# 2018 Houston Dynamo season

The 2018 Houston Dynamo season was the club's 13th season of existence since joining Major League Soccer in the 2006 season. The club entered the campaign coming off its 7th Conference Final appearance in 13 years, the most among any MLS team in that time span. It was the team's second year under the leadership of Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera and fourth season under General Manager Matt Jordan. On the front office end, it was Gabriel Brener's third season as majority owner and Chris Canetti's eighth as the President of Business Operations.
The Dynamo failed to make the MLS Cup Playoffs for the fourth time in five years but reached success in cup play, lifting its first U.S. Open Cup title - earning qualification to the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League.

## Roster

    As of October 29, 2018
| No. | Name | Position | Date of birth (Age) | Signed from | Signed in | Apps. | Goals |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||
| 1 | Tyler Deric (HGP) | GK | August 30, 1988 (age 30) | North Carolina Tar Heels | 2009 | 83 | 0 |
| 18 | Chris Seitz | GK | March 12, 1987 (age 31) | FC Dallas | 2017 | 5 | 0 |
| 23 | Joe Willis | GK | August 10, 1988 (age 30) | D.C. United | 2015 | 63 | 0 |
| 26 | Michael Nelson | GK | February 10, 1995 (age 23) | Southern Methodist University | 2018 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders |||||||||
| 2 | Alejandro Fuenmayor | DF | August 29, 1996 (age 22) | Carabobo FC | 2018 | 22 | 3 |
| 3 | Adolfo Machado | DF | February 14, 1985, (age 33) | Saprissa | 2017 | 54 | 0 |
| 4 | Philippe Senderos | DF | February 14, 1985, (age 33) | Rangers | 2017 | 10 | 4 |
| 7 | DaMarcus Beasley | DF | May 24, 1982 (age 36) | Puebla | 2014 | 116 | 3 |
| 14 | Adam Lundkvist | DF | March 20, 1994 (age 24) | IF Elfsborg | 2018 | 16 | 0 |
| 15 | Dylan Remick | DF | May 19, 1991 (Age 27) | Seattle Sounders FC | 2017 | 14 | 1 |
| 16 | Kevin Garcia | DF | August 21, 1990 (age 28) | Rio Grande Valley | 2016 | 18 | 1 |
| 20 | A. J. DeLaGarza | DF | November 4, 1987 (age 30) | LA Galaxy | 2017 | 34 | 0 |
| 22 | Leonardo | DF | February 5, 1988 (age 30) | LA Galaxy | 2017 | 54 | 3 |
| 30 | Conor Donovan | DF | January 8, 1996 (age 22) | Rio Grande Valley | 2018 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Jared Watts | DF | February 3, 1992 (age 26) | Colorado Rapids | 2018 | 7 | 0 |
| Midfielders |||||||||
| 5 | Juan David Cabezas | MF | February 27, 1991 (age 27) | Deportivo Cali | 2017 | 33 | 1 |
| 6 | Eric Alexander | MF | April 14, 1988 (age 30) | Montreal Impact | 2016 | 43 | 1 |
| 8 | Memo Rodríguez (HGP) | MF | December 27, 1995 (age 22) | Rio Grande Valley | 2017 | 28 | 3 |
| 10 | Tomás Martínez (DP) | MF | March 7, 1995 (age 23) | Braga | 2017 | 41 | 7 |
| 11 | Andrew Wenger | MF | December 15, 1990 (age 27) | Philadelphia Union | 2016 | 76 | 10 |
| 12 | Arturo Alvarez | MF | June 28, 1985 (age 33) | Chicago Fire | 2018 | 18 | 0 |
| 13 | Luis Gil | MF | November 14, 1993 (age 24) | loan from Querétaro F.C. | 2018 | 12 | 0 |
| 24 | Darwin Cerén | MF | December 31, 1989 (age 28) | San Jose Earthquakes | 2018 | 24 | 1 |
| 25 | Eric Bird | MF | April 8, 1993 (age 25) | Rio Grande Valley | 2017 | 6 | 0 |
| 27 | Boniek García | MF | September 4, 1984 (age 34) | Olimpia | 2012 | 169 | 13 |
| Forwards |||||||||
| 9 | Mauro Manotas | ST | July 15, 1995 (age 23) | Uniautónoma | 2015 | 97 | 35 |
| 17 | Alberth Elis (DP) | ST | February 12, 1996 (age 22) | Monterrey | 2017 | 56 | 21 |
| 19 | Mac Steeves | ST | July 31, 1994 (age 24) | Providence College | 2018 | 3 | 0 |
| 21 | Ronaldo Peña | ST | March 10, 1997 (age 21) | Caracas FC | 2018 | 9 | 1 |
| 31 | Romell Quioto | ST | August 9, 1991 (age 27) | CD Olimpia | 2017 | 54 | 13 |

