The Texas derby is a soccer rivalry (derby) between the Houston Dynamo FC and FC Dallas, recognizing the best club in the state for the season until 2021 when Austin FC joined MLS. The two squads play a series of games with the series winner taking home El Capitán, a replica 18th century mountain howitzer cannon. Through the 2025 season, FC Dallas leads the series, 11–9.
The Houston Dynamo clinched the 2006 series with a win on August 12, 2006, and the 2007 series with a win on August 19, 2007. FC Dallas claimed the 2008 series on the away goals rule, after having tied with Dynamo in all three games played that season. The away goals rule is no longer used as a tiebreaker.
Both the 2016 and 2017 series were tied, the first since 2008 and the first since the tiebreaker rules were changed. Houston won the 2016 series on goal differential. The tiebreakers couldn't separate the teams in 2017 so Houston retained El Capitán. Dallas won the 2019 series on goal differential and the 2023 series on the final tiebreaker (holders retain) as both matches ended in a draw.
Tiebreakers
Only MLS regular season matches are used to determine the winner of El Capitán, unless the season series is tied. If the series is tied, the tiebreakers are as follows:
1 goal differential in MLS regular season matches between the two teams 2 MLS Cup Playoffs – winner of match/series (if applicable) 3 CONCACAF Champions League – winner of series (if applicable) 4 U.S. Open Cup – winner of match (if applicable) 5 holders retain El Capitán
Series results El Capitán winners Year Winners Record 2006 Houston Dynamo 2–1–1 2007 Houston Dynamo 3–0–1 2008 FC Dallas 0–0–3 2009 Houston Dynamo 2–1 2010 FC Dallas 1–0–1 2011 Houston Dynamo 1–0–1 2012 Houston Dynamo 1–0 2013 FC Dallas 1–0 2014 FC Dallas 1–0 2015 FC Dallas 3–0 2016 Houston Dynamo 1–1–1 2017 Houston Dynamo0–0–3 2018 FC Dallas1–0–2 2019 FC Dallas1–1 2020 FC Dallas2–1–1 2021 Houston Dynamo1–0–2 2022 FC Dallas1–0–1 2023 FC Dallas0–0–2 2024 FC Dallas1–0–1 2025 Houston Dynamo1–1–0
All-time record
CompetitionPlayedHouston Dynamo winsHouston Dynamo goalsDrawnFC Dallas winsFC Dallas goalsMLS regular season511471201780MLS Cup Playoffs214012U.S. Open Cup415037Total571680202189
Game history Date (M/D/Y)CompetitionHouston DynamoscorersScoreFC DallasscorersVenueAttendanceRef.5/6/06MLSClark 31', Ching 35', De Rosario 45', 67'4–3Ruiz 60', Núñez 61', Moor 76'Robertson Stadium21,4485/13/06MLSGoodson 81 (o.g.)1–1Ruiz 19'Pizza Hut Park12,7568/12/06MLSWaibel 37'1–0Robertson Stadium10,9648/23/06U.S. Open CupRobinson 13', Moreno 57' Wondolowski 61'3–0Carl Lewis Stadium4,0009/2/06MLS0–1Álvarez 86'Pizza Hut Park14,3166/3/07MLSClark 51', Ngwenya 66'2–1Thompson 32'Robertson Stadium13,1996/30/07MLS0–0Pizza Hut Park13,8878/19/07MLSChing 42'1–0Robertson Stadium19,5019/30/07MLSDe Rosario 45+1', Robinson 62', Holden 84'3–0Pizza Hut Park17,36610/27/07MLS Cup Playoffs0–1Goodson 23'Pizza Hut Park12,53711/2/07MLS Cup Playoffs Holden 67', Ching 72', 97', Davis 100'4–1Ruiz 14'Robertson Stadium30,0884/6/08MLSCaraccio 22', Ching 56', Cameron 90+2'3–3Cooper 35', 45', Álvarez 58'Robertson Stadium20,1025/28/08MLSAshe 56', De Rosario 90+3'2–2Cooper 34', Moor 61"Pizza Hut Park8,5416/26/08MLSChing 21'1–1Cooper 62'Robertson Stadium16,9335/9/09MLSKamara 58'1–0Robertson