# 2019 Houston Dynamo season

The 2019 Houston Dynamo season was the club's 14th season of existence since joining Major League Soccer in the 2006 season. The Dynamo missed the playoffs in 2018, but they did win the 2018 US Open Cup, the first in club history. The Open Cup victory also qualified the Dynamo for the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League. It was the Dynamo's third year with Wilmer Cabrera as head coach and fifth season under general manager Matt Jordan. On the front office end, it is Gabriel Brener's fourth season as majority owner. On November 1, 2018, John Walker was announced as the new President of Business Operations, replacing Chris Canetti who stepped down on October 26. On July 18, NBA and Houston Rockets All-Star James Harden became a minority owner in the Dynamo.
The Dynamo got off to their best start in club history, winning 6 and drawing 1 in their first 8 league matches. However, Houston would lose form as the season progressed. The Dynamo were knocked out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals to Tigres and fell to Minnesota United at home in the Round of 16 for the US Open Cup. After a 14-game stretch that saw the Dynamo only get 2 wins and 1 draw that included 4-0 and 5-0 defeats to the Portland Timbers and Atlanta United FC respectively, the Dynamo had fallen down to 9th place in the Western Conference. On August 13, Cabrera was fired as head coach. Assistant coach Davy Arnaud was promoted to interim head coach. Arnaud and the newly acquired Christian Ramirez were able to improve the Dynamo's performances at the end of the season, but not enough to lead them into the playoffs. Houston missed the playoffs for the 5th time in 6 years and team captain DaMarcus Beasley retired at the end of the season.

## Current squad

    As of October 7, 2019
Appearances and goals are totals for MLS regular season only. Age and stats are up to the end of the season.
| No. | Name | Position | Date of birth (Age) | Signed from | Signed in | Apps. | Goals |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||
| 1 | Tyler Deric (HGP) | GK | August 30, 1988 (age 31) | North Carolina Tar Heels | 2009 | 90 | 0 |
| 23 | Joe Willis | GK | August 10, 1988 (age 31) | DC United | 2015 | 87 | 0 |
| 26 | Michael Nelson | GK | February 10, 1995 (age 24) | Southern Methodist University | 2018 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders |||||||||
| 2 | Alejandro Fuenmayor | DF | August 29, 1996 (age 23) | Carabobo FC | 2018 | 30 | 3 |
| 3 | Adam Lundkvist | DF | March 20, 1994 (age 25) | IF Elfsborg | 2018 | 44 | 0 |
| 6 | Aljaž Struna | DF | August 4, 1990 (age 29) | Palermo | 2018 | 29 | 0 |
| 7 | DaMarcus Beasley | DF | May 24, 1982 (age 37) | Puebla | 2014 | 124 | 3 |
| 15 | Maynor Figueroa | DF | May 2, 1983 (age 36) | FC Dallas | 2019 | 25 | 0 |
| 16 | Kevin Garcia | DF | August 21, 1990 (age 29) | Rio Grande Valley | 2016 | 30 | 1 |
| 18 | José Bizama | DF | June 25, 1994 (age 25) | Club Deportivo Huachipato | 2019 | 5 | 0 |
| 20 | A. J. DeLaGarza | DF | November 4, 1987 (age 31) | LA Galaxy | 2017 | 57 | 0 |
| 28 | Erik McCue (HGP) | DF | January 18, 2001 (age 18) | Houston Dynamo Academy | 2018 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Sam Junqua | DF | November 9, 1996 (age 22) | University of California | 2019 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders |||||||||
| 5 | Juan David Cabezas | MF | February 27, 1991 (age 28) | Deportivo Cali | 2017 | 48 | 2 |
| 8 | Memo Rodríguez (HGP) | MF | December 27, 1995 (age 23) | Rio Grande Valley | 2017 | 54 | 10 |
| 10 | Tomás Martínez (DP) | MF | March 7, 1995 (age 24) | Braga | 2017 | 74 | 12 |
| 11 | Tommy McNamara | MF | February 6, 1991 (age 28) | New York City FC | 2019 | 33 | 2 |
| 12 | Niko Hansen | MF | September 14, 1997 (age 22) | Columbus Crew SC | 2019 | 4 | 0 |
| 14 | Marlon Hairston | MF | March 23, 1994 (age 25) | Colorado Rapids | 2019 | 12 | 0 |
| 22 | Matías Vera | MF | October 26, 1995 (age 23) | San Lorenzo | 2018 | 30 | 0 |
| 24 | Darwin Cerén | MF | December 31, 1989 (age 29) | San Jose Earthquakes | 2018 | 37 | 2 |
| 25 | Eric Bird | MF | April 8, 1993 (age 26) | Rio Grande Valley | 2017 | 6 | 0 |
| 27 | Boniek García | MF | September 4, 1984 (age 35) | Olimpia | 2012 | 201 | 13 |
| Forwards |||||||||
| 9 | Mauro Manotas | FW | July 15, 1995 (age 24) | Uniautónoma | 2015 | 129 | 48 |
| 13 | Christian Ramirez | FW | April 4, 1991 (age 28) | LAFC | 2019 | 10 | 5 |
| 17 | Alberth Elis (DP) | FW | February 12, 1996 (age 23) | Monterrey | 2017 | 82 | 30 |
| 18 | Michael Salazar | FW | November 15, 1992 (age 26) | Rio Grande Valley | 2019 | 7 | 0 |
| 21 | Ronaldo Peña | FW | March 10, 1997 (age 22) | Caracas FC | 2018 | 13 | 1 |
| 31 | Romell Quioto | FW | August 9, 1991 (age 28) | Olimpia | 2017 | 72 | 15 |

