargeant, Ousmane Sylla, Femi Awodesu, Diego Gonzalez
Total shots: 12 (Sebastian Kowalczyk 4)
Shots on goal: 6 (Tate Schmitt 2)
Fouls: 13 (Erik Sviatchenko and Griffin Dorsey 3)
Offside: 3 (Adalberto Carrasquilla 2)
Corner kicks: 5
Saves: 1 (Steve Clark 1)
Sporting Kansas City: Tim Melia; Andreu Fontas, Dany Rosero, Time Leibold (Zorhan Bassong 76’), Jake Davis; Nemanja Radoja, Erik Thommy (Felipe Hernandez 74’), Remi Walter; Johnny Russell (c) (Stephen Afrifa 59’), Alan Pulido (Willy Agada 59’), Daniel Salloi (Alenis Vargas 86’)
Unused substitutes: John Pulskamp, Robert Voloder, Memo Rodriguez, Robert Castellanos
Total shots: 6 (six players tied with 1)
Shots on goal: 2 (Erik Thommy and Daniel Salloi tied with 1)
Fouls: 11 (Erik Thommy 3)
Offside: 1 (Alan Pulido 1)
Corner kicks: 3
Saves: 4 (Tim Melia 4)
HOUSTON DYNAMO HEAD COACH BEN OLSEN
On the first game of the regular season:
“Overall, the energy levels were good, and I liked the way we went about the game. We created chances and dominated the match. The group was a little bit off in some areas that could have put us over the top, but some of that's normal because we have new players on the team who are still developing relationships with their teammates.”
On forward Gabe Segal:
“Gabe is selfless, and that's why we brought him here. He's going to get important minutes for us this year to help us out. That’s exactly the role we looked to fill prior to the start of the season. I'm really pleased for him because that was a great header to score your first goal for the club.”
HOUSTON DYNAMO FORWARD GABE SEGAL
On scoring in his Houston Dynamo home debut:
“I mean, that's the dream start. You dream of scoring for your new club. As soon as I got here, my goal was to score goals. It's a good feeling to get the first one and then hopefully a lot more.”
On what he saw as the play developed on the equalizer:
“As soon as the ball goes out wide, that's always a cue for me to get in the box and get in a pocket of space where I'll be able to get to the ball. It was just that understanding between me and (Aliyu) Ibrahim. He put it across the goal, and I was there to finish it.”
