Over the next month I will be putting out a series of previews for MLS (not The) this season. I know you are all wondering why should I care about MLS, however here are a couple facts to get you going.

• Since 2007 the league has gone from 13 to 24 teams (and counting)
• Last year MLS added a new team in LA owned by Will Ferrell, Magic Johnson, Nomar Garciaparra, and Mia Hamm!
• Soccer has the longest run time of the 4 major sports in 90 minutes, however because there’s no commercials the game only lasts 2 hours.
• Great players such as Josef Martinez, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Carlos Vela, and many many more come to a tv near you every week!
• ESPN+ has made it very easy to find each game every week.

Houston Dynamo

Owner: Gabriel Brenner, Oscar De La Hoya, Ben Guill, Jake Silverstein

Coach: Wilmer Cabrera

Previous Season Record: 10-16-8 9th in West

U.S. Open Cup 2018: Champions

Top Scorer: Mauro Manotas 19 Goals

Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium

2018 Recap

The Houston Dynamo are a team that most fans dismiss because they have never really had a star player. Their first two seasons in the league they won back to back championships, but since then they are very inconsistent. One season they will make the final game, the next they will miss the playoffs. 2017 they made the conference finals and 2018 well what do you know, they missed the playoffs.

Last season that is due to the lack of defense, because the offense had no problem scoring goals. In the second half of the season half the goals they gave up were in the 75th minute or later and 6 in stoppage time. That is never a formula to winning soccer. Another issue they had was no stability in the midfield, it seemed like they were a pass and run team last year, which only works if you have Josef Martinez and Miguel Almiron like Atlanta. So coach Cabrera seems to have gone into this off season with a plan to change that.

Off Season Transactions

* A couple things to highlight here

• Aljaz Struna was an under the radar pick up, however he has made many appearances for the Slovenian National team, and will bring stability to the back line.
• Tommy Mcnamara is a solid MLS player who can bring some excitement on the wings.
• A draft day trade brought Andrew Samuels Maryland National Championship Captain, to shore up the defense even more.
• Ronaldo Pena brings more forward depth.

2019 Outlook

Going into this new season it is clear they are trying to focus on defense. Yes they brought back USA legend Demarcus Beasley (for his 20th pro season), but he needs help. So they have Struna, Maynor Figueroa, and Andrew Samuels now to really shore up the team. This will make them much more well rounded and a very dangerous opponent in the western conference. I still think one issue that will pop up is the midfield because they did not add anyone of impact there. Unless coach Cabrera can figure that out they might have some issues.

I do think they will figure out the midfield, and not many teams could handle the speed and pressure Houston put on them last year. As long as the defense holds up this team could challenge for the title this year.