## 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 |
| October 30, 2018 | Erik McCue | DF | 17 | Houston Dynamo Academy | Home Grown Player |
| December 17, 2018 | Chris Duvall | DF | 27 | Montreal Impact | Acquired in exchange for Houston's 3rd round pick in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft |
| December 21, 2018 | Matías Vera | MF | 23 | San Lorenzo | Full Rights Purchased |
| December 24, 2018 | Aljaž Struna | DF | 28 | Palermo | Full Rights Purchased |
| January 11, 2019 | Tommy McNamara | MF | 27 | New York City FC | Selected in second stage of the 2018 MLS Re-Entry Draft. |
| January 11, 2019 | Marlon Hairston | MF | 24 | Colorado Rapids | Acquired in exchange for $175,000 in General Allocation Money |
| January 30, 2019 | Maynor Figueroa | DF | 35 | FC Dallas | Free Transfer |
| June 10, 2019 | Michael Salazar | FW | 26 | Rio Grande Valley FC Toros | Promoted from the Dynamo's USL Championship affiliate |
| July 11, 2019 | José Bizama | DF | 25 | Huachipato | Full Rights Purchased |
| August 7, 2019 | Christian Ramirez | FW | 28 | LAFC | Acquired in exchange for $175,000 in General Allocation Money and $75,000 in Targeted Allocation Money |
| August 8, 2019 | Niko Hansen | MF | 24 | Columbus Crew SC | Acquired in exchange for $75,000 in Targeted Allocation Money |

### Out

| Date | Player | Position | Age | Destination Club | Notes |
| November 27, 2018 | Conor Donovan | DF | 22 | Rio Grande Valley FC Toros | Contract option declined/Free transfer |
| November 27, 2018 | Leonardo | DF | 30 | Orange County SC | Contract option declined/Free transfer |
| November 27, 2018 | Adolfo Machado | DF | 33 | The Strongest | Contract option declined/Free transfer |
| November 27, 2018 | Mac Steeves | FW | 24 | Hartford Athletic | Contract option declined |
| November 27, 2018 | Jared Watts | DF | 26 | Retired | Contract option declined |
| November 27, 2018 | Arturo Álvarez | MF | 33 | Retired | Contract expired |
| November 27, 2018 | Philippe Senderos | DF | 33 | FC Chiasso | Contract expired |
| November 30, 2018 | Andrew Wenger | DF/MF | 27 | Retired | |
| December 2, 2018 | Dylan Remick | DF | 27 | Retired | |
| December 11, 2018 | Eric Alexander | MF | 30 | FC Cincinnati | Selected in the 2018 MLS Expansion Draft |
| December 31, 2018 | Luis Gil | MF | 25 | Querétaro | End of loan |
| January 11, 2019 | Chris Seitz | GK | 31 | D.C. United | Traded for 2nd round pick in 2019 MLS SuperDraft |
| August 6, 2019 | Chris Duvall | DF | 27 | Oklahoma City Energy | Waived/Free Transfer |
| August 13, 2019 | Wilmer Cabrera | Manager | 51 | Montreal Impact | Sacked |

### MLS SuperDraft

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Age | College | Notes |
| 1 | 8 | Sam Junqua | DF | 22 | California | |
| 2 | 33 | Andrew Samuels | MF | 21 | Maryland | Signed with Houston's USL Championship affiliate club Rio Grand Valley FC |
| 3 | 56 | Brad Dunwell | DF | 22 | Wake Forrest | Signed with Houston's USL Championship affiliate club Rio Grand Valley FC |

## Coaching staff

    As of October 7, 2019
| Position | Name |
| Head Coach | Davy Arnaud (Interim Head Coach) |
| First Assistant Coach | Michael Dellorusso |
| Goalkeeper Coach | Paul Rogers |
| Sports Performance Director/Fitness Coach | Paul Caffrey |
| Assistant Fitness Coach | Steve Fell |
| Equipment Manager | Chris Maxwell |
| Assistant Equipment Manager | Eddie Cerda |
| Chief Medical Officer | David A. Braunreiter |
| Head Athletic Trainer | Chris Rumsey |
| Assistant Athletic Trainer | Casey Carlson |
| Head Physical Therapist | Nathan Hironymous |
| Massage Therapist | Wes Speights |

