# 2020 Houston Dynamo season

The 2020 Houston Dynamo season was the club's 15th season of existence since joining Major League Soccer prior to the 2006 season. The Dynamo missed the playoffs in 2020 for the 6th time in 7 years, finishing last in the Western Conference. The 2020 U.S. Open Cup was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2020 was the Dynamo's first year with head coach Tab Ramos and the sixth season under General Manager Matt Jordan. On the front office end, it was Gabriel Brener's fifth season as majority owner and John Walker's second season as President of Business Operations.

## Current squad

    As of November 8, 2020
Appearances and goals are totals for MLS regular season only.
| No. | Name | Position | Date of birth (Age) | Signed from | Signed in | Apps. | Goals |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||
| 1 | Marko Marić | GK | January 3, 1996 (age 24) | TSG 1899 Hoffenheim | 2020 | 23 | 0 |
| 26 | Michael Nelson | GK | February 10, 1995 (age 25) | Southern Methodist University | 2018 | 0 | 0 |
| 55 | Cody Cropper | GK | February 16, 1993 (age 27) | New England Revolution | 2020 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders |||||||||
| 2 | Alejandro Fuenmayor | DF | August 29, 1996 (age 24) | Carabobo FC | 2018 | 35 | 3 |
| 3 | Adam Lundkvist | DF | March 20, 1994 (age 26) | IF Elfsborg | 2018 | 65 | 0 |
| 4 | Zarek Valenin | DF | August 6, 1991 (age 29) | Nashville SC | 2020 | 19 | 0 |
| 5 | Aljaž Struna | DF | August 4, 1990 (age 30) | Palermo | 2018 | 46 | 0 |
| 15 | Maynor Figueroa | DF | May 2, 1983 (age 37) | FC Dallas | 2019 | 45 | 2 |
| 18 | José Bizama | DF | June 25, 1994 (age 26) | Club Deportivo Huachipato | 2019 | 13 | 0 |
| 28 | Erik McCue (HGP) | DF | January 18, 2001 (age 19) | Houston Dynamo Academy | 2018 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Sam Junqua | DF | November 9, 1996 (age 23) | University of California | 2019 | 9 | 1 |
| 32 | Kyle Adams | DF | November 20, 1996 (age 23) | Rio Grande Valley FC | 2020 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | Victor Cabrera | DF | February 7, 1993 (age 27) | Montreal Impact | 2020 | 10 | 0 |
| Midfielders |||||||||
| 6 | Wilfried Zahibo | MF | August 21, 1993 (age 27) | New England Revolution | 2020 | 4 | 0 |
| 8 | Memo Rodríguez (HGP) | MF | December 27, 1995 (age 24) | Rio Grande Valley FC | 2017 | 75 | 15 |
| 10 | Tomás Martínez (DP) | MF | March 7, 1995 (age 25) | Braga | 2017 | 85 | 12 |
| 12 | Niko Hansen | MF | September 14, 1994 (age 26) | Columbus Crew | 2019 | 21 | 2 |
| 14 | Marcelo Palomino (HGP) | MF | May 21, 2001 (age 19) | Houston Dynamo Academy | 2020 | 3 | 0 |
| 17 | Nico Lemoine | MF | April 10, 2000 (age 20) | Rio Grande Valley FC | 2020 | 11 | 0 |
| 22 | Matías Vera | MF | October 26, 1995 (age 25) | San Lorenzo | 2019 | 50 | 0 |
| 24 | Darwin Cerén | MF | December 31, 1989 (age 30) | San Jose Earthquakes | 2018 | 57 | 3 |
| 27 | Boniek García | MF | September 4, 1984 (age 36) | Olimpia | 2012 | 219 | 13 |
| Forwards |||||||||
| 9 | Mauro Manotas (DP) | FW | July 15, 1995 (age 25) | Uniautónoma | 2015 | 149 | 51 |
| 11 | Ariel Lassiter | FW | September 27, 1994 (age 26) | Alajuelense | 2020 | 16 | 3 |
| 13 | Christian Ramirez | FW | April 4, 1991 (age 29) | LAFC | 2019 | 25 | 7 |
| 19 | Michael Salazar | FW | November 15, 1992 (age 27) | Rio Grande Valley FC | 2019 | 8 | 0 |
| 21 | Ronaldo Peña | FW | March 10, 1997 (age 23) | Caracas FC | 2018 | 14 | 1 |
| 23 | Darwin Quintero | FW | September 19, 1987 (age 33) | Minnesota United FC | 2020 | 22 | 7 |
| | Mateo Bajamich | FW | August 3, 1999 (age 21) | Instituto | 2020 | 0 | 0 |

