Houston Dynamo vs FC Cincinnati: Highlights, stats, and quotes
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
The Houston Dynamo let a 2-0 lead slip away, settling for a draw with FC Cincinnati on Saturday night at Shell Energy Stadium.
MATCH SUMMARY
Houston Dynamo FC 2-2 FC Cincinnati
Wednesday, September 19, 2026
Venue: Shell Energy Stadium - Houston, Texas
Referee: Jair Marrufo
Assistants: Kali Smith, Kevin Klinger
Fourth Official: Ricardo Montero Araya
VAR: Ismir Pekmic
Attendance: 17,491
Weather: 88 degrees, mostly clear skies
SCORING SUMMARY
HOU: Guilherme (unassisted) 38’
HOU: Mateusz Bogusz (penalty kick) 73’
CIN: Bryan Ramirez (Kevin Denkey) 73’
CIN: Kevin Denkey (penalty kick) 90+7’
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY
no cards
LINEUPS & STATS
Houston Dynamo FC: Jonathan Bond; Franco Negri, Antônio Carlos, Lucas Halter, Felipe Andrade; Artur (C), Héctor Herrera (Matthew Arana 81’), Agustín Bouzat (Diadié Samassékou 64’), Lawrence Ennali (Aliyu Ibrahim 81’); Mateusz Bogusz, Guilherme (Duncan McGuire 90’+4’)
Unused substitutes: Blake Gillingham, Logan Erb, Duane Holmes, Nick Markanich, Gilberto Rivera
Total shots: 7
Shots on goal: 2
Fouls: 7
Offside: 0
Corner kicks: 3
Saves: 6
FC Cincinnati: Roman Celentano; Nick Hagglund (Teenage Hadebe 54’), Samuel Gidi, Miles Robinson; Obinna Nwobodo (Tom Barlow 54’), Evander (C), Pavel Bucha (Kyle Smith 84’), Kenji Mboma Dem, Ender Echenique (Bryan Ramirez 54’); Kevin Denkey, Gerardo Valenzuela (Ayoub Jabbari 87’)
Unused substitutes: Evan Louro, Alvas Powell, Kristian Fletcher, Andrei Chirilla
Total shots: 26
Shots on goal: 8
Fouls: 13
Offside: 2
Corner kicks: 7
Saves: 0
HOUSTON DYNAMO HEAD COACH BEN OLSEN
On the match:
“We handle it with disappointment. Anytime you are up two-nil at home, you need to see the game out, and we let ourselves down and lost some points. But make no mistake, Cincinnati are a good team. They are a team with firepower, and the way to beat a team like that is to connect a few more passes, be brave and go get the third goal. We did not deal with some of the pressure in the right way with some of the decision-making in transition. We needed to take the sting out of the game. We hung in there and made some saves and blocks. What upsets me is how we dealt with the last moments. We let ourselves down in the last minute and a half. There were a lot of little plays in that moment that were unacceptable, and that part is what will keep us up tonight. We are disappointed for sure, but it is a point.”
On his message to the fans:
“I hope they keep coming and supporting this group that worked really hard tonight and all week to try to send them home happy. But the fans can be disappointed – that is healthy and that is their right.”
On the takeaways and lessons learned from the match:
“We will deal with that last moment. We will look at the tape and see what we could have done better as coaches and get back to work. We will lick our wounds and get back to work on Tuesday, and then we will get after Kansas City next weekend.”
HOUSTON DYNAMO MIDFIELDER ARTUR
On the match:
“It is clear that this is not the result or the second half that we wanted. We know we have to perform better in the second half and manage the game better. I believe we could have pushed for more going into the final one or two minutes of the match. But now we have another game next Saturday, so we have to keep our heads up and get back to work. We have to be ready.”
On Matthew Arana:
“We know that Matthew Arana is a quality player. He is a very young player who needs support and experience, and we provide that to him. We try to push him when needed so he can learn. We give him advice, and I think he has done very well with the opportunities he has received for a player his age. He has a lot of potential, and we are a group that gives him a lot of support.”
