2007 Houston Dynamo season

Summary

The Dynamo entered 2007 as defending champions, having defeated the New England Revolution in MLS Cup 2006. The result qualified them for the 2007 CONCACAF Champions' Cup, their first continental tournament in franchise history. The Dynamo began their season in the Champions Cup; defeating Puntarenas F.C. in the quarterfinals before losing to C.F. Pachuca in the semifinals. Houston had a disappointing Open Cup, losing in the third round to the Charleston Battery. The Dynamo also competed in the inaugural North American SuperLiga, finishing top of the group before losing to Pachuca 4–3 on penalties in the semifinals.

In MLS play, Houston struggled early in the season, losing 5 of their first 8 matches. The Dynamo then went on an 11 match unbeaten streak, with 8 wins during the streak, helping them climb up to top of the table. Houston had 5 wins, 4 losses, 3 draws over their final 11 games, enough of a dip in form to let D.C. United win the Supporters' Shield by 3 points and Chivas USA claim the top seed in the Western Conference by 1 point.

In the MLS Cup Playoffs, Houston matched up with Texas Derby rivals FC Dallas in the Conference Semifinals. Dallas won the first leg 1–0 thanks to a goal from Clarence Goodson. Houston got off to a poor start, with Carlos Ruiz scoring in the 14th minute to put the Dynamo down 2–0 on aggregate. The game turned in the 47th minute when Arturo Álvarez was shown a red card for violent conduct. Stuart Holden and Brian Ching then scored once each to level the aggregate score and send the game to extratime. In extratime, Ching scored in the 97th and Brad Davis scored in the 100th minute to help Houston advance to the next round. Facing off with the Kansas City Wizards in the Conference Final, the Dynamo rode goals from Nate Jaqua and Dwayne De Rosario to a 2–0 win and a return to MLS Cup. However star striker Brian Ching left the game due to an injury that forced him to miss the final. Houston met the New England Revolution in MLS Cup 2007, a rematch of the 2006 final. Taylor Twellman gave the Revs the lead after scoring in the 20th minute. Houston responded in the second half when Joseph Ngwenya scored the equalizer in the 61st minute. In the 74th minute De Rosario headed in a Brad Davis cross to give the Dynamo a 2–1 lead. Houston held onto the lead, becoming the second team in MLS history to win consecutive MLS Cups.

As of 2024, this is the most recent MLS Cup victory for the Dynamo. The club would advance to two further MLS Cups in 2011 and 2012, losing both to the LA Galaxy. The Dynamo have added two additional trophies in its history with the 2018 and 2023 U.S. Open Cups.

Final roster

|MF |November 16, 1984 (23) |San Jacinto College |2007 |0

Player movement

In

Per Major League Soccer and club policies terms of the deals do not get disclosed.

Out

Friendlies

Carolina Challenge Cup

Wondolowski Moreno

Competitions

Major League Soccer

Main article: 2007 Major League Soccer season

Standings

Western Conference

Overall

• – Toronto FC cannot qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League through MLS. Rather, they can qualify through the Canadian Championship. If they had qualified for the Champions League through MLS, then the highest placed team not already qualified would have qualified.
• – The winner of the 2007 MLS Supporters' Shield (D.C. United) and the winner of MLS Cup 2007 (Houston Dynamo) qualified for the 2008 CONCACAF Champions' Cup and the 2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage. The runner-up of MLS Cup 2007 and the winner of the 2007 U.S. Open Cup (New England Revolution) qualified for the 2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League Preliminary Round. Because New England qualified twice, the additional berth in the preliminary round was awarded to the 2007 MLS Supporters' Shield runner-up (Chivas USA).

