While the Houston Dynamo continue to make strides in climbing back into the playoff picture, the San Jose Earthquakes remain on the hunt for an elusive victory.
The Earthquakes look to snap a six-game winless streak in Saturday night's matchup with the Dynamo, who head back to BBVA Compass Stadium off another encouraging result.
Though four points out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference, Houston (7-8-7) has picked up points in four of its last five MLS games. The Dynamo ended Sporting Kansas City's six-game home win streak in league play by earning a 1-all draw Saturday, shaking off an early goal with Ricardo Clark's tally in the 78th minute.
"We never put our heads down," forward Will Bruin said. "We kept battling and found a way to score and even it up and leave with a point."
On the down side, Clark sustained a hamstring injury on the goal that will sideline him Saturday while fellow midfielder Nathan Sturgis also won't play after receiving a red card. Bruin, Houston's leader with nine goals, and starting goalkeeper Tyler Deric are listed as questionable due to knee and foot injuries, respectively.
The Dynamo are expected to have midfielder Boniek Garcia back in action for the first time since he strained his adductor muscle in early June.
San Jose (7-9-5) is also coming off a somewhat positive performance, playing Portland to a scoreless draw Saturday after losing its previous four league matches.
"A point is better than the last month, so we're happy about that," coach Dominic Kinnear said after tying the Timbers. "We definitely had some chances. I thought we played better than we have in a while. That's the positive of it."
San Jose, shut out four times in its 0-5-1 stretch across all competitions, sits two points behind Houston in ninth place. It's managed three goals over that span, all from midseason acquisition Quincy Amarikwa, while allowing 12.
The Earthquakes' winless stretch includes a 2-0 home loss to Houston on July 10 which enabled the Dynamo to avenge a 1-0 defeat at BBVA Compass Stadium on May 5. Houston has gone 5-0-1 in six matches since, a stretch that includes two U.S. Open Cup games.
