# 2021 Houston Dynamo FC season

The 2021 Houston Dynamo FC season was the 16th season of the team's existence since joining Major League Soccer (MLS) prior to the 2006 season. It was the team's second season under head coach Tab Ramos and seventh season under general manager Matt Jordan. On August 30, with the team on a 15-game winless streak, Jordan was fired. On November 1, with one game left in the season, Pat Onstad was hired as the new GM.
The Dynamo finished the season last in the Western Conference for the second consecutive season, failing to qualify for the playoffs for the 7th time in 8 seasons.
On the front office end, it was Gabriel Brener's sixth season as majority owner and John Walker's third season as President of Business Operations. On June 22, Ted Segal became majority owner after purchasing a controlling stake of the Dynamo and Dash for a reported $400 million. Former majority owner Brener kept a minority stake in the team, with James Harden, Oscar De La Hoya, and Ben Guill keeping their minority stakes. Minority owner Jake Silverstein sold his part of the team.
In October, BBVA Stadium was rebranded as PNC Stadium following PNC Financial Services' acquisition of BBVA USA.

## Current squad

    As of November 4, 2021
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 25) | TSG 1899 Hoffenheim | 2020 | 45 | 0 |
| 26 | Michael Nelson | GK | February 10, 1995 (age 26) | Southern Methodist University | 2018 | 11 | 0 |
| 31 | Kyle Morton | GK | March 31, 1994 (age 27) | Saint Louis FC | 2021 | 1 | 0 |
| Defenders |||||||||
| 2 | Alejandro Fuenmayor | DF | August 29, 1996 (age 25) | Carabobo FC | 2018 | 38 | 3 |
| 3 | Adam Lundkvist | DF | March 20, 1994 (age 27) | IF Elfsborg | 2018 | 90 | 0 |
| 4 | Zarek Valenin | DF | August 6, 1991 (age 30) | Nashville SC | 2020 | 48 | 0 |
| 5 | Tim Parker | DF | February 23, 1993 (age 28) | New York Red Bulls | 2021 | 34 | 0 |
| 13 | Ethan Bartlow (GA) | DF | February 2, 2000 (age 21) | University of Washington | 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Maynor Figueroa | DF | May 2, 1983 (age 38) | FC Dallas | 2019 | 58 | 2 |
| 18 | Teenage Hadebe (DP) | DF | September 17, 1995 (age 26) | Yeni Malatyaspor | 2021 | 17 | 0 |
| 29 | Sam Junqua | DF | November 9, 1996 (age 24) | University of California | 2019 | 31 | 1 |
| Midfielders |||||||||
| 6 | Joe Corona | MF | July 9, 1990 (age 31) | LA Galaxy | 2021 | 30 | 0 |
| 8 | Memo Rodríguez (HGP) | MF | December 27, 1995 (age 25) | Rio Grande Valley FC | 2017 | 106 | 17 |
| 10 | Fafà Picault | MF | February 23, 1991 (age 30) | FC Dallas | 2021 | 31 | 11 |
| 20 | Adalberto Carrasquilla | MF | November 28, 1998 (age 22) | Cartagena | 2021 | 10 | 1 |
| 21 | Derrick Jones (HGP) | MF | March 3, 1997 (age 24) | Nashville SC | 2021 | 20 | 0 |
| 22 | Matías Vera | MF | October 26, 1995 (age 26) | San Lorenzo | 2019 | 80 | 3 |
| 24 | Darwin Cerén | MF | December 31, 1989 (age 31) | San Jose Earthquakes | 2018 | 82 | 3 |
| 25 | Griffin Dorsey | MF | March 5, 1999 (age 22) | Toronto FC | 2021 | 20 | 2 |
| 27 | Boniek Garcia | MF | September 4, 1984 (age 37) | Olimpia | 2012 | 235 | 13 |
| 30 | Ian Hoffmann | MF | September 8, 2001 (age 20) | Rio Grande Valley FC | 2021 | 6 | 0 |
| 32 | Juan Castilla (HGP) | MF | July 27, 2004 (age 17) | Houston Dynamo Academy | 2021 | 2 | 0 |
| Forwards |||||||||
| 7 | Mateo Bajamich | FW | August 3, 1999 (age 22) | Instituto | 2020 | 9 | 0 |
| 11 | Ariel Lassiter | FW | September 27, 1994 (age 27) | Alajuelense | 2020 | 35 | 3 |
| 12 | Corey Baird | FW | January 30, 1996 (age 25) | Los Angeles FC | 2021 | 7 | 0 |
| 17 | Nico Lemoine | FW | April 10, 2000 (age 21) | Rio Grande Valley FC | 2020 | 12 | 0 |
| 19 | Tyler Pasher | FW | April 27, 1994 (age 27) | Indy Eleven | 2021 | 19 | 4 |
| 23 | Darwin Quintero (DP) | FW | September 19, 1987 (age 34) | Minnesota United FC | 2020 | 42 | 10 |
| 33 | Danny Ríos (HGP) | FW | March 29, 2003 (age 18) | Houston Dynamo Academy | 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Maximiliano Urruti | FW | February 22, 1991 (age 30) | CF Montréal | 2021 | 30 | 7 |

