The Houston Dynamo have re-signed midfielder Eric Alexander, the club announced today.
Alexander, 29, joined the Dynamo in a trade with the Montreal Impact on July 22, 2016 and has appeared in 22 games with 14 starts over the last 18 months with the club. This season, Alexander appeared in 12 games with 11 starts and registered one assist
“We are pleased to have come to an agreement for Eric to return to the Houston Dynamo. As a free agent, he had quite a bit of interest from around the league but the fact that he chose to stay in Houston speaks to the positive direction the club is moving in,” said Dynamo Vice President and General Manager Matt Jordan. “His quality in possession and ability to dictate the rhythm of the game bring a different aspect to our team that was especially evident late in the year when he returned to the field.”
The Portage, Mich. native was a quiet but vital piece of the Dynamo’s resurgence in 2017. Alexander led the team in passing, completing 86.61 percent of his passes in the regular season. The midfielder has completed 84.65 percent of his passes overall in his eight-year career and has eight career goals and 22 assists in 191 career appearances.
“Eric Alexander is a very talented midfielder who is one of the best in terms of possession, vision, passing and accuracy; he brings those qualities in the middle of the field,” said Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera. “Although we were saddened when he was injured this season, we were very happy that he was able to return late in the year. Every time Eric is on the field we know that our possession and vision grows in all aspects.”
The midfielder suffered a strained MCL in his right knee on May 6 vs. Orlando City and was forced to miss five months while rehabbing, but returned to action on Sept. 23 at New York City FC and saw action in four games with three starts down the stretch. The team’s six-match unbeaten run to end the season coincided with Alexander’s return, and the Dynamo went 10-4-3 this season (including playoffs) when he was on the field.
With the addition of Alexander, the Dynamo now have 17 players under contract for the 2018 season.
HOUSTON DYNAMO PLAYERS CURRENTLY UNDER CONTRACT
| DEFENDERS (5) | |||||||
| No. | Player | Pos. | MLS Exp. | Age | Ht. | Wt. | FIFA Nationality |
| 3 | Adolfo Machado | DF | 1 | 31 | 6-0 | 160 | Panama |
| 4 | Philippe Senderos | DF | 1 | 32 | 6-2 | 181 | Switzerland |
| 16 | Kevin Garcia | DF | 1 | 26 | 6-0 | 185 | USA |
| 21 | George Malki | DF | 1 | 24 | 5-10 | 160 | USA |
| 22 | Leonardo | DF | 8 | 29 | 6-2 | 185 | Brazil |
| MIDFIELDERS (5) | |||||||
| No. | Player | Pos. | MLS Exp. | Age | Ht. | Wt. | FIFA Nationality |
| 5 | Juan David Cabezas | MF | 1 | 25 | 6-0 | 175 | Colombia |
| 6 | Eric Alexander | MF | 8 | 29 | 6-1 | 165 | USA |
| 18 | Memo Rodriguez | MF | 1 | 21 | 5-8 | 145 | USA |
| 25 | Tomás Martínez | MF | 1 | 22 | 5-9 | 145 | Argentina |
| 27 | Boniek García | MF | 6 | 33 | 5-9 | 150 | Honduras |
| 28 | Charlie Ward | MF | 1 | 22 | 5-8 | 168 | England |
| Arturo Álvarez | MF | 12 | 32 | 5-9 | 170 | El Salvador | |
| FORWARDS (5) | |||||||
| No. | Player | Pos. | MLS Exp. | Age | Ht. | Wt. | FIFA Nationality |
| 9 | Erick Torres | FW | 5 | 24 | 5-11 | 168 | Mexico |
| 11 | Andrew Wenger | MF | 6 | 26 | 6-0 | 185 | USA |
| 12 | Romell Quioto | FW | 1 | 25 | 5-11 | 170 | Honduras |
| 17 | Alberth Elis | FW | 1 | 20 | 6-0 | 165 | Honduras |
| 19 | Mauro Manotas | FW | 3 | 22 | 6-0 | 155 | Colombia |
TRANSACTIONS: The Houston Dynamo re-sign MF Eric Alexander.
