HOUSTON DYNAMO v CLUB AMERICA
Group Stage - GROUP B - Match 4
Wednesday, July 25, 2007 - 8 p.m. CT
Robertson Stadium, Houston, Texas
REFEREE: Samir Osman (EGY)
ASSISTANT REFEREES: Fabio Tovar (USA); George Vergara (USA)
FOURTH OFFICIAL: Mark Geiger (USA)
The defending champion of Major League Soccer, Houston Dynamo, take on one of the storied names in Mexican football when they play Club América in their SuperLiga opening match. Dynamo have been one of the hottest teams in MLS over the past few months, while in the 2007 Clausura, América were tied for the second-best record with 29 points from 17 matches and reached the Liguilla final, losing 3-2 on aggregate to Pachuca.
Houston Dynamo
Houston Dynamo have the best record in Major League Soccer with 33 points from 19 matches. They have not lost in their last 11 league games (eight wins, three draws) after a 3-3 tie with the New England Revolution that saw their league-record shutout streak come to an end. Dynamo had gone 726 minutes (since June 10) without allowing a goal before New England scored their first. Brian Ching scored two goals in the draw, now giving him four goals in five matches since returning from the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Club América
Club América have been preparing for the upcoming Apertura 2007 in the United States, where they lost 2-1 to Chelsea on July 14, and played two matches in the Copa Panamericana, defeating Alianza Lima (Peru) 2-0 and losing 1-0 to eventual runner-up Boca Juniors of Argentina. América saw Cuauhtémoc Blanco move to the Chicago Fire since the end of the past season, but have made some high-profile additions, including forwards Federico Insúa (Argentina) and Rodrigo López (Uruguay) and midfielder Lucas Castroman (also Argentina).
State of Play: Group B
Also this evening, D.C. United and Monarcas Morelia will begin their SuperLiga campaign when they face each other at RFK Stadium. On July 29, the MLS and Primera División sides will exchange, as D.C. United will take on Club América and Monarcas Morelia will travel to Houston to face Dynamo. On August 1, the group stage will conclude when Houston Dynamo plays host to D.C. United and Club América and Monarcas Morelia play at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill.
