they lost just twice from June 18 to Sept. 30 -- but Dynamo went undefeated over their final six games to hold onto second in the West. "Any team can beat any team in this league any day," Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear said. "I look at the team that we have and feel very confident with the way we're stepping in, but obviously, you have to respect Chivas and the weapons they have in Garcia and (forward Ante) Razov and Bornstein." ... Nearly the entire Dynamo roster was with the San Jose Earthquakes a year ago, who went out of the playoffs in a 4-2 loss on aggregate to Los Angeles in the conference semifinals after winning the Supporters' Shield. "The playoffs are like a whole new season," Dynamo defender Kelly Gray told the Houston Chronicle. "It doesn't matter who was good throughout the year. It's whoever's good on that day. It's about who comes with the attitude, who comes wanting to win." ... Though the teams played to a goalless draw in their last meeting, the first three games were all open affairs. "We've had pretty interesting games with them. It's been pretty exciting," Houston forward Alejandro Moreno said. "They like to attack, and so do we. We just have to go there and get a good result so we can finish it when we come back here." ... Dynamo's only real injury concern is midfielder Brian Mullan, who is suffering from a medial collateral ligament sprain in his right knee but should be available for the first leg. ... Dynamo's output in the final game was their biggest since July 15, when they scored three goals in back-to back games (including against Chivas). "I think it's a good matchup for us. I think it's a team that likes to play soccer as opposed to a couple other teams in our division that like to delay the game a little bit," Craig Waibel said. "I think we've played a little better throughout the year."
