2020 Houston Dynamo season

The 2020 Houston Dynamo season was the club's 15th season of existence since joining Major League Soccer prior to the 2006 season. The Dynamo missed the playoffs in 2020 for the 6th time in 7 years, finishing last in the Western Conference. The 2020 U.S. Open Cup was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2020 was the Dynamo's first year with head coach Tab Ramos and the sixth season under General Manager Matt Jordan. On the front office end, it was Gabriel Brener's fifth season as majority owner and John Walker's second season as President of Business Operations.

Current squad

Appearances and goals are totals for MLS regular season only. No.NameNationalityPositionDate of birth (Age)Signed fromSigned inApps.GoalsGoalkeepers1Marko MarićGKJanuary 3, 1996 (age 24)TSG 1899 Hoffenheim202023026Michael NelsonGKFebruary 10, 1995 (age 25)Southern Methodist University20180055Cody CropperGKFebruary 16, 1993 (age 27)New England Revolution202000Defenders2Alejandro FuenmayorDFAugust 29, 1996 (age 24)Carabobo FC20183533Adam LundkvistDFMarch 20, 1994 (age 26)IF Elfsborg20186504Zarek ValeninDFAugust 6, 1991 (age 29)Nashville SC20201905Aljaž StrunaDFAugust 4, 1990 (age 30)Palermo201846015Maynor FigueroaDFMay 2, 1983 (age 37)FC Dallas201945218José BizamaDFJune 25, 1994 (age 26)Club Deportivo Huachipato201913028Erik McCue (HGP)DFJanuary 18, 2001 (age 19)Houston Dynamo Academy20180029Sam JunquaDFNovember 9, 1996 (age 23)University of California20199132Kyle AdamsDFNovember 20, 1996 (age 23)Rio Grande Valley FC20200036Victor CabreraDFFebruary 7, 1993 (age 27)Montreal Impact2020100Midfielders6Wilfried ZahiboMFAugust 21, 1993 (age 27)New England Revolution2020408Memo Rodríguez (HGP)MFDecember 27, 1995 (age 24)Rio Grande Valley FC2017751510Tomás Martínez (DP)MFMarch 7, 1995 (age 25)Braga2017851212Niko HansenMFSeptember 14, 1994 (age 26)Columbus Crew201921214Marcelo Palomino (HGP)MFMay 21, 2001 (age 19)Houston Dynamo Academy20203017Nico LemoineMFApril 10, 2000 (age 20)Rio Grande Valley FC202011022Matías VeraMFOctober 26, 1995 (age 25)San Lorenzo201950024Darwin CerénMFDecember 31, 1989 (age 30)San Jose Earthquakes201857327Boniek GarcíaMFSeptember 4, 1984 (age 36)Olimpia201221913Forwards9Mauro Manotas (DP)FWJuly 15, 1995 (age 25)Uniautónoma20151495111Ariel LassiterFWSeptember 27, 1994 (age 26)Alajuelense202016313Christian RamirezFWApril 4, 1991 (age 29)LAFC201925719Michael SalazarFWNovember 15, 1992 (age 27)Rio Grande Valley FC20198021Ronaldo PeñaFWMarch 10, 1997 (age 23)Caracas FC201814123Darwin QuinteroFWSeptember 19, 1987 (age 33)Minnesota United FC2020227Mateo BajamichFWAugust 3, 1999 (age 21)Instituto202000

