WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: HOUSTON DYNAMO
Welcome back to What You Need To Know, a match preview for Austin FC fans to check in on their next opponent.
Austin FC defender Brendan Hines-Ike. Photo courtesy of Dante Valencia (Dyv.media)
Opponent: Houston Dynamo
Kick Off time: 7:39 PM US Central Time
Location: Q2 Stadium, Austin, TX
History vs. Austin FC:
Austin FC is 7-1- 5 (W-D-L) against Houston all-time, including a 2-2 draw at home last season.
Recent Matches:
Houston is 4-0-4 on the season and has won their last three matches, including a US Open Cup win over the El Paso Locomotive. They currently sit ninth in the Western Conference.
Players to Watch:
Guilherme
The Brazilian attacker came to Houston from Santos, one of the largest clubs in Brazil. He’s their current leading scorer with five goals on the season. He’s also brought some added flair to an attack that desperately needed it.
Mateusz Bogusz
The Polish attacker came to Houston after two unsuccessful seasons at Cruz Azul. In fact, the only season he’s ever looked to fulfill his promise as an attacker was in 2024 as Denis Bouanga’s preferred striker partner, and he hasn’t built up a rapport with any of Houston’s strikers yet.
Jonathan Bond
Let’s hear from Matthew Doyle about Bond: “Every single year, according to all the data, Jonathan Bond nets out as one of the league’s worst shot-stoppers.”
Keys to the Match:
“Have some pride in your shirt, or don’t F*cking wear it.”
The great (and fictional) Roy Kent said this regarding watching his former club lose to Manchester United on the show Ted Lasso. It's a statement about the team he watched lose, who were too timid and too respectful of their opponents.
Austin FC lost 5-1 on Wednesday night (Their third 5-1 loss on the road in their short history), and for those of us who stayed up to watch something was very clear: This team quit. After the penalty was given and San Jose went up 2-1 any belief they had in themselves disappeared, and then the rout was really on. This isn’t just my opinion, but Coach Nico Estevez mentioned it in his post-game press conference. The beginning of the quote above is Roy stating, “they could have lost by 3, 4, even 5,” and for a team that quits as Austin did on Wednesday night, that’s exactly what can happen.
Nico Out?
I’m going to dovetail the first Key into this one: Once a team quits on a coach, you have to either rebuild the team or fire the coach. In MLS, rebuilding a team can take many windows and years, as we’ve witnessed. Back in San Jose in 2021, the Austin Chronicle’s Eric Goodman asked Josh Wolff if the team had quit, which they had, and was told it was a “Bullshit Question,” and as we all know now, Josh Wolff wasn’t the right coach to take Austin to a trophy, and the Front Office should have made the move that night. They should make the right move and let Nico go now, while there’s still enough of a season to try and get into the playoffs.
Austin FC head coach Nico Estevez. Photo courtesy of Dante Valencia (Dyv.media)
A multi-headed attack
Houston coach Ben Olsen has had a problem up front: he doesn’t have a clear starter at Striker. He can choose DPs Ezequiel Ponce, Ondrej Lingr, or Nick Markanich. This week, in a press conference, Olsen described the situation:
Lingr, Ponce, and Markanich give them different options up front. Said Lingr does a little bit of everything, Ponce is more physical, and Markanich is probably the best finisher of the three.
Olsen hasn’t been able to find the correct mix of attackers yet, which is why Houston hasn’t scored multiple goals in an MLS win since March 14. Facing an Austin team that has allowed multiple goals in their past 5 matches (14 total), it may be exactly what they need to try and figure it out.
Prediction:
Austin FC: 1
Houston Dynamo: 2
WRITTEN BY SCOTT SPECHT