## Player movement
### In

Per Major League Soccer and club policies terms of the deals do not get disclosed.
| Date | Player | Position | Previous Club | Notes |
| December 7, 2017 | Juan David Cabezas | MF | Deportivo Cali | Full Rights Purchased |
| December 10, 2017 | Arturo Alvarez | MF | Chicago Fire | Trade |
| December 13, 2017 | Alberth Elis | FW | C.F. Monterrey | Full Rights Purchased, Designated Player |
| December 15, 2017 | Chris Seitz | GK | FC Dallas | Free Agent |
| December 22, 2017 | Eric Bird | MF | RGV FC Toros | Signed |
| January 16, 2018 | Alejandro Fuenmayor | DF | Caraboba FC | Full Rights Purchased |
| January 19, 2018 | Darwin Ceren | MF | San Jose Earthquakes | Trade |
| January 19, 2018 | Michael Nelson | GK | Southern Methodist University (College) | MLS SuperDraft |
| January 19, 2018 | Mac Steeves | FW | Providence College | MLS SuperDraft |
| March 28, 2018 | Jared Watts | DF | Colorado Rapids | Trade |
| April 26, 2018 | Adam Lundqvist | DF | IF Elfsborg | Full Rights Purchased |
| July 5, 2018 | Ronaldo Peña | FW | Caracas FC | Full Rights Purchased |

### Out

| Date | Player | Position | Destination Club | Notes |
| December 5, 2017 | Alex | MF | Suwon FC | Contract expired |
| December 5, 2017 | Christian Lucatero | MF | Club Necexa | Contract option declined |
| December 5, 2017 | Rico Clark | MF | Columbus Crew SC | Contract option declined |
| December 5, 2017 | Taylor Hunter | DF | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | Contract option declined |
| December 5, 2017 | Vicente Sánchez | FW | Retired | Contract option declined |
| December 5, 2017 | Jalil Anibaba | DF | New England Revolution | Contract option declined |
| December 5, 2017 | Calle Brown | GK | Seattle Sounders FC | Contract option declined |
| December 5, 2017 | Joe Holland | MF | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | Contract option declined |
| January 25, 2018 | Erick Torres | FW | Pumas UNAM | Transfer |
| May 9, 2018 | Charlie Ward | MF | San Antonio FC | Waived |
| June 5, 2018 | George Malki | DF | | Waived |

### Loans

Per Major League Soccer and club policies terms of the deals do not get disclosed.

#### In

| Date | Player | Position | Loaned from | Notes | Ref |
| April 23, 2018 | Luis Gil | MF | Querétaro F.C. | Season long loan | |

## Coaching staff

As of 17 January 2018
| Name | Position |
| Wilmer Cabera | Head coach |
| Michael Dellorusso | First Assistant Coach |
| Davy Arnaud | Assistant coach |
| Paul Rogers | Goalkeeper coach |
| Paul Caffrey | Sports Performance Director/ Fitness Coach |
| Steve Fell | Assistant Fitness Coach |
| Oliver Gage | Head of Performance Analyst / Technical Recruitment |

## Competitions
### Major League Soccer
#### Matches

Win  Draw  Loss
League Tables
Western Conference
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Sporting Kansas City | 34 | 18 | 8 | 8 | 65 | 40 | +25 | 62 | MLS Cup Conference Semifinals |
| 2 | Seattle Sounders FC | 34 | 18 | 11 | 5 | 52 | 37 | +15 | 59 | MLS Cup Conference Semifinals |
| 3 | Los Angeles FC | 34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 68 | 52 | +16 | 57 | MLS Cup Knockout Round |
| 4 | FC Dallas | 34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 52 | 44 | +8 | 57 | MLS Cup Knockout Round |
| 5 | Portland Timbers | 34 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 54 | 48 | +6 | 54 | MLS Cup Knockout Round |
| 6 | Real Salt Lake | 34 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 55 | 58 | −3 | 49 | MLS Cup Knockout Round |
| 7 | LA Galaxy | 34 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 66 | 64 | +2 | 48 | |
| 8 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 34 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 54 | 67 | −13 | 47 | |
| 9 | Houston Dynamo | 34 | 10 | 16 | 8 | 58 | 58 | 0 | 38 | |
| 10 | Minnesota United FC | 34 | 11 | 20 | 3 | 49 | 71 | −22 | 36 | |
| 11 | Colorado Rapids | 34 | 8 | 19 | 7 | 36 | 63 | −27 | 31 | |
| 12 | San Jose Earthquakes | 34 | 4 | 21 | 9 | 49 | 71 | −22 | 21 | |
Overall
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 15 | Montreal Impact | 34 | 14 | 16 | 4 | 47 | 53 | −6 | 46 | |
| 16 | New England Revolution | 34 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 49 | 55 | −6 | 41 | |
| 17 | Houston Dynamo | 34 | 10 | 16 | 8 | 58 | 58 | 0 | 38 | CONCACAF Champions League |
| 18 | Minnesota United FC | 34 | 11 | 20 | 3 | 49 | 71 | −22 | 36 | |
| 19 | Toronto FC | 34 | 10 | 18 | 6 | 59 | 64 | −5 | 36 | CONCACAF Champions League |

