A pair of Western Conference foes looking to play their way out of early-season ruts will meet on Saturday night when the Colorado Rapids host the Houston Dynamo in Commerce City, Colo.
Colorado (3-3-0, nine points) has dropped two of its last three matches and is searching for consistency after three weeks on the road. Last weekend, the Rapids squandered a two-goal lead in a 3-2 setback to Toronto FC.
Still, Colorado coach Matt Wells has remained positive ahead of his team’s return home.
“The guys have responded great to what was a very frustrating day, where we felt like we had three points and it slipped through our fingers,” Wells said. “The main thing is we’ve trained superb this week, and we’re looking forward to the game against Houston.”
Wells’ club has won its two home matches this season, a trend that Colorado needs to see prolonged on Saturday.
“It does feel like a long time since we’ve played here in front of our fans,” Wells said. “We have to be a top team on the road, but we do miss playing at home in front of the great fan base and support that we’ve got. We’ve had two really great experiences this season, and we’ll try to emulate that against Houston.”
Paxten Aaronson and Rafael Navarro have scored three goals apiece to lead the Rapids.
Houston (2-3-0, 6 points) has lost consecutive one-goal matches, including 1-0 to the Seattle Sounders last Saturday.
Last year, the Dynamo couldn’t escape a hole dug by early-season struggles. Coach Ben Olsen’s club will have to find ways to come away with points in close matches if it wants to avoid missing the postseason again.
“We’ve got to learn to win games like this,” Olsen said of the close loss to Seattle. “That’s part of our challenge with this team. … That’s going to be an evolution and something we think about and work on as coaches.”
Guilherme’s four goals pace Houston. The offseason addition is the club’s only player with multiple goals through five outings.
–Field Level Media