## Player movement
### In

Per Major League Soccer and club policies terms of the deals do not get disclosed.
| Date | Player | Position | Age | Previous Club | Notes |
| November 13, 2019 | Darwin Quintero | FW | 32 | Minnesota United FC | Acquired in exchange for $600,000 in allocation money and Marlon Hairtson. |
| November 19, 2019 | Zarek Valentin | DF | 28 | Nashville SC | Acquired in exchange for Joe Willis. Valentin had been selected by Nashville in the 2019 MLS Expansion Draft earlier that day. |
| November 20, 2019 | Victor Cabrera | DF | 26 | Montreal Impact | Acquired in exchange for Romell Quioto. |
| January 6, 2020 | Marcelo Palomino | MF | 18 | Houston Dynamo Academy | Homegrown Player |
| January 13, 2020 | Marko Marić | GK | 24 | TSG 1899 Hoffenheim | Full rights purchased, fee undisclosed |
| January 24, 2020 | Cody Cropper | GK | 26 | New England Revolution | Free transfer |
| January 25, 2020 | Kyle Adams | DF | 23 | Rio Grande Valley FC | Free transfer from USLC affiliate |
| June 11, 2020 | Nico Lemoine | MF | 20 | Rio Grande Valley FC | Free transfer from USLC affiliate. |
| August 17, 2020 | Wilfried Zahibo | MF | 26 | New England Revolution | Acquired along with an international roster spot for 2020 in exchange for Tommy McNamara and $175,000 in GAM. |
| October 5, 2020 | Mateo Bajamich | FW | 21 | Instituto | Full rights purchased for $1.2 million, Instituto have 20% sell on clause. |

### Out

| Date | Player | Position | Age | Destination Club | Notes |
| October 9, 2019 | DaMarcus Beasley | DF | 37 | Retired | |
| November 13, 2019 | Marlon Hairston | MF | 25 | Minnesota United FC | Traded for Darwin Quintero and a 2020 SuperDraft 3rd round pick |
| November 19, 2019 | Joe Willis | GK | 31 | Nashville SC | Traded for Zarek Valentin and $75,000 of TAM. |
| November 20, 2019 | Romell Quioto | FW | 28 | Montreal Impact | Traded for Victor Cabrera and $100,000 of GAM. |
| November 21, 2019 | Eric Bird | MF | 26 | FC Tulsa | Contract option declined. |
| November 21, 2019 | Juan David Cabezas | MF | 28 | Rio Grande Valley FC | Contract option declined |
| November 21, 2019 | Tyler Deric | GK | 31 | Rio Grande Valley FC | Contract option declined |
| November 21, 2019 | A. J. DeLaGarza | DF | 32 | Inter Miami CF | Contract expired |
| November 21, 2019 | Kevin Garcia | DF | 29 | FC Tulsa | Contract expired |
| August 17, 2020 | Tommy McNamara | MF | 29 | New England Revolution | Traded along with $175,000 of GAM for Wilfried Zahibo and an international roster spot for 2020. |
| September 19, 2020 | Alberth Elis | FW | 24 | Boavista | Transfer fee undisclosed, but is rumored to be around $1 million. |

### Loans in

| Date | Player | Position | Age | Previous Club | Notes | Ref |
| August 17, 2020 | Ariel Lassiter | FW | 25 | Alajuelense | Signed on loan for the 2020 season with an option to buy. | |

### Loans out

| Date | Player | Position | Age | Destination Club | Notes | Ref |
| August 15, 2020 | Kyle Adams | DF | 23 | Rio Grande Valley FC | Loaned to USLC affiliate for remainder of 2020 season. | |
| August 15, 2020 | Eric McCue | DF | 19 | Rio Grande Valley FC | Loaned to USLC affiliate for remainder of 2020 season. | |

### MLS SuperDraft

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Age | College | Notes |
| 1 | 8 | Garrett McLaughlin | FW | 22 | Southern Methodist | Signed with Rio Grande Valley FC |
| 2 | 34 | Luka Prpa | MF | 21 | Marquette | Signed with Rio Grande Valley FC |
| 3 | 60 | Duncan Turnbull | GK | 21 | Notre Dame | Signed with Portsmouth FC. |
| 4 | 86 | Kyle Edwards | FW | 22 | Texas Rio Grande Valley | Signed with Rio Grande Valley FC |

