Houston Dynamo FC to play in their first full-capacity game since March 2020

Houston Dynamo FC visit Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday prior to the first FIFA break of the regular season. Houston will face Sporting Kansas City for the second time this month and look to maintain momentum after Saturday’s 2-1 victory at home.

Houston midfielder Memo Rodriguez capitalized on a loose ball in the box for the first goal of the evening against the ‘Caps. The Dynamo Academy alum found Maxi Urruti at the far post on a corner kick to double Houston’s lead and secure three points at home. Rodriguez earned MLSSoccer.com Team of the Week honors after his performance on Saturday and looks to lead the Dynamo to their first victory away from BBVA Stadium this season.

The Dynamo took all three points in the first meeting between both teams on May 12 with a 1-0 victory. Urruti scored the game-winning goal and the Argentine forward currently leads the team in goals with three.

Sporting Kansas City will host its first full-capacity game on Saturday, its first full-capacity event since March 7, 2020 when Peter Vermes and his squad defeated Houston 4-0. Since then, Houston has a 3-2-0 record against Kansas City.

The Dynamo split the series with Kansas City in 2020 by winning two of four matches. The first victory came in a seven-goal shootout on Aug. 25, the first victory for the Dynamo under head coach Tab Ramos. Houston faced Sporting less than two weeks later and earned three points after a 2-1 victory at BBVA Stadium. The Dynamo enter Saturday’s game with an edge in the all-time series with a 13-10-13 record against Kansas City and Houston have a 5-5-7 record on the road against Sporting.

The Dynamo return to MLS action on June 19 against Carlos Vela, Diego Rossi and LAFC at Banc of California Stadium. The match will air live on QuestTexas ch. 55 in English and TeleXitos 47.2 in Spanish.

Here are three key points ahead of Saturday’s game:     

1. DYNAMO LOOK FOR FIRST VICTORY AWAY FROM HOME: The Dynamo will have to adjust to life on the road as three of the next four games are away from BBVA Stadium. This is the second longest road stretch for the Dynamo who will travel in five out of six games from July 7 through Aug. 7. The Dynamo struggled on the road in 2020 and only claimed one victory away from Houston in the abbreviated season. That lone victory came at Children’s Mercy Park and the Dynamo look for their first back-to-back victories in Kansas since the 2006 and 2007 season. This weekend is the first of two trips to Children’s Mercy Park this year and the Dynamo return to Kansas City on Oct. 3.
   
2. FINAL TEST BEFORE FIFA BREAK: Three Dynamo players will depart for international duty after Saturday as the league takes a break for the first international window of the regular season. Dynamo midfielder Boniek Garcia and defender Maynor Figueroa will join Honduras for the Concacaf Nations League finals in Denver from June 3-6. The duo will face the U.S. Men’s National Team in the first semifinal of a doubleheader on June 3 to earn a berth in the championship of the inaugural tournament. Zarek Valentin joins Puerto Rico for a pair of 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers and can make his debut on June 2 against the Bahamas. The trio will return to Houston prior to June 19’s match against Los Angeles Football Club at Banc of California Stadium.
   
3. KANSAS CITY KEEPS PACE WITH SEATTLE: Kansas City enters the game with the second-best record in the Western Conference at 4-2-1 and Sporting are unbeaten at home with a 2-0-1 record. Kansas City has won three out of their last four games and have earned six points in their last two matches. Sporting blanked the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-0 on May 16 and earned three points on the road against San Jose with a 3-1 victory. Sporting will look to keep pace with the first place Seattle Sounders FC  over the next month as they host four out of their next five matches at Children’s Mercy Park.