Stadium16,9326/13/09MLSWeaver 12', 63', Mulrooney 37'3–1Moor 67'Pizza Hut Park8,5808/6/09MLS0–1Cunningham 20'Pizza Hut Park7,4423/27/10MLSChabala 36'1–1Harris 38'Pizza Hut Park8,0185/5/10MLS0–1Ihemelu 78'Robertson Stadium13,2315/28/11MLSWeaver 42', Clark 87'2–2Jacobson 27', ihemelu 70'Robertson Stadium16,7099/24/11MLSCameron 87'1–0Pizza Hut Park10,8496/16/12MLSBruin 3', Moffat 76'2–1Jackson 59'BBVA Compass Stadium22,0393/17/13MLSDriver 79', Davis 83'2–3John 34', Jacobson 36', Cooper 90'FC Dallas Stadium15,6236/12/13U.S. Open Cup0–3Cooper 37', 59', Loyd 76'FC Dallas Stadium4,0004/5/14MLSClark 41'1–4Michel 31'(pen.), Watson 67', 70', Barnes 68'(o.g.)BBVA Compass Stadium22,2026/24/14U.S. Open CupBarnes 43' (pen.), Cummings 62'2–3Castillo 35', Escobar 60', Akindele 99'BBVA Compass Stadium2,0835/1/15MLSBarnes 32' 1–4Hollingshead 9', Texiera 21' Díaz 52', Castillo 55'BBVA Compass Stadium19,9756/26/15MLS0–2Taylor 37' (o.g.), Castillo 42'Toyota Stadium15,03710/4/15MLSClark 36'1–4Díaz 24' (pen.), Texiera 51', 90+3', Acosta 53'Toyota Stadium11,0003/12/16MLSHorst 6', Hedges 13' (o.g.), Clark 23', Wenger 27', Bruin 85'5–0BBVA Compass Stadium21,6016/2/16MLSClark 51'1–1Hollingshead 23'Toyota Stadium13,4577/20/16U.S. Open Cup0–1Castillo 90+1'BBVA Compass Stadium10,1508/27/16MLSAlex 19'1–3Díaz 59' (pen.), Barrios 60', 79'BBVA Compass Stadium18,7695/28/17MLS0–0Toyota Stadium15,0556/23/17MLSTorres 19'1–1Urruti 59'BBVA Compass Stadium22,1158/23/17MLSSánchez 1', Torres 71', 86'3–3Akindele 45', Figueroa 45+2', Urruti 51'Toyota Stadium13,3397/21/18MLSManotas 8'1–1Hedges 1'BBVA Compass Stadium19,2958/23/18MLSPeña 88'1–1Barrios 83'BBVA Compass Stadium16,5449/1/18MLSManotas 53', Elis 72' (pen.)2–4Barrios 10', Mosquera 48', 51',Ziegler 58' (pen.)Toyota Stadium16,8355/4/19MLSManotas 20' (pen.), 58'2–1Badji 87'BBVA Compass Stadium16,5218/25/19MLSRodriguez 80'1–5Ziegler 24' (pen.), Ferreira 29',Ondrášek 56', 64', Barrios 90+6'Toyota Stadium15,4528/21/20MLS0–0BBVA Stadium09/12/20MLSRodríguez 41'1–2Ricaurte 28', Jara 61'Toyota Stadium22210/7/20MLSQuintero 20', Cerén 83' (pen.)2–0BBVA Stadium1,58210/31/20MLS0–3Jara 19', Picault 27', 90+3'Toyota Stadium4,0285/8/21MLSPicault 34'1–1Obrian 42'Toyota Stadium8,7498/21/21MLSPicault 25' (pen.), Vera 72'2–2Tafari 54', Pepi 58'BBVA Stadium13,5489/18/21MLSDorsey 5', Picault 20', Quintero 59' (pen.)3–2Obrian 86', 90+4'BBVA Stadium12,3534/23/22MLSFerreira 33'1–2Ntsabeleng 87', Quignón 90+3'Toyota Stadium15,7927/9/22MLSÚlfarsson 69', Hadebe 90+11'2–2Hedges 27', Ferreira 90+3'PNC Stadium21,2845/20/23MLSÚlfarsson 85'1–1Obrian 53'Toyota Stadium19,0969/30/23MLS0–0Shell Energy Stadium18,1754/27/24MLS0–2Musa 55', Ibeagha 80'Toyota Stadium19,0965/18/24MLSBassi 45'+6'1–1Musa 69'Shell Energy Stadium19,2842/22/25MLSBassi 18'1–2Musa 55', Julio 76'Shell Energy Stadium18,6235/17/25MLSMcGlynn 64', Dorsey 81'2–0Toyota Stadium11,0043/21/26MLSGuilherme 29', Sviatchenko 31', Ennali 33'3–4Farrington 6', 14', Holmes 54' (o.g.), Musa 86'Toyota Stadium11,00410/17/26MLSShell Energy Stadium
Top scorers
Bold indicates a player who is still on a FC Dallas or Houston Dynamo roster. RankPlayerTeamGoals1 Brian ChingHouston6 Ricardo ClarkHouston3 Michael BarriosDallas5 Kenny CooperDallas Fafa PicaultHouston6 Fabián CastilloDallas4 Dwayne De RosarioHouston Petar MusaDallas Mauro ManotasHouston Jáder ObrianDallas
