With four of Houston Dynamo's veteran players representing their countries in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the Orange needed someone to step up and fill in the holes. Houston didn't get just one player to step up, but five, as goalkeeper Zach Wells, midfielders Corey Ashe and Stuart Holden, forward Chris Wondolowski and defender Patrick Ianni made their presence known in the five games Houston has needed them.
Dynamo have been on a five-game winning streak since the beginning of June and those five players have been part of the reason.
"Every time we give them a chance, especially these five games here, they've been great," said head coach Dominic Kinnear. "Stuart and Pat with the cross and the headers. That got us an extra three points. The second effort from Pat gives us a win. You look at the goal -- he just pursued the ball very aggressively and put a good header on it. With Rico [Clark] being gone, the schedule coming up is going to be really heavy, so we are going to use everybody."
Against Kansas City on Sunday, Ianni, who was making his first career start, scored in the 81st minute on a header after getting a cross from Holden off a corner kick. That goal proved to be the difference in the game.
Holden came up big earlier this month against Colorado, providing the game-winner for the Orange in a 2-1 win. Wells has won two games in the five-game winning streak, including his first career shutout against Chivas USA on Thursday.
"All of us are out there for the same reason to get a start and get a chance to play," Ashe said. "When we get out on the field, we want to make an impact. Stuart and Pat have done a great job and when they have gotten a chance, they have put them away. Dom and (John Spencer) are giving us the confidence we need and giving us the game experience that we need."
For the younger players, the best thing is they are helping the team win. They are getting experience, but Kinnear said the experience isn't the reason why they are playing.
"I don't look at it like we are giving these guys experience. I'm trying to win games," Kinnear said. "I don't say 'Hey, this is great because we're getting experience for these guys down the line.' You look at games game-by-game. I'm trying to put my best team on the field. I'm not putting a guy out there for experience, I'm putting him out there to win."
With midfielder Ricardo Clark missing from the Orange for Copa America, the younger players will get more time to show what they can do.
"We're obviously going to miss Rico and we're happy for his success," Ashe said. "Opportunities like this when the young guys get to play against each other is a time for us to prove ourselves to John and Dom and let them know that we are capable of getting out there and making a difference."
Jeremy Rakes is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