## Non-competitive
### Midseason friendlies

TBD

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

2019 MLS Western Conference standings :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 8 | San Jose Earthquakes | 34 | 13 | 16 | 5 | 51 | 52 | −1 | 44 |
| 9 | Colorado Rapids | 34 | 12 | 16 | 6 | 57 | 60 | −3 | 42 |
| 10 | Houston Dynamo | 34 | 12 | 18 | 4 | 45 | 57 | −12 | 40 |
| 11 | Sporting Kansas City | 34 | 10 | 16 | 8 | 49 | 67 | −18 | 38 |
| 12 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 34 | 8 | 16 | 10 | 37 | 58 | −21 | 34 |
* ↑ Canadian clubs could not qualify for the 2020 CONCACAF Champions League through MLS play.

##### Overall table

2019 MLS regular season standings :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 17 | Chicago Fire | 34 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 55 | 47 | +8 | 42 | |
| 18 | Montreal Impact (V) | 34 | 12 | 17 | 5 | 47 | 60 | −13 | 41 | 2020 CONCACAF Champions League |
| 19 | Houston Dynamo | 34 | 12 | 18 | 4 | 49 | 59 | −10 | 40 | |
| 20 | Columbus Crew SC | 34 | 10 | 16 | 8 | 39 | 47 | −8 | 38 | |
| 21 | Sporting Kansas City | 34 | 10 | 16 | 8 | 49 | 67 | −18 | 38 | |
* ↑ As 2019 Canadian Championship champions (CAN1)

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

As a member of MLS, the Dynamo will enter the competition at the fourth round, scheduled to be played on June 11, 2019.

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

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Total | MLS | MLS | MLS | US Open Cup | US Open Cup | US Open Cup | CONCACAF Champions League | CONCACAF Champions League | CONCACAF Champions League | Leagues Cup | Leagues Cup | Leagues Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists |
| 1 | GK | | Tyler Deric | 9 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | | Alejandro Fuenmayor | 12 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | | Adam Lundqvist | 29 | 0 | 4 | 28 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | | Juan David Cabezas | 19 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | | Aljaž Struna | 32 | 0 | 1 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | | DaMarcus Beasley | 18 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | | Memo Rodríguez | 28 | 7 | 5 | 26 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | | Mauro Manotas | 36 | 15 | 8 | 32 | 13 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | | Tomás Martínez | 37 | 7 | 4 | 33 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | | Tommy McNamara | 39 | 2 | 3 | 33 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | | Niko Hansen | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | | Chris Duvall | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | FW | | Christian Ramirez | 10 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | | Marlon Hairston | 18 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | | Maynor Figueroa | 29 | 0 | 3 | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | | Kevin Garcia | 16 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | FW | | Alberth Elis | 31 | 9 | 11 | 26 | 9 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | | José Bizama | 5 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | | Michael Salazar | 10 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | | A. J. DeLaGarza | 27 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | | Ronaldo Peña | 8 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | | Matías Vera | 36 | 1 | 1 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | GK | | Joe Willis | 31 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | | Darwin Cerén | 16 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | | Eric Bird | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | GK | | Michael Nelson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | | Boniek García | 37 | 0 | 1 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | | Erik McCue | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | DF | | Sam Junqua | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | | Romell Quioto | 23 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | FW | | Carlos Small | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source: Season Statistics and Match reports in Competitive
* ↑ Short term loan from RGVFC

### Disciplinary record

| No. | Pos | Player | Total | Total | MLS | MLS | US Open Cup | US Open Cup | CONCACAF Champions League | CONCACAF Champions League | Leagues Cup | Leagues Cup |
| 1 | GK | Tyler Deric | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Alejandro Fuenmayor | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Adam Lundqvist | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | Juan David Cabezas | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | Aljaž Struna | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | DaMarcus Beasley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Memo Rodríguez | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Mauro Manotas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | Tomás Martínez | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Tommy McNamara | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | Niko Hansen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | Chris Duvall | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | FW | Christian Ramirez | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | Marlon Hairston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | Maynor Figueroa | 7 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | Kevin Garcia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | Alberth Elis | 7 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | José Bizama | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | Michael Salazar | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | A. J. DeLaGarza | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | Ronaldo Peña | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | Matías Vera | 11 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | GK | Joe Willis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | Darwin Cerén | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | Eric Bird | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | GK | Michael Nelson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | Boniek García | 8 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | Erik McCue | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | DF | Sam Junqua | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | Romell Quioto | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | FW | Carlos Small | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source: Season Statistics and Match reports in Competitive