Houston Dynamo season 2006

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Houston Dynamo
Season 2006
Manager Dominic Kinnear
Chairman Philip Anschutz
League Major League Soccer
Final league position 2nd, West (11-8-13)
MLS Cup W Conference Semifinal
W Western Conference
W MLS Cup 2006
U.S. Open Cup Semifinals
Carolina Challenge Cup Winners
Top goalscorer Brian Ching (11)
Dwayne De Rosario (11)
← Previous season
Inaugural
Next season →
2007

The 2006 Houston Dynamo season was the ignaural season of the club.

The team was created on December 15, 2005 when the San Jose Earthquakes were relocated, due to owner AEG's failure to secure a soccer-specific stadium. Even though all of San Jose's players and coaches moved to Houston, the team's name, logo, history and statistics were not transferred and remain inactive in San Jose thus making the Dynamo a new team, similar to the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL.

Contents

[edit] First Season

Houston Dynamo vs Colorado Rapids on April 2, 2006
Houston Dynamo vs Colorado Rapids on April 2, 2006

The Dynamo played their first game on April 2, 2006. Amidst a crowd of 25,462 people in Robertson Stadium, the Dynamo beat the Colorado Rapids 5–2. Brian Ching led the charge for the Dynamo with four goals, all of which were set up with assists from teammate Dwayne De Rosario. In stoppage time, Alejandro Moreno scored MLS' Goal of the Week with a game-clinching bicycle kick. On May 6, 2006, the Houston Dynamo won their first intrastate rivalry game against FC Dallas, 4–3 at Robertson Stadium.

The Dynamo finished their first season in Houston with an 11-8-13 record, good for second place in the Western Conference. They lost the first game of the two-legged conference semifinal to C.D. Chivas USA, 2-1, on October 22 in Los Angeles. Chivas goalkeeper Brad Guzan stopped De Rosario on a penalty kick that could have tied the match.

In the second leg on October 29, Houston defeated Chivas USA 2-0 at Robertson Stadium, advancing in dramatic fashion. After a red card to Chivas' Juan Francisco Palencia, Houston's Brad Davis converted a second-half penalty kick to tie the aggregate score. With the match in second-half stoppage time, Brian Ching headed in the winning goal from close range to delight the crowd of more than 17,000.

On November 5, 2006, the Dynamo defeated the Colorado Rapids 3-1 in the Western Conference final to earn a spot in its first MLS Cup. Scottish forward Paul Dalglish scored twice in front of an MLS Cup Playoffs-high crowd of 23,107.

Paul Dalglish holds the trophy after the MLS Cup victory
Paul Dalglish holds the trophy after the MLS Cup victory

On November 12, 2006, the Dynamo defeated the New England Revolution 4-3 on penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie to win the 2006 MLS Cup held at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. The game was scoreless until the second session of extra time, when New England's Taylor Twellman scored. Only one minute and six seconds later, Brian Ching headed in the tying goal for Houston, and the championship was, for the first time in MLS history, decided by a shootout. Substitutes Kelly Gray and Stuart Holden made Houston's first two penalty kicks, and standouts Dwayne De Rosario and Brian Ching made the last two. Ching's gave Houston a 4-3 lead, and goalkeeper Pat Onstad stopped New England's Jay Heaps on the final attempt to secure the win.

With the win, the Dynamo advanced to the 2007 CONCACAF Champions' Cup.

[edit] 2006 SuperDraft

Round/Pick Player Position College
1/8 Patrick Ianni Defense UCLA
3/32 Andre Schmid Forward St. John's
4/98 Mike Chabala Midfielder Washington

[edit] 2006 Dynamo Squad

This is the final roster for the Houston Dynamo at the end of the 2006 Season.

No. Position Player
1 Flag of the United States GK Zach Wells
2 Flag of the United States DF Eddie Robinson
3 Flag of the United States DF Kevin Goldthwaite
4 Flag of the United States DF Chris Aloisi
5 Flag of the United States DF Ryan Cochrane
6 Flag of the United States DF Kelly Gray
7 Flag of the United States MF Chris Wondolowski
8 Flag of Scotland FW Paul Dalglish
9 Flag of the United States MF Brian Mullan
11 Flag of the United States MF Brad Davis
12 Flag of the United States FW Julian Nash
13 Flag of the United States MF Ricardo Clark
14 Flag of Canada MF Dwayne De Rosario
No. Position Player
15 Flag of Venezuela FW Alejandro Moreno
16 Flag of the United States DF Craig Waibel
17 Flag of the United States MF Mike Chabala
18 Flag of Canada GK Pat Onstad
19 Flag of the United States DF Patrick Ianni
21 Flag of the United States MF Aaron Lanes
22 Flag of the United States MF Stuart Holden
23 Flag of South Africa MF Mpho Moloi
24 Flag of the United States DF Wade Barrett (captain)
25 Flag of the United States FW Brian Ching
26 Flag of the United States FW Marcus Storey
30 Flag of the United States GK Martin Hutton

