Houston Dynamo at Sporting Kansas City: Highlights, stats, and quotes
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
The Houston Dynamo finished the 2025 season with a 0-0 draw on the road against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night.
MATCH SUMMARY
Sporting Kansas City 0-0 Houston Dynamo FC
Saturday, October 18, 2025
Venue: Children’s Mercy Park - Kansas City, Kansas
Referee: Nabil Bensalah
Assistants: Corey Parker, Walt Heatherly
Fourth Official: Ismir Pekmic
VAR: Carol Anne Chenard
Attendance: 27,763
Weather: 65 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY
none
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY
HOU: Antônio Carlos (caution; foul) 12’
HOU: Duane Holmes (caution; foul) 20’
SKC: Zorhan Bassong (caution; foul) 44’
SKC: John Pulskamp (caution; foul) 59’
HOU: Lawrence Ennali (Caution; foul) 87’
LINEUPS & STATS
Sporting Kansas City: John Pulskamp; Khiry Shelton, Jansen Miller, Logan Ndenbe, Alan Montes; Nemanja Radoja, Daniel Salloi, Zorhan Bassong (Jacob Bartlett 78’); Erik Thommy (c) (Mason Toye 78’); Manu García (Santiago Munoz 49’), Dejan Joveljic
Unused substitutes: Ian James, Memo Rodriguez, Tim Leibold, Jake Davis, Ryan Schewe, Shapi Suleymanov
Total shots: 11
Shots on goal: 2
Fouls: 17
Offside: 0
Corner kicks: 7
Saves: 5
Houston Dynamo FC: Jonathan Bond; Felipe Andrade, Antônio Carlos, Erik Sviatchenko, Griffin Dorsey; Brooklyn Raines (Júnior Urso 80’), Artur (c), Duane Holmes (Sebastian Kowalczyk 68’); Lawrence Ennali, Ezequiel Ponce, Ondřej Lingr (Nelson Quiñónes 80’)
Unused Substitutes: Jimmy Maurer, Ethan Bartlow, Erik Dueñas, Gabe Segal, Diadie Samassékou, Pablo Ortiz
Total shots: 9
Shots on goal: 5
Fouls: 18
Offside: 1
Corner kicks: 5
Saves: 2
HOUSTON DYNAMO HEAD COACH BEN OLSEN
On wrapping up the 2025 season:
“Tonight was about two teams fighting their way through the last game and trying to get a win. We stood firm and we got a shutout on the road. That usually does the trick in this league. Our road form this year has been really good, and this is a continuation of that. We had some chances. They had some chances. But our group fought very hard again. This season, not once did I ever fault this crew for not fighting and running and competing. That part was always there this year, so I am appreciative of that. We talked about next year and our resiliency. It feels good to come out of seasons and have success, so the preparations for that will start now.”
On looking ahead to 2026:
“We had 10 shutouts this year. So, there are these things that are exciting to think about going forward, and that is kind of how I look at it. Our road form this year was pretty good. We can take that. It was the home form that let us down. So, how do we bring in some of that to our home form? I know the game-state looks different when we are playing at home and some of the tactical nuances of how the game usually plays out at home versus away are different. But, again, the way we defended tonight, defended the box and the extra efforts really saw us through to get a point. I am happy with that.”
On Nelson Quinones making his 2025 debut:
“It has been two years. There has not been a lot of joy this year, but I will tell you, putting him in the game was one of them. And to see him also come in and give us a little bit of a spark was nice to see. We are looking forward to getting him healthy and having him as an option. He is another guy that we are like, ‘What if? What if we had him all year, and then, is it him and Ennali coming in?’ So, there is a lot of optimism in what we are going to build here over this offseason. Nelson is one of the guys we hope to be a part of it.”
HOUSTON DYNAMO DEFENDER ERIK SVIATCHENKO
On wrapping up 2025:
“It has been a weird year. We did not get the results that we wanted throughout the season. We have had too many injuries, and I have been one of them. So, yeah, it is a disappointing year, but football is a game of highs and lows. We have had two amazing years. This third year did not pan out as we had planned for and hoped for, and we take the responsibility on our shoulders, and we will do everything we can to change that and be better for next season. But right now, we are sitting with this feeling that we just were not good enough over the season. And, yeah, we are disappointed.”
On the final weeks of training:
“It is always a little bit ambivalent to train when you do not have anything to achieve because the season is done. But we talked about how we wanted to go away on break and how we wanted to end the year. We wanted a good performance, and today we showed up. I wish that we could have taken all three points. But, again, I do not think that this group has ever given up. We have just faced so much adversity and so much that did not go our way. There were many times where we did not grab that momentum. And sometimes, within the season, we have thought, ‘Okay, it is just one game. It is just one game.’ And then, suddenly, it is too late to manage to get into the playoffs. And it hurts, especially when we have had two great seasons and we felt like we were a playoff team this season. For me personally, it does not feel great leaving without a playoff spot.”