## 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 |
| June 14, 2020 | Juan Castilla | MF | 15 | Houston Dynamo Academy | Signed as a Homegrown Player, effective January 1, 2021 |
| July 10, 2020 | Danny Ríos | FW | 17 | Houston Dynamo Academy | Signed as a Homegrown Player, effective January 1, 2021 |
| July 27, 2020 | Ian Hoffmann | MF | 18 | Rio Grande Valley FC | Signed a contract with Houston effective January 1, 2021. Spent the rest of 2020 with Houston's USLC affiliate RGVFC. |
| December 1, 2020 | Ariel Lassiter | FW | 26 | Alajuelense | Exercised the purchase option on loan agreement. Transfer fee undisclosed, but is rumored to be around $400,000. |
| December 17, 2020 | Fafà Picault | MF | 29 | FC Dallas | Acquired in exchange for $275,000 in general allocation money |
| December 31, 2020 | Joe Corona | MF | 30 | LA Galaxy | Free transfer, acquired his rights in stage 2 of the 2020 MLS Re-Entry Draft on December 22, 2020. |
| January 14, 2021 | Tyler Pasher | FW | 26 | Indy Eleven | Full transfer. Transfer fee undisclosed, but reported to be around $50,000. |
| January 18, 2021 | Maximiliano Urruti | FW | 29 | CF Montréal | Acquired along with Montréal's 2nd round pick in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft in exchange for Aljaž Struna and a 2021 international roster slot. |
| January 19, 2021 | Tim Parker | DF | 27 | New York Red Bulls | Acquired in exchange for $475,000 in general allocation money. |
| January 21, 2021 | Derrick Jones | MF | 23 | Nasvhille SC | Acquired in exchange for $250,000 in general allocation money. |
| January 27, 2021 | Kyle Morton | GK | 26 | Saint Louis FC | Signed on a free transfer. |
| June 28, 2021 | Teenage Hadebe | DF | 25 | Yeni Malatyaspor | Signed as a Designated Player. Transfer fee undisclosed, but is rumored to be $1,650,000. |
| July 5, 2021 | Griffin Dorsey | MF | 22 | Toronto FC | Signed on a free transfer |
| July 30, 2021 | Corey Baird | FW | 25 | Los Angeles FC | Acquired in exchange for $750,000 in general allocation money and a 2022 international roster slot. |

### Out

| Date | Player | Position | Age | Destination Club | Notes |
| December 1, 2020 | Kyle Adams | DF | 24 | Real Monarchs | Contract option declined |
| December 1, 2020 | Victor Cabrera | DF | 27 | Tigre | Contract option declined |
| December 1, 2020 | Cody Cropper | GK | 27 | FC Cincinnati | Contract option declined |
| December 1, 2020 | Tomás Martínez | MF | 25 | Defensa y Justicia | Contract option declined |
| December 1, 2020 | Ronaldo Peña | FW | 23 | Universidad Central | Contract option declined |
| December 1, 2020 | Michael Salazar | FW | 28 | Memphis 901 | Contract option declined |
| December 1, 2020 | Wilfried Zahibo | MF | 27 | Dundalk | Contract option declined |
| December 1, 2020 | Niko Hansen | MF | 26 | Minnesota United FC | Contract expired |
| December 8, 2020 | Mauro Manotas | FW | 25 | Tijuana | Full transfer, Fee undisclosed, rumored to be $4,000,000 with Houston keeping a sell-on percentage. |
| January 18, 2021 | Aljaž Struna | DF | 30 | CF Montréal | Traded to Montréal along with a 2021 International roster slot in exchange for Maximiliano Urruti and Montréal's 2nd round pick in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft. |
| June 28, 2021 | Christian Ramirez | FW | 30 | Aberdeen | Full Transfer. Fee undisclosed, rumored to be $250,000. |

### Loans in

| Date | Player | Position | Age | Previous Club | Notes | Ref |
| August 5, 2021 | Adalberto Carrasquilla | MF | 22 | Cartagena | Signed on loan for the remainder of 2021 with an option to buy. | |

### Loans out

| Date | Player | Position | Age | Destination Club | Notes |
| November 9, 2020 | Mateo Bajamich | FW | 21 | Instituto | Loaned until January 21, 2021 |
| February 24, 2021 | Erik McCue | DF | 20 | Charleston Battery | Loaned for the 2021 season |
| March 3, 2021 | Marcelo Palomino | MF | 19 | Charlotte Independence | Loaned for the 2021 season |
| July 9, 2021 | Kyle Morton | GK | 27 | Memphis 901 | Loaned for 2 months |
| August 5, 2021 | José Bizama | DF | 27 | Charlotte Independence | Loaned for the 2021 season |

