HOUSTON (March 8, 2026) – Houston Dynamo 2 secured a dominant 4-0 victory over Tacoma Defiance at SaberCats Stadium tonight, highlighted by a brace from Dynamo Academy midfielder Mattheo Dimareli.
The result marked Houston’s second clean sheet of the season after holding the visitors to just one shot on target from eight total attempts. Notably, Tacoma failed to register a shot in the first half, while Houston recorded eight.
Tonight’s match featured two first team players in the starting lineup, including forward Nick Markanich, who made his Dynamo 2 debut today, and goalkeeper Blake Gillingham, who made one appearance for the team last season and recorded seven saves. Defender Agustin Resch, defender Vinicius Rodrigues da Silva and attacker Tomáš Wiesner also made their Dynamo 2 debuts, while forward Austin Brummett made his first start for the squad.
Dynamo 2 took the lead in the 41st minute following a combination play between Brummett, Markanich and Dimareli. The sequence began with Markanich controlling the ball on the right flank and dribbling towards the edge of the box before playing a quick one-two with Brummett. Markanich then found Dimareli inside the box, who finished with his left foot.
Dimareli then completed his first career MLS NEXT Pro brace in first-half stoppage time when Markanich again found the 16-year-old inside the box for a close-range finish. The pass also marked Markanich’s second assist of the night.
Dos tripled their lead in the 77th minute when midfielder Diego Gonzalez delivered a free kick from the left side of the box, finding defender Gavin Wolff for a header towards the bottom right corner. The play marked Wolff’s first professional goal and Gonzalez’s first assist of the season.
Brummett scored Houston’s fourth and final goal in the 82nd minute, finishing with a first-time strike for his first professional goal following a pass from Silva, his first professional assist.
Dynamo 2’s first dangerous chance came in the 23rd minute when Brummett found Markanich near the box for a right-footed strike that missed the near post by inches.
Brummett almost extended Dos’ lead in the 52nd minute with a left-footed shot from the center of the box that sailed over the crossbar.
Dos next host Portland Timbers2 on Sunday, March 15, with kickoff scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CT at SaberCats Stadium.
