Dynamo FC head coach Ben Olsen, captain Héctor Herrera and defender Griffin Dorsey were named to the MLSSoccer.com Team of Matchday

 

     Photo credit: Oscar Herrera-SFL Staff Photographer

HOUSTON (Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023) - Houston Dynamo FC head coach Ben Olsen, captain Héctor Herrera and defender Griffin Dorsey were named to the MLSSoccer.com Team of Matchday for Matchday 33, the league announced today. The Dynamo defeated Vancouver Whitecaps FC 4-1 at Shell Energy Stadium on Wednesday and finished the evening in fourth place in the Western Conference.

 

Houston is now undefeated in its last seven league matches since July 15, reaching that milestone for the first time since August 2012. The Dynamo are top-five in the conference standings through at least 25 games for the first time since 2017. 

 

Herrera opened scoring in the 13^th minute, as the Dynamo captain’s free kick attempt from just outside the penalty box deflected into the back of the net off the Vancouver wall for his fourth goal of the season. The Mexican international also recorded his 14^th assist of the season, setting up forward Aliyu Ibrahim’s third goal of the season in the 84^th minute. Herrera now sits second in MLS in assists.

 

Dorsey netted his first goal of the season in the 44^th minute, charging into the box from the right side and threading a strike between defenders into the top far corner of the net. On the defensive end of the pitch, the 24-year-old won possession four times and tallied two clearances.

Olsen is the second Dynamo coach to be named to the Team of the Matchday, after assistant coach Brendan Burke served as the head coach during Houston’s 4-0 victory over LAFC on June 10 while Olsen served a one-game suspension for yellow-card accumulation.

Eleven Houston players have been named to the Team of the Matchday this season, including Herrera (Matchday 4, 15, 18, 20, 24, 29 and 33), Dorsey (Matchday 33), Ibrahim (Matchday 28), defender Franco Escobar (Matchday 7, 18 and 27), forward Corey Baird (Matchday 27), midfielder Adalberto “Coco” Carrasquilla (Matchday 27), forward Thor Úlfarsson (Matchday 20), goalkeeper Steve Clark (Matchday 11), defender Daniel Steres (Matchday 9), forward Amine Bassi (Matchday 7) and midfielder Artur (Matchday 5).

 

The Dynamo close the week in the Kansas City when they face Sporting KC at Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. CT. The team then travels to South Florida to take on Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final on Wednesday, Sept. 27.