HOUSTON (Sept. 21, 2025) – Houston Dynamo 2 earned a crucial three points at SaberCats Stadium this evening, with a 3-1 victory over Portland Timbers2, powered by goals from defenders Juan Viveros and Omar Flores, and midfielder Mattheo Dimareli.
Houston is just two spots and one point behind the playoff line with one regular season match remaining in their push for the MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs.
Dynamo Dos opened the scoring in the 27th minute when Dimareli fired a shot from outside the box and found the bottom right corner for his fourth goal of the season. Notably, forward Tomás Romero recorded his first assist in MLSNP on the play.
Flores doubled Dos’ lead in the 61st minute with a right-footed volley that found the top left corner. The play began with a corner kick delivered by Dimareli, which was deflected off the head of a Portland defender and fell to the 16-year-old Flores at the back post for his first professional goal.
Dynamo 2 extended the lead in the 68th minute when midfielder Lionel Gitau blew past a Portland defender on the right side of the box and delivered a low driven cross to the back post, where Viveros tapped in the ball for his third goal of the season. Gitau recorded his second assist of the season on the play.
Portland pulled one back in the 85th minute when Jacob Izoita found the back of the net from oustide the box.
Houston created their first dangerous chance in the second minute of the match when midfielder Sebastian Rodriguez found midfielder Enrique Correa at the back post for a volley that forced visiting goalkeeper Maximilian Deisenhofer into a diving save.
Rodriguez came close to putting Dynamo 2 ahead in the seventh minute with a long distance strike that left Deisenhofer rooted to the ground but struck the right bar of the goal frame.
In the 19th minute, Dimareli delivered a corner to the center of the box that found Viveros, whose header just sailed over the crossbar.
Goalkeeper Pedro Cruz was called into action in the 42nd minute when the Brazilian got low to safely secure a long distance shot from Noah Santos. The shot stopper finished the night with three saves.
Forward Joshua Bolma had a shot on goal in first half stoppage time after Dimareli played him on the right flank, where he dribbled his way into the box and forced a diving save from the visiting goalkeeper.
Forward Stephen Annor nearly put his name on the scoring sheet in the 71st minute when he found space on the right side of the goal and fired a powerful shot that beat Deisenhofer but struck the crossbar.
Cruz delivered another save in the 73rd minute, reacting quickly and coming off his line to deny Mataeo Bunbury’s shot with his feet.
Dynamo 2 next travel to face Tacoma Defiance on Sunday, Oct. 5, on Decision Day, with kickoff scheduled for 3:00 p.m. CT at Starfire Sports Complex. Fans can tune in to the live action via MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
