The moment they stepped aboard their flight from San Jose, Costa Rica on Thursday afternoon, the Houston Dynamo forgot about Deportivo Saprissa.
They had to.
A 3-0 loss in the second game of their semifinal CONCACAF match put them out of the tournament. They gave it all they had. They lost.
Injuries, suspensions, a tough schedule -- all of it took its toll on the defending champions and now the team turns its focus to another tough match. Saturday, the Dynamo will square off against the Kansas City Wizards, a team the Dynamo eliminated from the postseason a year ago in the Western Conference Championship.
Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear said there will be much on the line when the two teams meet for the first time in 2008.
"Saturday's match is going to be about two teams that got beat this week," Kinnear said "And both teams will be trying to correct their mistakes from the day before."
The Wizards became the last team to lose a game in 2008 when they dropped a 3-1 decision in poor weather to the defending Eastern Conference Champions, the New England Revolution.
Kansas City is now tied with the Revs for first in the East and will have home-field advantage at their new home of CommunityAmerica Ballpark.
"It's going to be a good game and they are obviously a very good team," said Dynamo midfielder Corey Ashe. "They are a great team even though they lost Eddie Johnson who is a really good player.
"They picked up some pretty good players and it is going to be a good match because that is the team we beat in the West finals. It's going to be a tough test, but the main thing that we are concerned with is just how we're going to play."
Both teams are battling injuries, but things are getting better for the Dynamo who have been banged up from the get-go.
Goalkeeper Pat Onstad will not play and is still nursing a right shoulder injury. Tony Caig will get the start in goal for the Dynamo. Eddie Robinson, who injured his left leg at the end of last Sunday's 3-3 tie against FC Dallas could play, and Stuart Holden, who is nursing a left ankle, did practice Friday and could see some time if needed.
"We are starting to get some guys back that could really help us," Kinnear said. "Brian (Mullan) got some good minutes (against Saprissa), Brad (Davis) got some good minutes and Stewie (Holden) trained (Friday), but Eddie (Robinson) is still a question for Saturday. Pat (Onstad) isn't going to play, but Bobby Boswell (suspension) is back in the mix.
"It's never good to have guys sit out with injuries, but it allowed for guys like Corey (Ashe), Pat Ianni and Geoff (Cameron) to get quality minutes in a pressure-packed situation.
Speaking of Ashe, who assisted on the Dynamo's first MLS goal of the season when Franco Caraccio headed home his cross for a 1-0 lead, the second-year player said Saturday is a great time for the team to put the early troubles behind them.
"It's going to be a tough test, but the main thing that we are concerned with is just how we're going to play," Ashe said. "We're coming off another loss and the season is not really going how we want it to go right now. We are just going to focus on playing good soccer and I think if we do that and play the way we are capable of playing, we are going to be fine."
The Wizards have never beaten the Dynamo at home and are just 1-2-1 against Houston all time during the regular season. In fact the home team has yet to win a league game in the all-time series between the two clubs. Houston's 2-0 win in the West final a year ago was the first home victory of any kind in the all-time series, including the postseason.
Kinnear said the Wizards, who will be playing their last home game for two months, will be a worthy test and will be ready to play his team after Kansas City's tough home loss Wednesday.
"There are a lot of new faces over there," Kinnear said. "We've seen them play and they vary their systems and they play with a very high level of confidence, whether they are at home or away.
"And they have good people that can come off the bench and help them late like they did against Colorado (a 3-2 win). There are some new faces, but the continuity and the confidence they showed last year has grown this year, and they are playing in a new stadium. The atmosphere there is going to be good and everything is kind of new, that way."
Andrew J. Ferraro is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