## Coaching staff

    Since November 9, 2020
| Position | Name |
| Head coach | Tab Ramos |
| Assistant coach | Pablo Mastroeni |
| Assistant coach | Omid Namazi |
| Coach | Michael Dellorusso |
| Goalkeeper coach | Paul Rogers |
| Sports Performance Director/Fitness Coach | Paul Caffrey |
| Head of sports science | Alex Calder |
| Equipment Manager | Chris Maxwell |
| Assistant Equipment Manager | Eddie Cerda |
| Chief Medical Officer | Dr. Rehal Bhojani |
| Head Athletic Trainer | Chris Rumsey |
| Assistant Athletic Trainer | Casey Carlson |
| Head Physical Therapist | Nathan Hironymous |
| Massage Therapist | Ivan Diaz |

## Competitive
### MLS
#### Western Conference table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Qualification |
| 8 | San Jose Earthquakes | 23 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 35 | 51 | −16 | 30 | 1.30 | Qualification for the playoffs first round |
| 9 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 23 | 9 | 14 | 0 | 27 | 44 | −17 | 27 | 1.17 | |
| 10 | LA Galaxy | 22 | 6 | 12 | 4 | 27 | 46 | −19 | 22 | 1.00 | |
| 11 | Real Salt Lake | 22 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 25 | 35 | −10 | 22 | 1.00 | |
| 12 | Houston Dynamo | 23 | 4 | 10 | 9 | 30 | 40 | −10 | 21 | 0.91 | |
* ↑ Canadian clubs could not qualify for the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League through the MLS regular season or playoffs.

#### Overall table

2020 MLS overall standings :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Qualification |
| 22 | Chicago Fire FC | 23 | 5 | 10 | 8 | 33 | 39 | −6 | 23 | 1.00 | |
| 23 | Atlanta United FC (U) | 23 | 6 | 13 | 4 | 23 | 30 | −7 | 22 | 0.96 | 2021 CONCACAF Champions League |
| 24 | D.C. United | 23 | 5 | 12 | 6 | 25 | 41 | −16 | 21 | 0.91 | |
| 25 | Houston Dynamo | 23 | 4 | 10 | 9 | 30 | 40 | −10 | 21 | 0.91 | |
| 26 | FC Cincinnati | 23 | 4 | 15 | 4 | 12 | 36 | −24 | 16 | 0.70 | |
* ↑ As 2019 U.S. Open Cup champions (USA4)

#### MLS is Back Tournament

The MLS is Back Tournament was a one-off tournament during the 2020 Major League Soccer season to mark the league's return to action from the COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament featured a group stage, followed by a knockout stage. Games during the group stage counted as regular season matches. The schedule was revealed on June 24.

##### Group E

Group F results :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Portland Timbers | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 7 | Advanced to knockout stage |
| 2 | Los Angeles FC | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 7 | +4 | 5 | Advanced to knockout stage |
| 3 | Houston Dynamo | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 2 | |
| 4 | LA Galaxy | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 1 | |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |

#### Match results
### U.S. Open Cup

As an MLS club, the Dynamo was originally set to enter the competition in the Third or Fourth Round, tentatively scheduled for April 21–23 or May 19–20. The U.S. Soccer Federation canceled the tournament on August 17, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Season statistics

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | MLS | MLS | MLS | MLS | MLS |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Assists | | | Apps | Goals | Assists | | |
| 1 | GK | | Marko Marić | 23 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | | Alejandro Fuenmayor | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | | Adam Lundqvist | 21 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | | Zarek Valentin | 19 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | | Aljaž Struna | 17 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | | Wilfried Zahibo | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | | Alberth Elis | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | | Memo Rodríguez | 21 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 21 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | | Mauro Manotas | 20 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | MF | | Tomás Martínez | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | | Tommy McNamara | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | | Ariel Lassiter | 16 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | | Niko Hansen | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | FW | | Christian Ramirez | 15 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | | Marcelo Palomino | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | | Maynor Figueroa | 20 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | | Nico Lemoine | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | | José Bizama | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | | Michael Salazar | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | | Ronaldo Peña | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | | Matías Vera | 20 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| 23 | FW | | Darwin Quintero | 22 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 22 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | | Darwin Cerén | 20 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| 26 | GK | | Michael Nelson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | | Boniek García | 18 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | | Erik McCue | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | DF | | Sam Junqua | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | DF | | Kyle Adams | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | DF | | Víctor Cabrera | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 55 | GK | | Cody Cropper | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source: Season Statistics and Match reports in Competitive
* 1 2 Transferred out during the season
* 1 2 Loaned out during the season