### U.S. Open Cup

Win  Draw  Loss

## Player statistics
### Appearances, goals, and assists

As of October 29, 2018
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Total | MLS | MLS | MLS | US Open Cup | US Open Cup | US Open Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists |
| 1 | GK | | Tyler Deric | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | | Alejandro Fuenmayor | 26 | 3 | 1 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | | Adolfo Machado | 23 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | | Philippe Senderos | 13 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | | Juan David Cabezas | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | | Eric Alexander | 23 | 1 | 2 | 21 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | | DaMarcus Beasley | 28 | 1 | 2 | 26 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | | Memo Rodríguez | 24 | 4 | 1 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| 9 | FW | | Mauro Manotas | 37 | 25 | 1 | 33 | 19 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | | Tomás Martínez | 36 | 5 | 14 | 32 | 5 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | MF | | Andrew Wenger | 24 | 3 | 1 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | | Arturo Álvarez | 20 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 13 | MF | | Luis Gil | 15 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | DF | | Adam Lundqvist | 18 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 14 | MF | | Charlie Ward | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | | Dylan Remick | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | | Kevin Garcia | 19 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | | Alberth Elis | 34 | 11 | 13 | 30 | 11 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| 18 | GK | | Chris Seitz | 9 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | | Mac Steeves | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | | A. J. DeLaGarza | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | | Ronaldo Peña | 9 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | | George Malki | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | | Leonardo | 25 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | GK | | Joe Willis | 28 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | | Darwin Cerén | 27 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 25 | MF | | Eric Bird | 8 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | GK | | Michael Nelson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | | Boniek García | 32 | 1 | 7 | 29 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | | Conor Donovan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | | Romell Quioto | 36 | 8 | 12 | 32 | 6 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | | Jared Watts | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | MF | | Todd Wharton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | FW | | Matías Zaldívar | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 38 | FW | | Aldo Quintanilla | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 39 | MF | | Manny Padilla | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | FW | | Jhon Montaño | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Source: Season Statistics and Match reports in Competitions
* 1 2 Left during the season
* 1 2 3 4 5 Short term loan from RGVFC

### Disciplinary record

As of October 29, 2018
| No. | Pos | Player | Total | Total | MLS | MLS | US Open Cup | US Open Cup |
| 1 | GK | Tyler Deric | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Alejandro Fuenmayor | 9 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Adolfo Machado | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Philippe Senderos | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | Juan David Cabezas | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | Eric Alexander | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | DaMarcus Beasley | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Memo Rodríguez | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Mauro Manotas | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | Tomás Martínez | 7 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Andrew Wenger | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | Arturo Álvarez | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | MF | Luis Gil | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | Adam Lundqvist | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | Charlie Ward | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | Dylan Remick | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | Kevin Garcia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | Alberth Elis | 7 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | GK | Chris Seitz | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | Mac Steeves | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | A. J. DeLaGarza | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | Ronaldo Peña | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | George Malki | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | Leonardo | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | GK | Joe Willis | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | Darwin Cerén | 10 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | Eric Bird | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | GK | Michael Nelson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | Boniek García | 9 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | Conor Donovan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | Romell Quioto | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | Jared Watts | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | MF | Todd Wharton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | FW | Matías Zaldívar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | FW | Aldo Quintanilla | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | MF | Manny Padilla | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 40 | FW | Jhon Montaño | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source: Season Statistics and Match reports in Competitions
* 1 2 Left during the season
* 1 2 3 4 5 Short term loan from RGVFC