(image via Aldo Canale)
The Houston Dynamo finished the regular season, losing 1-0 to St. Louis CITY SC on Saturday night at Shell Energy Stadium.
MATCH SUMMARY
Houston Dynamo FC 0-1 St. Louis CITY SC
Saturday, November 7, 2026
Venue: Shell Energy Stadium - Houston, Texas
Referee: Allen Chapman
Assistants: Kyle Atkins, Chris Elliott
Fourth Official: Jair Marrufo
VAR: Geoff Gamble
Attendance: 19,886
Weather: 77 degrees, partly cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY
STL: Lukas MacNaughton (Alexandru Matan) 90+7’
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY
HOU: Lucas Halter (caution; foul) 82’
LINEUPS & STATS
Houston Dynamo FC: Jonathan Bond; Franco Negri, Felipe Andrade (Duane Holmes 70'), Agustin Resch, Lucas Halter, Lawrence Ennali (Héctor Herrera 63'); Artur (C) (Aliyu Ibrahim 63'), Agustín Bouzat (Nick Markanich 89'), Mateusz Bogusz; Lyle Foster (Duncan McGuire 70'), Guilherme
Unused substitutes: Blake Gillingham, Antônio Carlos, Diadié Samassékou, Gilberto Rivera
Total shots: 23
Shots on goal: 6
Fouls: 6
Offside: 0
Corner kicks: 9
Saves: 0
St. Louis CITY SC: Ben Lundt; Lukas MacNaughton, Fallou Fall, Timo Baumgartl (C); Tomas Totland, Chris Durkin, Dante Polvara (Daniel Edelman 83'), Conrad Wallem; Tomas Ostrak (Alexandru Matan 65'), Rafael Navarro (Damion Downs 83'), Sang Bin Jeong (Simon Becher 74')
Unused substitutes: Christian Olivares, Mbacke Fall, Charles Brunet, Zach Zengue, Jaziel Orozco
Total shots: 13
Shots on goal: 1
Fouls: 13
Offside: 1
Corner kicks: 3
Saves: 6
HOUSTON DYNAMO HEAD COACH BEN OLSEN
On the match:
"Tonight was about two things for me. One was about getting the win and pushing ourselves as much as possible for home-field advantage. The other part was about looking like ourselves and like the dangerous team we can be, both on offense and defense. Overall, tonight was positive. It is as good as we have played in a while. It still hurts to lose games. The guys are disappointed about not sending the fans home happy. St. Louis made a lot of gutsy efforts in and around the box, but we did enough today to score at least one or two goals."
On the regular season as a whole:
"I am proud of the guys and the staff. It has not been easy, but we got ourselves into the playoffs, sitting in a good position. We are looking forward to playing in two weeks against the San Jose Earthquakes. So now, we will take a couple days off, and then we will get back to work and prepare ourselves for San Jose."
On postseason pressure and intensity:
"The stakes are higher. Usually, when the stakes are higher, there is a bit more intensity, concentration, focus and physicality. Maybe a little bit of anxiety too. But this is what we wanted. We wanted to be in the dance, and we will make sure to show out when the lights come on."
On looking forward:
"It is a clean slate now. Tonight, the last month, the last three months and the last eight months do not matter. This is it. We turn the page. We played well tonight, and we should have scored. We were not clinical, and we did not see it out. However, the performance itself was a good one."
HOUSTON DYNAMO MIDFIELDER ARTUR
On the result and looking ahead to the playoffs:
"Of course, we wanted to win, and we wanted to finish a little bit higher because we know we had that chance. But everyone is locked in and understands how the playoffs work – once you get in there, you give yourself a chance to lift the trophy. We know that it is important to now have these two weeks, so we can work. It has been a very busy month. Some players got some knocks, and we could not train as much. But now training, fixing and adjusting some things will be very helpful for us for the playoffs, and the whole locker room is excited for that."
On the team’s identity as the postseason arrives:
"At the beginning of the year, we were trying to find our best form. Then around the World Cup break, we started to find it a little more, and now we understand our identity. One way or another, we are still trying to adjust a few things that we believe can help us improve, but we showed our identity during that run of consecutive wins. We are a good team when we play together, when we are compact, when everyone defends together and when we finish our chances in key moments. Those moments are important, both offensively and defensively. We had a lot of consecutive shutouts during that stretch, and that is really what it is about. It is about embracing that identity, taking it to heart and understanding that there are only a few games left between us and lifting a trophy."
On the intensity of the postseason:
"We have to give everything we have got. We have to do our best to get the win, and that means playing every moment of the match at 100%. We cannot relax because we might not get another chance. The playoffs are different. The emotions are different, and every little thing can change the game. So, as a team, we have to understand that, stay humble and continue playing together. When we do that, we are a difficult team to beat."
