The Houston Dynamo will try to continue their exceptional summer on Saturday night when they visit a San Jose Earthquakes side trying to rediscover its strong early-season form.
The Dynamo (13-7-4, 43 points) earned a 2-1 home win over Real Salt Lake on Wednesday night via Guilherme’s team-leading 13th goal and Mateusz Bogusz’s 87th-minute winner.
The result came while playing a 4-4-2 shape that manager Ben Olsen had previously deployed only twice this season, and not since April.
“I think we continue to learn about ourselves,” Olsen said. “And I know it’s late to be saying that, but the season goes through so many different rhythms and iterations with additions and subtractions, so you’re always kind of — at least have been this year — reinventing ourselves.”
The Dynamo have lost only once in their last 12 matches in MLS — and 13 in all competitions — to climb to their current second-place standing in the Western Conference.
The Earthquakes (11-8-5, 38 points) are among the teams they’ve passed along the way, with Bruce Arena’s group sliding as low as sixth place following an eight-match winless run that began with the return from the World Cup.
The end finally came on Wednesday night, when Niko Tsakiris, Preston Judd and Ousseni Bouda all scored before halftime in a 3-2 victory at San Diego FC that helped San Jose move back above St. Louis and into fifth.
Even though there were some nervy second-half moments, Arena believed it was a clear sign of progress following draws in his side’s previous two games at Houston and Austin.
“Three games in a row in 90-plus degree temperatures, and we could’ve won all three games, so I’m not complaining,” Arena said. “Our team is really very close to turning the corner and being a pretty good team. I’m pleased. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us to try to get our team ready for Saturday against Houston.”
Arena boasts an 8-1-7 MLS coaching record against Olsen, who was once his player at D.C. United in 1998, and previously for one collegiate season at Virginia in 1995. Olsen’s only win came in 2015, managing D.C. United against Arena’s Los Angeles Galaxy.
–Field Level Media
