As the regular season comes to a close, the race for first place in the Western Conference is now closer than ever. Houston trails first place Chivas USA by four points in the standings with only two games left on the schedule for each team.
Thursday night's scoreless tie between Chivas USA and FC Dallas does not yet leave first place out of reach for Houston, but it does put Dynamo in a tight spot.
"More than anything, we want to get our minds right and to be in the best shape possible for playoffs," said Dynamo defender Eddie Robinson. "As everyone knows, at this point of the season anything can happen, and especially in soccer, so we will do everything we can to put ourselves in the best position."
In order to finish in first place, Chivas must lose their upcoming match to Colorado, and then fall again, this time against Houston on Saturday, Oct. 20. While Chivas will be playing on only two days' rest, Colorado is coming off of a 1-0 win over Toronto. If Chivas loses against Colorado, Houston can tie Real Salt Lake and still have a shot at first place. Assuming the aforementioned scenario occurs, if Houston beats Chivas on the 20th, both teams will finish the regular season with the same point total. Houston, however, will take first place in the final regular-season standings in the Western Conference because it owns the tiebreaker over the Red-and-White, thanks to a 2-0-0 record in their three-game series.
"All we can do is win. We would love to have home-field advantage, but if we have to settle for second place, then so be it. We'll just go out and do things the way we know how: always with respect but never with fear of our opponent" said Dynamo midfielder Stuart Holden.
The Dynamo are looking to get back on the winning track after a tough 2-1 loss against the Galaxy on Sunday, something the team was not contemplating heading into their last two games of the season.
"Losing to L.A. was definitely a setback," said Dynamo forward Brian Ching. "We did not expect to lose at home to the Galaxy, so I think it served as a wake-up call to the guys. We know we still have a chance to finish in first place and we'll try as hard as we can to win out."
