By Darbi Lockridge // @sonchyenne
I AM biased, but it seems that the Houston Dynamo often fail to get the coverage that they deserve in the wider soccer community. This is one of the reasons I was eager to cover my team for MLSFemale.
It’s not just me – evidence continues to pile up that the Dynamo simply aren’t getting a lot of respect with this season’s efforts. Last week, super-fan Web Tilton called out MLS on Twitter with one of their recent snubs, when a review indicated that there were three undefeated teams, ignoring the Dynamo’s undefeated record.
Even among the soccer locals, the team’s successes are misrepresented. As the Team Manager for my stepson’s U14 Dynamo affiliate team, I am often asked to hype upcoming matches to team parents.
Last week, I got the usual request from a staff member with a Quick Facts section ahead of the purchase link “Dynamo – W4-L1-T0”. I responded back asking if he’d like me to correct his error in the record before sending the email out. Last week we were 3-0-1! While I’m sure it was a simple oversight, this mistake stung. How can local soccer professionals overlook our team’s success as easily as national pundits?
Continuing into last weekend’s matches, one my favorite MLS contributors, Laura Gomez, submitted an article about the Dynamo’s Saturday win. The title of the article sounded more like the Dynamo were gifted a favor with the halftime weather delay.
“Weather delay gives Houston Dynamo chance to regroup for home win”
Called out for the slight on Twitter, Gomez indicated it was an editorial change to her original title. Perhaps the MLS editor didn’t understand that the delay applied to both the home team and the visiting San Jose Earthquakes?
My own coverage of Saturday’s Dynamo was challenging since my U14 team had their match at the same time as the Dynamo’s. Thanks to Univision, I was able to use my phone to stream the men in orange while keeping a close eye on my boys in orange. My husband caught me in full soccer-parent-multitasking mode!
The Dynamo first team prevailed 2-1 over the Quakes on Saturday (my U14s didn’t fare as well). Fans missed Memo Rodriguez in the starting 11, as his connection with Alberth Elis has been one of the driving forces behind this season’s offensive success. Elis proved his versatility, however, as he paired with Mauro Manotas with nearly as much ease, scoring an amazing goal in the 52nd minute.
While the Quakes answered back a few minutes later, the Dynamo’s Tomas Martinez scored the game winner just behind that – making for a most exciting 8 minutes of play! The rest of the match was chippy with a number of fouls (called and not – for both sides), culminating in a red card to the Quake’s Lopez in the final minutes for a hard challenge to Captain Boniek Garcia.
The Dynamo continue their unbeaten streak (don’t forget, MLS!) and travel for their second road match of the season to face the LA Galaxy this Friday night.
Featured image: @lesliecphotos
Follow and chat with me on Twitter // @sonchyenne
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