Matches

Robinson
Ching Suárez Parke
Altidore Robinson Rolfe
Carr
Gutiérrez Brown
Mastroeni
Casey
Ching
De Rosario
Davis Brennan
Eskandarian
Pozniak De Rosario
Holden
Cochrane Smith
Heaps Olsen
Kpene
Gros
Dyachenko De Rosario
Ngwenya
Onstad Thompson
Rhine
Wagenfuhr Holden
Cochrane Beckerman
Wingert Barros Schelotto Marshall Davis
Robinson Thomas Pitchkolan Robinson Ching
Holden De Rosario Thiago Jaqua
Ngwenya
Wondolowski Robinson Twellman
Joseph Ching
Ngwenya
Robinson Kotschau
Beckerman
Wingert De Rosario
Petke
Ihemelu
Prideaux Ngwenya
Waibel Ching
Jaqua Oduro Mullan Moreno
Barros Schelotto
Miglioranzi Mulrooney
Ianni De Rosario Johnson
Morsink Robinson
Ashe
Clark Espíndola
Mantilla
Talley
Brown Randolph
Vagenas Robinson
Mullan De Rosario
Robinson
Clark
Holden Glinton
Tudela
Cannon Movsisyan
Holden
Robinson Ianni
Mulrooney
Mullan

MLS Cup Playoffs

Main article: 2007 MLS Cup Playoffs

Goodson
Ricchetti
Oduro Robinson Holden Ching Onstad Davis De Rosario Sala Denílson C Gbandi Alvarez Serioux Moor Ricchetti De Rosario Marinelli
Arnaud Smith Ngwenya De Rosario

US Open Cup

Main article: 2007 U.S. Open Cup

Chin Dalglish

CONCACAF Champions' Cup

Main article: 2007 CONCACAF Champions' Cup

Quarterfinals

Waibel
Barrett Dalglish
Gray
Mullan
Wondolowski Rocella

Semifinals

Davis
Wondolowski Mosquera
Christian Giménez Cacho
Giménez (pen), (pen), Mullan
Robinson
Ching
Gray
Goldthwaite
Dalglish

SuperLiga

Main article: 2007 North American SuperLiga

Robinson
Mullan Argüello
Cabañas
Davino De Rosario
Mullan Cervantes
Batista
Martínez Mulrooney Kpene Ianni
Jaqua
Robinson
Mullan
Ashe
Ngwenya Álvarez
Cacho
Chitiva
Correa Wondolowski Mulrooney Ching Ngwenya Caballero Rey Álvarez Lugo

Player statistics

Appearances, goals, and assists

MLS Goal of the Week

Annual

Dynamo team awards

Uniforms

References

References

1. "Weekly Conference Standings".
2. "Houston Dynamo vs. FC Dallas Match Report – Friday November 2, 2007 (Leg 2)".
3. "Houston Dynamo vs. Kansas City Wizards Match Report – Saturday November 10, 2007".
4. (November 18, 2007). "Dynamo down New England, repeat as champs".
5. (2007-08-08). "Houston Dynamo: Roster: Main".
6. (January 12, 2007). "2007 MLS SuperDraft".
7. "2007 MLS Supplemental Draft".
8. (2007-01-30). "De Rosario shows up for Dynamo camp in shape".
9. (2007-04-19). "Dynamo to acquire Toronto's Mulrooney in trade".
10. (May 9, 2007). "Dynamo pick up F Ngwenya in trade with Crew - MLS - Yahoo Sports".
11. Fallas, Bernardo. (May 9, 2007). "Dynamo to deal Moreno to Crew; Ngwenya's coming".
12. (2007-07-03). "Dynamo deal Kelly Gray to L.A. for Nate Jaqua".
13. (2007-08-31). "DYNAMO NOTES: Team signs San Jac product".
14. (2006-11-18). "Dynamo, Serioux part".
15. (2007-02-27). "SOCCER NOTEBOOK: Ianni hitting field, books hard".
16. (2007-10-15). "DYNAMO NOTES: De Rosario to miss Real Salt Lake game".
17. "MLS Fact and Record Book".
18. "MLS Fact and Record Book".
19. "MLS Fact and Record Book".
20. "MLS Fact and Record Book".
21. "DYNAMO AWARDS".
22. (2007-04-29). "DYNAMO NOTES: Mulrooney gets acclimated".