The Houston Dynamo are back on the road this week as they take on last year’s MLS Cup runner-up Toronto FC on Friday night (6:30 p.m., KUBE 57). It will be the club’s first trip to “The 6ix” in almost two years as they look for their first away points of the season.
In the way of the Men in Orange will be the one of the league’s star-studded trios in Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley and former MLS MVP Sebastian Giovinco. Dynamo goalkeeper Joe Willis, the starter in last year’s 1-1 tie against Toronto, knows the challenge of facing Toronto’s big three and is confident the defense is ready for Friday.
“They have a lot of dynamic players, a lot of players that can hurt you,” said Willis. “They’re a very attacking-minded team, so we’re going to have to be organized, we’re going to have to be disciplined, but at the same time we’re trying to get something out of the game. We need to go up there with the mentality that we can take three points, and that’s I think how you need to approach these games.”
The Dynamo collected the team’s first shutout of the season under head coach Wilmer Cabrera in Saturday’s 2-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes. Cabrera will look for his team to build off that defensive performance and translate that into crucial road points.
“It’s important not only for [the defense], but for the whole team,” said Cabrera. “Even for Erick Torres, who plays up front. He has the confidence that if we can hold the zero maybe we can create something up front and we are going to be able to win games that way. It opens and creates confidence for everyone.”
The Dynamo boast a powerful trident of their own on offense, and are the only team in the league to have three players with three or more goals. Together, Torres, Romell Quioto, and Alberth Elis account for 13 of the team’s 15 goals this season. Torres leads the league in goals, having scored his seventh of the season this past weekend. The striker – who also holds the scoring record for a Mexican-born player in MLS history – is confident the Dynamo get a positive result in Toronto.
“We are mostly concerned with playing our own game,” said Torres. “At the end, I think we have a good, competitive team to win away. It’s going to be an important game, a beautiful game that has to be enjoyed. We need to go with the mentality that we need to get the three points and that’s it.”
