Elias Sports Bureau 'Insider's Edge': June 17

Richard Mulrooney

A typically sluggish 0-2-2 start left the Dynamo near the bottom of the Western Conference standings in mid-April. But last week, Houston capped a nine-game unbeaten streak (8-0-1) with three impressive wins over a span of nine days to surge into first place.


The Dynamo started their nine-day blitz with a 1-0 win over the Fire and followed that with a 1-0 victory over Chivas USA. In the second game, Houston became the first team ever to hold Chivas without a shot in the first half of a match. Those wins were noteworthy for several other reasons:


• Houston became only the fourth team in MLS history to win consecutive games against teams in sole possession of their conference lead and to do it via a pair of shutouts. Only the Rapids (in 2003 and 2007) and Dallas (2002) had done that previously.


• Stuart Holden became the fourth MLS player to score goals in 1-0 wins in two straight games, following Miklos Molnar (2000 Wizards), Carlos Ruiz (2002 Galaxy), and, most improbably, Gonzalo Segares (2005 Fire).


In the Dynamo's recent win, 3-1 at Dallas on Saturday night, they allowed only a cosmetic tally by Drew Moor in the 66th minute, after Houston had completed its scoring. That was the 11th consecutive match in which the Dynamo didn't allow a goal in the first half, breaking an MLS record set the Rapids in 2004. It was also the 10th straight game in which the Dynamo never trailed, one game short of the longest such streak in MLS history, set by D.C. United in 2006.


The importance of keeping a clean sheet in the first half is underlined by Houston's most impressive streaks. With Saturday's victory over Dallas, the Dynamo set an all-time MLS record for consecutive games without a loss after scoring the first goal (27). On a similar note, the Dynamo are undefeated in 37 regular-season games in which they led at halftime since moving to Houston in 2006 (31-0-6). And if you think that's something, the Earthquakes were unbeaten in the last 64 games in which they led at the half before leaving San Jose for Texas (55-0-9). So it's obvious that the task for any Dynamo opponent hoping to gain at least a point is to get an early lead-something no team has done against Houston since the first week of spring.


After consecutive MLS Cup victories in 2006 and 2007, followed by last season's first-place finish in the Western Conference, Houston's continued excellence belies the team's mediocre record in the SuperDraft. Although the Dynamo's backline includes several of the team's own draft picks, many are from the San Jose days: Wade Barrett (1998), Richard Mulrooney (1999), Eddie Robinson (2001), and Craig Waibel (2001). The Dynamo's only attacking player of note that was one of their own draft picks is Corey Ashe, an occasional starter in the Houston midfield.


But the explanation for Houston success can be found in Max Bretos's call of Cam Weaver's goal on Saturday night-the first of Weaver's two goals in the match. Bretos called Weaver "the latest player on the MLS scrapheap to resuscitate his career for Houston." A little melodramatic, perhaps, but also spot on.


The Dynamo have an outstanding record of unearthing talent that other teams failed to recognize or develop, dating back to the team's days in San Jose. The best example is Brian Ching, who played two seasons of A-League for the Sounders after eight unremarkable games with the Galaxy in 2001. Ching was one of only five MLS players to average 10 goals per season over the past five seasons (2004-2008). Brian Mullan, briefly one of Ching's teammates at LA (19 starts over two seasons), joined Ching in San Jose in 2003. Since then Mullan ranks third in MLS in starts as a midfielder, behind only Kyle Beckerman and Shalrie Joseph. Actually, he is tied for third with Ricardo Clark.


Clark was a #2 overall draft pick in 2003 by the MetroStars, who inexplicably shifted him between midfield and right back over two seasons before shipping him to San Jose for an allocation. That same season, the Earthquakes further bolstered their midfield with the acquisition of Brad Davis, who spent one season with the Metros and two with Dallas. Playing for the Quakes and Dynamo, Clark became a two-time MLS All-Star (2006-2007) who has earned 20 caps for the U.S. National team. (We promise not to discuss The Red Card.) Davis has developed into one of the best set-piece takers in MLS. His total of nine assists on corner kicks over the past four seasons is the highest in MLS during that time.


Then there's Bobby Boswell, the MLS Defender of the Year in 2006 who lost his starting spot a year later at D.C. United. When United needed a goalkeeper following the 2007 season and a three-way exchange with the Wizards and Galaxy fell through, Houston stepped in and stole Boswell for Pat Onstad's backup, Zach Wells. Over the past two seasons Boswell has played the full 90 in every Dynamo game except one, centering the backline on a team with the best goals-allowed average in the league during that time.

Two seasons ago, the Dynamo rummaged through Max's "MLS scrapheap" to unearth not just one, but two high-scoring strikers: Nate Jaqua and Joseph Ngwenya. Jaqua had scored only once in 10 games for the Galaxy and Ngwenya not at all in five games for the Crew before arriving at Houston. They accounted for a total of 13 goals over the remainder of the 2007 season, including eight of the Dynamo's last 21 goals during the surge to the playoffs. Jaqua scored the first goal in Houston's Conference Final win over the Wizards, and Ngwenya scored the first goal in its 2-1 victory in the MLS Cup Final.


Kei Kamara was the Dynamo's reclamation project in 2008. After a precocious start to his MLS career as a rookie for Columbus in 2006, Kamara arrived at Houston having scored only four goals in his last 35 matches for the Crew and the Earthquakes. But he has found the back of the net five times in 21 games for Houston.


So the antennae recently went up when the Dynamo announced the acquisitions of Weaver and Dominic Oduro within a span of two weeks, a pair of acquisitions that screamed-you guessed it-"scrapheap resuscitation." Oduro, who scored five goals for Dallas last season, saw action in only three games earlier this season for the league's lowest-scoring team (the Red Bulls), but has earned playing time in each of Houston's four games since his arrival. Last weekend, Oduro's vision and calmness on the ball started the sequence inside the 18-yard line that led to Weaver's second goal of the match. Keep your eye on him over the next few months.


Weaver began the season in the Earthquakes regular starting 11, even scoring a goal against the Dynamo on March 28, but lately had found himself on the San Jose bench. Enter Dynamo. In two games for Houston, Weaver has taken five shots, all on target, scoring twice. Resuscitation indeed. Or, as Max might otherwise put it, "Yehhhhhhhh-sss!"


Peter Hirdt is Vice President of the Elias Sports Bureau, Official Statistician of Major League Soccer.