Houston Dynamo FC stop the Locomotive in its tracks, defeating El Paso 4-1 to reach the U.S. Open Cup Round of 16

HOUSTON (April 15, 2026) – Houston Dynamo FC defeated USL Championship side El Paso Locomotive FC 4-1 at Shell Energy Stadium tonight to advance to the Round of 16 of the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

The Dynamo will next host another USL Championship side, Louisville City FC, in the Round of 16 on either April 28 or 29. The final match date and time will be confirmed this week, and fans can secure their tickets to the match via Tixr for as low as $5. 

The match was highlighted by three goal contributions from midfielder Ondřej Lingr, who scored his first goal of the year, while registering two assists. Forwards Ezequiel Ponce and Nick Markanich also recorded their first goals of the year.

Notably, Markanich, defender Agustin Resch and defender Sam Vines each made their first Dynamo starts tonight, while forward Aliyu Ibrahim and goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer made their first starts of the year.

The Dynamo took the lead early in the match in the second minute when Lingr fired a bicycle kick into the back of the net after Markanich delivered an accurate ball from the right side of the box. The play marked the American’s first assist of the year. 

Attacking midfielder Mateusz Bogusz doubled Houston’s lead 22 seconds into the second half with a right-footed strike inside the box that defected off an El Paso defender and into the back of the net, following a through ball from Lingr. The play marked Bogusz’s second goal of the year and Lingr’s first assist of the year. 

Houston extended their lead in the 58th minute when header from midfielder Héctor Herrera inside the box found Markanich for a left-footed volley that hit the bottom left corner for his first Dynamo goal. 

El Paso pulled one back in the 75th minute when former Dynamo player Roberto Avila found the bottom right corner from outside the box. 

Ponce scored Houston’s fourth and final goal of the night in the 80th minute with a header at the near post after a pinpoint cross from Bogusz.  

El Paso managed a shot on target in the 19th minute, with Gabriel Torres firing a shot across goal that hit off the far post. 

The Locomotive went down to 10 men in the 25th minute when Kofi Twumasi shoved Lingr to the ground while the Czech international was running into the box with the ball at his feet. 

Bogusz almost scored his second of the night in the 54th minute with a long-range shot that sailed over the crossbar. 

Aliyu found Ponce in the box in the 65th minute for a header that found the hands of the visiting goalkeeper. 

Houston returns to MLS play on Saturday, April 18, traveling east for an inter-conference matchup versus Orlando City SC at Inter&Co Stadium. Fans can watch the match live via Apple TV.