Clean sheets
Bold indicates a player who is still on a FC Dallas or Houston Dynamo roster. RankPlayerTeamShutouts1 Pat OnstadHouston52 Darío SalaDallas43 Jimmy MaurerDallas2 Maarten PaesDallas Chris SeitzDallas6 Jonathan BondHouston1 Steve ClarkHouston Tyler DericHouston Jesse GonzálezDallas Tally HallHouston Kevin HartmanDallas Dan KennedyDallas Marko MarićHouston Zach WellsHouston Joe WillisHouston
Players who have played for both clubs
Bold indicates a player who is still on a FC Dallas or Houston Dynamo roster. Player Position Houston years Dallas years Texas derby goals Eric AlexanderMF2016–20182010–2011, 20190 Arturo ÁlvarezMF20182005–20082 Ronald CerritosFW20062002–20030 Brad DavisMF2006–20152003–20042 Maynor FigueroaDF2019–20212016–20181 Sam JunquaDF2019–20222023–20240 Jimmy MaurerGK2025–present2018–20240 Adam MoffatMF2011–201320141 Richard MulrooneyMF2007–20102005–20061 Dominic OduroFW2009–20112006–20080 Fafà PicaultFW2021–202220205 Chris SeitzGK20182011–20170 Adrian SeriouxDF2006, 20102007–20080 Abe ThompsonFW20092005–20081 Maximiliano UrrutiFW20212016–20182 Je-Vaughn WatsonMF2011–20122013–20152
Attendances Top 5 most-attended Houston home Texas derbies Houston 4–1 (aet) Dallas; 30,088 (November 2, 2007) Robertson Stadium Houston 1–4 Dallas; 22,202 (April 5, 2014) BBVA Compass Stadium Houston 1–1 Dallas; 22,115 (June 23, 2017) BBVA Compass Stadium Houston 2–1 Dallas; 22,039 (June 16, 2012) BBVA Compass Stadium Houston 5–0 Dallas; 21,601 (March 12, 2016) BBVA Compass Stadium Top 5 least-attended Houston home Texas derbies Houston 0–0 Dallas; 0 (August 21, 2020) BBVA Stadium Houston 2–0 Dallas; 1,582 (October 7, 2020) BBVA Stadium Houston 2–3 (aet) Dallas; 2,083 (June 24, 2014) BBVA Compass Stadium Houston 3–0 Dallas; 4,000 (August 8, 2006) Carl Lewis Track and Field Stadium Houston 0–1 Dallas; 10,150 (July 20, 2016) BBVA Compass Stadium Top 5 most-attended Dallas home Texas derbies Dallas 1–1 Houston; 19,096 (May 20, 2023) Toyota Stadium Dallas 2–0 Houston; 19,096 (April 27, 2024) Toyota Stadium Dallas 0–3 Houston; 17,366 (September 30, 2007) Pizza Hut Park Dallas 4–2 Houston; 16,835 (September 1, 2018) Toyota Stadium Dallas 2–1 Houston; 15,792 (April 23, 2022) Toyota Stadium Top 5 least-attended Dallas home Texas derbies Dallas 2–1 Houston; 222 (September 12, 2020) Toyota Stadium Dallas 3–0 Houston; 4,000 (June 12, 2013) FC Dallas Stadium Dallas 3–0 Houston; 4,028 (October 31, 2020) Toyota Stadium Dallas 1–0 Houston; 7,442 (August 6, 2009) Pizza Hut Park Dallas 1–1 Houston; 8,018 (March 27, 2010) Pizza Hut Park
Honors
FC DallasTitleHouston Dynamo – FIFA Club World Cup – 0 CONCACAF Champions League 0 0 Leagues Cup 0 – Campeones Cup – 0 MLS Cup 2 1 MLS Supporters' Shield 0 2 U.S. Open Cup 2 1 MLS Conference Championships (MLS Cup Playoffs) 4 3 MLS Conference Championships (regular season) 1 11 Texas Derby (Dallas/Houston) 9 2 Copa Tejas (Dallas/Houston/Austin) 0 1 La Copita (Dallas/Houston/Austin/San Antonio) 0 1 Desert Showcase 1 1 Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic (defunct) 0 – Carolina Challenge Cup (defunct) 3
See also Lone Star Series (MLB) Governor's Cup (Texas) (NFL) Mavericks–Rockets rivalry (NBA) Copa Tejas
Notes
References
External links Article about El Capitán Rule changes for 2009 edition