Player movement

In Per Major League Soccer and club policies terms of the deals do not get disclosed. DatePlayerPositionAgePrevious clubNotesRefNovember 13, 2019 Darwin QuinteroFW32 Minnesota United FCAcquired in exchange for $600,000 in allocation money and Marlon Hairtson.November 19, 2019 Zarek ValentinDF28 Nashville SCAcquired in exchange for Joe Willis. Valentin had been selected by Nashville in the 2019 MLS Expansion Draft earlier that day.November 20, 2019 Victor CabreraDF26 Montreal ImpactAcquired in exchange for Romell Quioto.January 6, 2020 Marcelo PalominoMF18 Houston Dynamo AcademyHomegrown PlayerJanuary 13, 2020 Marko MarićGK24 TSG 1899 HoffenheimFull rights purchased, fee undisclosedJanuary 24, 2020 Cody CropperGK26 New England RevolutionFree transferJanuary 25, 2020 Kyle AdamsDF23 Rio Grande Valley FCFree transfer from USLC affiliateJune 11, 2020 Nico LemoineMF20 Rio Grande Valley FCFree transfer from USLC affiliate.August 17, 2020 Wilfried ZahiboMF26 New England RevolutionAcquired along with an international roster spot for 2020 in exchange for Tommy McNamara and $175,000 in GAM.October 5, 2020 Mateo BajamichFW21 InstitutoFull rights purchased for $1.2 million, Instituto have 20% sell on clause.

Out DatePlayerPositionAgeDestination ClubNotesRefOctober 9, 2019 DaMarcus BeasleyDF37RetiredNovember 13, 2019 Marlon HairstonMF25 Minnesota United FCTraded for Darwin Quintero and a 2020 SuperDraft 3rd round pickNovember 19, 2019 Joe WillisGK31 Nashville SCTraded for Zarek Valentin and $75,000 of TAM.November 20, 2019 Romell QuiotoFW28 Montreal ImpactTraded for Victor Cabrera and $100,000 of GAM.November 21, 2019 Eric BirdMF26 FC TulsaContract option declined.November 21, 2019 Juan David CabezasMF28 Rio Grande Valley FCContract option declinedNovember 21, 2019 Tyler DericGK31 Rio Grande Valley FCContract option declinedNovember 21, 2019 A. J. DeLaGarzaDF32 Inter Miami CFContract expiredNovember 21, 2019 Kevin GarciaDF29 FC TulsaContract expiredAugust 17, 2020 Tommy McNamaraMF29 New England RevolutionTraded along with $175,000 of GAM for Wilfried Zahibo and an international roster spot for 2020.September 19, 2020 Alberth ElisFW24 BoavistaTransfer fee undisclosed, but is rumored to be around $1 million.

Loans in DatePlayerPositionAgePrevious clubNotesRefAugust 17, 2020 Ariel LassiterFW25 AlajuelenseSigned on loan for the 2020 season with an option to buy.

Loans out DatePlayerPositionAgeDestination ClubNotesRefAugust 15, 2020 Kyle AdamsDF23 Rio Grande Valley FCLoaned to USLC affiliate for remainder of 2020 season.August 15, 2020 Eric McCueDF19 Rio Grande Valley FCLoaned to USLC affiliate for remainder of 2020 season.

MLS SuperDraft

RoundPickPlayerPositionAgeCollegeNotesRef18 Garrett McLaughlinFW22Southern MethodistSigned with Rio Grande Valley FC234 Luka PrpaMF21MarquetteSigned with Rio Grande Valley FC360 Duncan TurnbullGK21Notre DameSigned with Portsmouth FC.486 Kyle EdwardsFW22Texas Rio Grande ValleySigned with Rio Grande Valley FC

Coaching staff

+PositionNameHead coach Tab RamosAssistant coach Pablo MastroeniAssistant coach Omid NamaziCoach Michael DellorussoGoalkeeper coach Paul RogersSports Performance Director/Fitness Coach Paul CaffreyHead of sports science Alex CalderEquipment Manager Chris MaxwellAssistant Equipment Manager Eddie CerdaChief Medical Officer Dr. Rehal BhojaniHead Athletic Trainer Chris RumseyAssistant Athletic Trainer Casey CarlsonHead Physical Therapist Nathan HironymousMassage Therapist Ivan Diaz

Non-competitive

Preseason friendlies

Midseason friendlies

Competitive

MLS

Standings

Western Conference table

Overall table

MLS is Back Tournament

The MLS is Back Tournament was a one-off tournament during the 2020 Major League Soccer season to mark the league's return to action from the COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament featured a group stage, followed by a knockout stage. Games during the group stage counted as regular season matches. The schedule was revealed on June 24.