[edit] Uniforms

[edit] Season schedule and standings

[edit] Regular Season

Date Opponent Result Game site Attendance
April 2, 2006 Colorado Rapids W, 5-2 Robertson Stadium 25,462
April 8, 2006 Kansas City Wizards L, 2-1 Robertson Stadium 20,342
April 15, 2006 @ D.C. United L, 2-0 RFK Stadium 15,015
April 22, 2006 Real Salt Lake W, 2-1 Robertson Stadium 16,904
April 29, 2006 @ Colorado Rapids W, 1-0 INVESCO Field 7,225
May 6, 2006 FC Dallas W, 4-3 Robertson Stadium 21,448
May 13, 2006 @ FC Dallas T, 1-1 Pizza Hut Park 12,756
May 20, 2006 Chicago Fire L, 1-0 Robertson Stadium
May 27, 2006 @ New England Revolution T, 1-1 Gillette Stadium 10,882
June 3, 2006 Los Angeles Galaxy W, 2-1 Robertson Stadium 14,215
June 10, 2006 @ New York Red Bulls T, 1-1 Giants Stadium 9,617
June 17, 2006 Real Salt Lake W, 2-1 Robertson Stadium 13,824
June 24, 2006 @ Los Angeles Galaxy T, 0-0 Home Depot Center 17,485
June 28, 2006 @ Chivas USA T, 1-1 Home Depot Center 9,689
July 4, 2006 Columbus Crew T, 1-1 Robertson Stadium 8,497
July 8, 2006 Chivas USA W, 3-1 Robertson Stadium 11,735
July 15, 2006 @ Kansas City Wizards W, 3-2 Arrowhead Stadium 8,196
July 22, 2006 New England Revolution T, 1-1 Robertson Stadium 10,210
July 26, 2006 @ Colorado Rapids L, 1-0 INVESCO Field 4,220
July 29, 2006 New York Red Bulls W, 2-1 Robertson Stadium 10,334
August 9, 2006 Los Angeles Galaxy L, 1-0 Reliant Stadium 70,550
August 12, 2006 FC Dallas W, 1-0 Robertson Stadium 10,964
August 19, 2006 @ Real Salt Lake L, 3-1 Rice-Eccles Stadium 14,091
August 26, 2006 @ Chivas USA L, 3-2 Home Depot Center 13,665
August 30, 2006 @ Chicago Fire T, 2-2 Toyota Park 7,858
September 2, 2006 @ FC Dallas L, 1-0 Pizza Hut Park 14,316
September 10, 2006 @ Los Angeles Galaxy W, 2-1 Home Depot Center 20,145
September 17, 2006 Chivas USA T, 0-0 Robertson Stadium 15,510
September 23, 2006 @ Columbus Crew T, 1-1 Columbus Crew Stadium 11,878
September 30, 2006 D.C. United W, 1-0 Robertson Stadium 20,029
October 7, 2006 @ Real Salt Lake T, 1-1 Rice-Eccles Stadium 22,515
October 14, 2006 Colorado Rapids T, 3-3 Robertson Stadium 17,191

[edit] Postseason

Date Opponent Result Game site Attendance
Conference Semifinals
October 22, 2006 @ Chivas USA L, 2-1 Home Depot Center 15,110
October 29, 2006 Chivas USA W, 2-0 Robertson Stadium 17,440
Western Conference Final
November 5, 2006 Colorado Rapids W, 3-1 Robertson Stadium 23,107
MLS Cup 2006
November 12, 2006 New England Revolution W, 1-1(4-3 in PKs) Pizza Hut Park 22,427

[edit] Western Conference Standings

Western Conference
Place Team P W L T GF GA GD Points
1 y-FC Dallas 32 16 12 4 48 44 +4 52
2 x-Houston Dynamo 32 11 8 13 44 40 +4 46
3 x-C.D. Chivas USA 32 10 9 13 45 42 +3 43
4 x-Colorado Rapids 32 11 13 8 36 49 -13 41
5 Los Angeles Galaxy 32 11 15 6 37 37 0 39
6 Real Salt Lake 32 10 13 9 45 49 -4 39

x-Clinched Playoff Spot; y-Conference Champion

[edit] MLS Playoffs 2006

[edit] Conference Semifinals
October 22, 2006 Houston Dynamo 1–2 C.D. Chivas USA Home Depot Center: 15,110
Ching 75' Razov 45'
Palencia 68'


October 29, 2006 C.D. Chivas USA 0–2 Houston Dynamo Robertson Stadium: 17,440
Davis 64'
Ching 93+'

Houston advance 3-2 on aggregate.


[edit] Conference Finals
November 5, 2006 Colorado Rapids 1–3 Houston Dynamo Robertson Stadium: 23,107
Kirovski 4' Dalglish 10'
Dalglish 21'
Mullan 71'

[edit] MLS Cup 2006


November 12, 2006 Houston Dynamo 1–1 (AET)
(4-3 PSO)
New England Revolution Pizza Hut Park: 22,427
Ching 114' Twellman 113'
     
Penalties
Gray scored
Holden scored
De Rosario scored
Davis saved
Ching scored
4–3 Penalties
Joseph scored
Reis scored
Noonan missed
Twellman scored
Heaps saved