Dynamo head coach Ben Olsen talks about Sunday's game

Photo credit: Xavier Rosales, SFL Staff Photographer

HOUSTON (Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023) – Houston Dynamo FC defeated Sporting Kansas City 1-0 in front of a sell-out crowd at Shell Energy Stadium tonight to advance to the Audi MLS Cup Western Conference Final. The Dynamo will travel to face LAFC or Seattle Sounders on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 8:30 p.m. CT. After the win, we spoke with head coach Ben Olsen about Sunday's match and the season.. 

Thoughts about the match

“It was a fun night, we played at such a high level for most of the night. We didn’t reward ourselves with a second goal, but we got plenty of looks. On the defensive end, the times they were dangerous we had Steve (Clark) there to bail us out. Micael with the block towards the end and Erik (Sviatchenko) on the goal line. This game showed who we are this year.” 

 

When asked about playing on the road

“I like to put our road performance in two halves. The first half of the season was very difficult for us. But in the second half, there were some games where we earned some real results going away and we won games in different ways. There's Salt Lake or even the Open Cup final and in LA. They weren't in our second half, but our away record was pretty good. So, we have confidence that we can go up and pull something off in LA or in Seattle.They are both tough games when you go away, both were very difficult. But again, I wouldn't count us out.” 

 

When asked about expectations of the season

“I think we’ve been used to that standard all year. We've been that dark horse. Even when we get compliments, it still hurts sometimes. We hear stuff and it's good, however we're still in that space where we're trying to prove to everyone that we're real. This helps though, it puts us on the map a little bit more. Now we’re two games away (from a championship), and I don't think the money is going to be on us, especially going away to LA or Seattle. But that's okay, we can live with that. We've punched above our weight, and hopefully we can do it again another time here next week.” 

The Western Conference Final will stream live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV on Dec. 2. The Club will host watch parties throughout Houston and additional information will be available on HoustonDynamoFC.com.