Group E

Results summary

Match results

=== U.S. Open Cup ===

As an MLS club, the Dynamo was originally set to enter the competition in the Third or Fourth Round, tentatively scheduled for April 21–23 or May 19–20. The U.S. Soccer Federation canceled the tournament on August 17, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Season statistics {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;" |+ ! rowspan="2" |No. ! rowspan="2" |Pos ! rowspan="2" |Nat ! rowspan="2" |Player ! colspan="5" |Total ! colspan="5" |MLS |- ! ! ! !style="width:30px;"| !style="width:30px;"| ! ! ! !style="width:30px;"| !style="width:30px;"| |- |1||GK||||align=left|Marko Marić||23||0||0||1||0||23||0||0||1||0 |- |2||DF||||align=left|Alejandro Fuenmayor||5||0||0||1||0||5||0||0||1||0 |- |3||DF||||align=left|Adam Lundqvist||21||0||0||3||0||21||0||0||3||0 |- |4||DF||||align=left|Zarek Valentin||19||0||3||0||0||19||0||3||0||0 |- |5||DF||||align=left|Aljaž Struna||17||0||0||6||0||17||0||0||6||0 |- |6||MF||||align=left|Wilfried Zahibo||4||0||0||2||0||4||0||0||2||0 |- |7||FW||||align=left|Alberth ElisTransferred out during the season||6||4||3||1||1||6||4||3||1||1 |- |8||MF||||align=left|Memo Rodríguez||21||5||3||5||0||21||5||3||5||0 |- |9||FW||||align=left|Mauro Manotas||20||3||2||0||1||20||3||2||0||1 |- |10||MF||||align=left|Tomás Martínez||11||0||0||1||0||11||0||0||1||0 |- |11||MF||||align=left|Tommy McNamaraTransferred out during the season||4||0||0||0||0||4||0||0||0||0 |- |11||FW||||align=left|Ariel Lassiter||16||3||1||2||0||16||3||1||2||0 |- |12||FW||||align=left|Niko Hansen||17||2||1||0||0||17||2||1||0||0 |- |13||FW||||align=left|Christian Ramirez||15||2||2||0||0||15||2||2||0||0 |- |14||MF||||align=left|Marcelo Palomino||3||0||0||0||0||3||0||0||0||0 |- |15||DF||||align=left|Maynor Figueroa||20||2||0||7||0||20||2||0||7||0 |- |17||MF||||align=left|Nico Lemoine||11||0||0||1||0||11||0||0||1||0 |- |18||DF||||align=left|José Bizama||8||0||0||1||0||8||0||0||1||0 |- |19||FW||||align=left|Michael Salazar||1||0||0||1||0||1||0||0||1||0 |- |21||FW||||align=left|Ronaldo Peña||1||0||0||0||0||1||0||0||0||0 |- |22||MF||||align=left|Matías Vera||20||0||0||7||1||20||0||0||7||1 |- |23||FW||||align=left|Darwin Quintero||22||7||10||5||0||22||7||10||5||0 |- |24||MF||||align=left|Darwin Cerén||20||1||4||3||0||20||1||4||3||0 |- |26||GK||||align=left|Michael Nelson||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0 |- |27||MF||||align=left|Boniek García||18||0||0||5||0||18||0||0||5||0 |- |28||DF||||align=left|Erik McCueLoaned out during the season||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0 |- |29||DF||||align=left|Sam Junqua||9||1||0||0||0||9||1||0||0||0 |- |32||DF||||align=left|Kyle AdamsLoaned out during the season||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0 |- |36||DF||||align=left|Víctor Cabrera||10||0||0||1||0||10||0||0||1||0 |- |55||GK||||align=left|Cody Cropper||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0

References