### MLS SuperDraft

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Age | College | Notes |
| 1 | 6 | Ethan Bartlow | DF | 20 | Washington | Signed to a Generation Adidas contract. |
| 2 | 30 | Kristo Strickler | FW | 22 | Virginia Tech | Signed with South Georgia Tormenta. |
| 3 | 57 | Brandon Terwege | DF | 22 | SMU | |

## Coaching staff

    As of November 3, 2021
| Position | Name |
| Head coach | Tab Ramos |
| Assistant coach | Omid Namazi |
| Assistant coach | Martín Vásquez |
| 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 |

## Competitions
### Major League Soccer
#### Standings
##### Western Conference

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 9 | Los Angeles FC | 34 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 53 | 51 | +2 | 45 |
| 10 | San Jose Earthquakes | 34 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 46 | 54 | −8 | 41 |
| 11 | FC Dallas | 34 | 7 | 15 | 12 | 47 | 56 | −9 | 33 |
| 12 | Austin FC | 34 | 9 | 21 | 4 | 35 | 56 | −21 | 31 |
| 13 | Houston Dynamo FC | 34 | 6 | 16 | 12 | 36 | 54 | −18 | 30 |

##### Overall

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 23 | FC Dallas | 34 | 7 | 15 | 12 | 47 | 56 | −9 | 33 |
| 24 | Austin FC | 34 | 9 | 21 | 4 | 35 | 56 | −21 | 31 |
| 25 | Houston Dynamo FC | 34 | 6 | 16 | 12 | 36 | 54 | −18 | 30 |
| 26 | Toronto FC | 34 | 6 | 18 | 10 | 39 | 66 | −27 | 28 |
| 27 | FC Cincinnati | 34 | 4 | 22 | 8 | 37 | 74 | −37 | 20 |

#### Results summary

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

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 |
| Stadium | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A |
| Result | W | L | D | D | W | L | W | L | D | D | D | D | L | D | D | D | L | L | L | L | D | L | L | W | D | W | L | D | L | W | L | L | L | L |
| Position (conf.) | 5 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| Position (league) | 7 | 14 | 14 | 19 | 5 | 13 | 7 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 25 |

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

On July 20, U.S. Soccer announced that the Open Cup would be cancelled for 2021 and would resume in 2022.

## 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 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | | Alejandro Fuenmayor | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | | Adam Lundqvist | 25 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | | Zarek Valentin | 29 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | | Tim Parker | 34 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | | Mateo Bajamich | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | | Memo Rodríguez | 31 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 31 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | | Christian Ramirez | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | | Fafà Picault | 31 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 31 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | | Ariel Lassiter | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | | Corey Baird | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | | Ethan Bartlow | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | | Joe Corona | 30 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | | Marcelo Palomino | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | | Maynor Figueroa | 13 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | | José Bizama | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | | Nico Lemoine | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | | Teenage Hadebe | 17 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | | Tyler Pasher | 19 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | | Adalberto Carrasquilla | 10 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | | Derrick Jones | 20 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | | Matías Vera | 30 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 31 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | | Darwin Quintero | 20 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | | Darwin Cerén | 25 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 25 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 25 | MF | | Griffin Dorsey | 20 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 26 | GK | | Michael Nelson | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | | Boniek García | 16 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | | Erik McCue | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | DF | | Sam Junqua | 22 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 30 | MF | | Ian Hoffmann | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 31 | GK | | Kyle Morton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | | Juan Castilla | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | FW | | Danny Ríos | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | FW | | Maximiliano Urruti | 30 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 30 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
Source: Player Stats and Match reports in Competitions
* ↑ Transferred out during the season
* 1 2 3 4 Loaned out during the season

## Honors and awards
### MLS Team of the Week

| Week | Team of the Week | Team of the Week | Ref |
| Week | Starting XI | Bench | Ref |
| 1 | Boniek García Memo Rodriguez | | |
| 6 | Memo Rodriguez (2) | | |
| 8 | | Maximiliano Urruti | |
| 10 | Marko Marić | | |
| 24 | Fafà Picault | | |
| 25 | Michael Nelson | | |
| 26 | | Griffin Dorsey | |
| 28 | | Teenage Hadebe | |
| 30 | Darwin Quintero | | |

### MLS Goal of the Week

| Week | Player | Opponent | Date | Ref. |
| 30 | Darwin Quintero | Seattle Sounders FC | October 16 | |

### Dynamo team awards

| MVP | Defensive Player of the Year | Newcomer of the Year | Young Player of the Year | Players' Player of the Year | Ref. |
| Fafà Picault | Teenage Hadebe | Teenage Hadebe | Griffin Dorsey | Fafà Picault | |