Showing posts with label Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 24, 2023

GOD MODE ACHIEVED: Houston Dynamo 4:0 Minnesota United

 

What a game!  On short rest, playing a team they hadn't beaten in their last 8 matchups (going back to 2020), the Houston Dynamo exploded in an offensive display we haven't seen in quite some time.  Led by Corey Baird's epic performance (3 goals + 1 assist), the Dynamo completely dismantled the Minnesota backline in a multitude of ways in order to advance to the quarter-finals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.  For once, we were on the other side of the red card, and benefitted from another penalty.  Let's take a look at some interesting facts from last night's game.

Corey Baird:

  • Bettered his goal total for his entire tenure in Houston during league play. (2 in 2,607 minutes played)
  • Equaled his goal total for his entire Houston Dynamo tenure (3 in 2,834 minutes played).
  • Had twice as many shots on target (4) as he's had in 900 MLS minutes played this year (2).
  • Had a pen, a right-footed chipper, and a left-footed chipper on his three goals.  Of Bairds 24 Career Goals, 18 of them have come off his right foot, 4 left footed, and 2 off his head.  It was his first left-footed goal since 2021 (with LAFC). He hasn't had a headed goal since his rookie year.
  • Produced the first Houston Dynamo Hat Trick since Cubo Torres on April 2nd, 2017.
Andrew Tarbell:
  • Has yet to concede a goal during regulation on the season.  The only goal he's given up on the year was the one game he played for DynaDos: The first Pen attempt in the overtime shoot-out, he saved the next two to secure the win.
Valuable Experience:
  • Talen Maples added to the list of young Dynamo players making their debut in the USOC.  Ben Olsen has done a good job weaving these guys in this year.  Raines, Murana, and Micael, have all filled in nicely and gotten valuable experience in the opening rounds.  Add to that Nelson Quinones getting a full 83 minutes, and Erik Sviatchenko making his Dynamo Debut and it was a very successful day for #ForeverOrange as a whole.
  • On top of Corey Baird's performance, Ibrahim Aliyu opened his Dynamo account.  Aliyu made two perfectly timed runs to get in behind The Loons' back line, and the through balls were perfectly timed and weighted.  The first, on his goal:

  • The second was on this assist: 

  • Aliyu had a tremendous night.  In 28 minutes he managed 14 touches, was 9/10 on passing, had a goal and an assist, and his runs completely opened up the game. 
  • Amine Bassi was also stellar evening.  Playing more centrally than usual over his 73 minutes on the pitch, Bassi was 48/50 (96%) on passing and had a whopping 5 key passes.  Had a bunch of nice weighted passes behind the defense to Nelson, Baird, and Aliyu.  It was his best game from a shot creation standpoint to date.
Clean Sheet Haven:
  • The Dynamo have 8 clean sheets in 15 games across all competitions. They've already bettered the number of clean sheets from last year (7) and have the same number as 2021 (5) & 2020 (3) combined.
On a night like tonight, there's not much else to do but dance.
Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIAN CHING! Not that he reads my blog, but it'd be cool if he did.

Until Next Time!
Remember to always #HoldItDown and stay #ForeverOrange
Brian

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