How the Houston Dynamo came to win the 2018 US Open Cup
(image via Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports)
On September 26th, 2018, the Houston Dynamo hosted the Philadelphia Union in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Final. The Houston Dynamo won the game 3-0 and lifted their first major trophy since 2007. Five years later the Dynamo are back to challenge for the US Open Cup once again, traveling to Miami to face off with Lionel Messi’s new club to attempt to win their first trophy in since the last Open Cup victory. Before this current season, the 2018 Open Cup win was the only bit of life the fans have been holding on to for almost an entire decade. Let’s go back in time and see how the Dynamo got their hands on the US Open Cup Trophy.
2017 Season
2016 was one of the worst seasons in the team’s short history and was the catalyst for a massive rebuild that ended up in the 2018 Open Cup. In the 2017 offseason, the Houston Dynamo went out and hired Wilmer Cabrera to be their newest head coach following Owen Coyle’s disastrous two-year reign. Wilmer had experience with the United States youth national teams, an assistant for the Colorado Rapids, a head coaching job with Chivas USA, and the head coaching job with former Dynamo affiliate Rio Grande Valley Toros. The hire made a lot of sense as Wilmer took RGV to second place in the USL Western Conference and previously worked with Erick “Cubo” Torres at Chivas USA, who the Dynamo were looking at to breath new life into.
Dynamo general manager Matt Jordan brought in an almost entirely new roster for Cabrera to take over. The team was to be built around new defensive midfielder Juan David Cabezas and Ricardo Clark’s ability to win the ball back in midfield and quickly launch counter attacks to their pacey wingers. To complement Wilmer’s style, they brought in both Romell Quioto and Alberth Elis to do the job on the wings. Both players were regulars for the Honduras national team and quickly adapted to life in MLS. These new additions, along with LA Galaxy veterans Leonardo and AJ DeLaGarza, brought a whole new look to the way the Dynamo would play over the next three years.
The 2017 season became a massive success and Wilmer Cabrera put together one of the most difficult teams to play against in MLS. Teams had to answer for the blistering speed of Elis and Quioto. The team managed to finish 4th in the Western Conference to host Sporting Kansas City in the first round of the playoffs. They beat Kansas City in a tight 1-0 match that took until extra time for Elis to find the winner. The Dynamo then took on the number one seed Portland Timbers in a two-leg tie in the conference semifinal. Leg one was a boring 0-0 tie but the second leg was anything but boring. The game ended 2-1 in favor of the Dynamo as Dylan Remick and Mauro Manotas got themselves on the scoresheet in Portland. This was, and still is, the only time Houston has ever traveled to Portland and won a game. Houston then went and got crushed by eventual champions Seattle over both legs of the Western Conference Final, losing 5-0.
2018 Season
Following an incredible 2017 campaign, the team looked to take another step forward and challenge for MLS Cup. The Dynamo surprisingly let go of midfielders Ricardo Clark and Alex Lima, who were two of the standout players from the previous season. They also lost veteran Vincente Sanchez and transferred Erick Torres back to Mexico. Both Elis and Cabezas became permanent signings and they also brought in veterans Arturo Alvarez and Darwin Ceren.
While the Dynamo’s ambitions were to improve on last season’s Western Conference Final run, they did not even come close, finishing 9th in the West. The team was haunted by injuries to both Cabezas and DeLaGarza. Eric Alexander and Andrew Wenger were serviceable filling in for them, but it was not enough to replicate the magic of 2017. The only time it all came together was in a five-game stretch in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.
US Open Cup Run
The Dynamo opened their cup run on June 6th with a 5-0 thrashing of North Texas Rayados. This was a nothing game for the Dynamo as they were able to put out a lineup of all young players and still destroy them. Memo Rodriguez was able to find the back of the net twice as he was just starting to find his feet as a professional player. Up next was Minnesota United who were continuing their struggles after an awful first season as an MLS franchise. Mauro Manotas found the only goal for the Dynamo in what was a comfortable 1-0 victory.
Things started getting serious in the quarterfinals where the Dynamo hosted rivals Sporting Kansas City. Whenever there is a knockout game against Kansas City, the Dynamo are in for a competitive match. Kansas City scored the opening goal just two minutes in through star player Johnny Russell. Romell Quioto quickly answered back with a tying goal before half time, then found himself another goal to open the second half. Mauro Manotas then scored two goals to put the game out of reach for Kansas City. Yohan Croizet found a late goal for Kansas City, but it was not enough to overcome the large deficit.
The semifinal brought the newest MLS franchise LAFC to town. LAFC were enjoying a remarkable first season with star players Carlos Vela and Diego Rossi dominating the league on a weekly basis. The Dynamo thankfully caught them in their worst run of form after failing to win their last five games leading up to the semifinal. Both teams entered in coming off bad road losses and were looking to rectify their recent form with a ticket to the Open Cup final. The game got off to a wild start with Diego Rossi scoring six minutes in for LAFC. Dynamo fullback Andrew Wenger then tied the game up just six minutes later. Manotas then scored another huge goal to make the game 2-1. Memo Rodriguez stepped up and scored a massive goal to make it 3-1. The Dynamo got complacent and conceded right away to Rossi yet again. In typical Dynamo fashion, just at the end of the game when it looked like the Dynamo have pulled it off, Rossi scored again to complete his hat trick and send the game into extra time. Nothing happened in extra time and the game went into penalties. Both Laurent Ciman and Latif Blessing failed to convert for LAFC, and the Dynamo celebrated their berth in the US Open Cup Final for the first time in their history.
The Final
After an appalling MLS campaign from the Dynamo, it was time to save their season with a win in the Open Cup Final. Philadelphia came into the game having a solid season where they were set to appear in the playoffs for the third time in their history. This was also the third time they found themselves in the Open Cup final after losing in both 2014 and 2015. The fans had to have been thinking how can they lose a third final in a row? Well, that question was answered right away when Alberth Elis bombed down the right wing to put in a perfect ball for Mauro Manotas to head in the back of the net in the fourth minute. The Union answered back with a flurry of chances to level the game, but they could not beat the Dynamo defense or Joe Willis in net. After failing to convert their chances, they were punished by Manotas, who cut inside on his left foot, making Auston Trusty and Jack Elliott look silly, to blast it past Andre Blake in goal. The Dynamo were not going to let this slip and played great defense to round out the half. Early in the second half, Juan David Cabezas found Romell Quioto in the box and his shot was saved by Blake. Trusty put the rebound into his own net for one of the most embarrassing own goals you’ll ever see to make the game 3-0.
The Dynamo continued to work as hard as ever to shut out Philadelphia and hold onto their massive lead until the final whistle. Eventually that final whistle came, and the team and fans celebrated as hard as they ever have since all the way back in 2007 when they lifted MLS Cup. Manotas was the hero on the day and will forever go down as one of the best strikers to ever wear a Dynamo jersey. This win was massive to salvage what was an all-around poor season that continued over into 2019, leading to Wilmer Cabrera’s sacking. In a decade of poor results and animosity from the fans, this was the one shining light that kept people interested in the team and brought over many new fans to the club going forward.
Now coming into this Open Cup final just five years later, there is a different atmosphere around the club where the coaches and fans believe the Dynamo can go on and not just win an Open Cup, but challenge for more. This team, led by head coach Ben Olsen and Hector Herrera, looks like a serious team that can possibly challenge for multiple trophies with a few more pieces added to the mix. The opponent will be much tougher this time around as it will be played on the road against a team with Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba. Let’s all support this team win or lose as they continue their hard work to try and win the fans the first trophy in the last five years!
