The Houston Dynamo and Colorado Rapids both will be looking to bounce back from losses in U.S. Open Cup competition when they start the second half of their Major League Soccer schedules Saturday at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo.
Houston (7-6-4) is tied with Portland and FC Dallas for second place in the Western Conference with 25 points, five behind first-place Sporting Kansas City. Colorado (5-10-1) is last in the Western Conference with 16 points despite winning four of its last five at home.
Houston is trying to rebound from a 2-0 loss to Sporting KC in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 16. It was the team's first home loss of the season.
There was a controversial call that proved costly for Houston in the loss to Sporting KC. Memo Rodriguez got tripped up as he dribbled into the penalty area past Saad Abdul-Salaam. Replays showed contact, but instead of awarding Rodriguez a penalty kick, the referee whistled him for simulation and gave the ball to Sporting KC.
"It was an obvious PK that didn't even happen," Dynamo coach Wilmer Cabrera told the Houston Chronicle. "Even the player who caused the PK was walking off the field. He thought he got his second yellow card and a PK. Suddenly, I don't know how, the only one who saw differently was the referee. It was something that changed the whole game."
Colorado is coming off a 3-1 loss to FC Dallas in U.S. Open Cup competition. Shkelzen Gashi, Dillon Powers and Axel Sjoberg all left the game with injuries. All are questionable this weekend along with Bobby Burling.
"Injuries come ... but it is what it is," Colorado defender Dennis Castillo told MLSSoccer.com. "You have to adjust and adapt and kind of take the guys who come into those roles and keep playing -- put them in the right positions."
Michael Azira scored in the loss for Colorado. Azira, who will not play Saturday due to yellow card accumulation, thought his team played well until Powers and Sjoberg went down. The Rapids finished the match shorthanded after Gashi was lost in the final minutes and FC Dallas capitalized, adding a third goal in the 89th minute to put the game away.
"We had control of the game, then we lost some players due to injuries," Azira said. "That changes the plan and how you want to play on the road. It was bad for us."
