As a soccer player, Stuart Holden has grown up as a member of the Houston Dynamo. He started just three games during the team's 2006 inaugural season and by this year became the key to the team's plan to replace the since-departed Dwayne De Rosario.
He has moved from being a reserve player on the league's top team to a regular selection on the U.S. national team during his time in Houston. And now, Holden and his teammates are just days away from hosting their second leg playoff match against Seattle Sounders FC.
The Dynamo are hoping Holden's experience as a member of the Orange will help them get past a first-round upset last year at the hands of the New York Red Bulls. Obviously the loss to New York was a long time ago, but it keeps following the team.
Houston was, after all, one of the favorites to get to the title game in 2008. They had a chance to make history as the first team to win three consecutive titles, only to lose 3-0 at home after forcing a 1-1 draw at Giants Stadium in their Western Conference Semifinal Series.
"Losses always hurt no matter what kind of game it is, but they are always fresh in your mind," said Holden. "When you lose in the playoffs, everyone has the same sick feeling in the locker room. It was terrible that we were knocked out in the first round last year, but it is not something that we think about every day. And it is not something that leaves us saying 'Oh, we can't go in and do what we did last year,' it's gone.
"That is in the past and we can't change it. Right now, we are just focused on now and making sure that we keep the same level of concentration, determination and effort that we had in the first leg. We know that if we do, we should be able to leave with a good result."
Holden and Brian Ching were chosen to address the media earlier this week to talk about the home portion of their semifinal series. Both will need to bring their best Sunday against a Sounders FC team that is gifted both up front and defensively, just like the Dynamo.
In fact, this series might be the most evenly matched of all the playoff openers.
Ching told reporters that last year's loss to the Red Bulls was painful, and that if the team plays like it did in the 0-0 draw last week in Seattle, the team won't have to worry about answering any more questions about what could have been against New York.
"I am still hurting from that loss," said Ching. "It is still fresh in my mind, but as a team, we have not talked about it much. Our main focus is how we are playing now and I think after the first leg game against Seattle, we came into the locker room and said if we bring that determination and that mindset back home, we'll probably win this series. That is our focus.
"We don't want to stress (out) about (past failures). I think it is good because we feel loose and ready. We are excited about getting the chance to come home and redeem ourselves from the year before."
Even before the first leg, Holden said the team held a meeting where everyone got a chance to talk. But what stood out to him, what made the most impact, was when the veterans shared their past playoff experiences and what set apart the glorious wins from the painful losses.
The Red Bulls match from 2008 wasn't the focus of the meeting. Instead, said Holden, the team talked about what it takes to win and the sacrifices that have to be made for the duration of the postseason.
"But what it all comes down to is that now is a really good time to clamp down, because the reward at the end of it is endless," said Holden. "It's memories that last a lifetime. So if you can sacrifice four weeks of your life, where you are focused 100 percent on what you need do both on and off the field, you can be a championship team and feel what it is like to be a champion.
"I think that is the message that is conveyed to the younger guys. That was the message that was conveyed to me at the beginning of my time here at the Dynamo. It's an exciting time."
Andrew J. Ferraro is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
