Houston Dynamo 2025 player report cards: Lawrence Ennali
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
We’re continuing our 2025 report card series, recapping each Houston Dynamo player’s season. Next up, we look at winger Lawrence Ennali.
2025 Grade: B
2025 by the numbers (MLS play)
Appearances: 18
Minutes played: 994
Goals: 1
Assists: 4
(image via FBref.com and FBcharts.com)
2025 in review
Ennali returned from the torn ACL he suffered last summer in just 7 months. For a player who relies so much on his pace, there were some worries how the knee injury would effect him when he came back (Ennali even said as much). He showed no signs, however, of losing any pace and worked his way back to full fitness and into a regular starter on the left wing for the back part of the season.
Ennali is a great dribbler, but one part of that skill that he got much better at this year was beating defenders. You could tell late in the season when he would receive the ball with space to run into, he had more purpose and wherewithal to not just dribble as fast as possible but to set up defenders to go by them and create chances. He also got much better this season at stretching the field when he didn’t have the ball, something the Dynamo system really relies on.
Moment of the season
If there was any questions about Ennali’s speed post-surgery, all those worries were answered with his goal in San Diego. Amine Bassi cleared the ball from the Dynamo box and Ennali simply ran past everyone, with ease. He headed the ball forward with his first touch and then finished brilliantly with his left for his first goal since the day he injured his knee, helping the Dynamo to a big road win over San Diego FC.
Looking forward
The 23-year-old German will enter 2026 as the starter at left wing for the Dynamo. Nelson Quinones is back from his knee injury and will provide some competition for Ennali in that spot. Ondrej Lingr has also played some on the left and there remains the possibility that the Dynamo add more attacking pieces this offseason, especially with Sebastian Kowalczyk and Amine Bassi out of the picture. Whoever starts in the Houston attack, Ennali will be a big piece going forward as he continues to grow and mature as a player.
