Published for Houston Dynamo fans — October 2026
By Toxlay Sports Editorial Team · Last updated October 23, 2026
🧡 Houston Dynamo Fans — Your Dynamo Is Playoff-Bound!
Two new Designated Players, a returning captain, a record-tying shutout streak and a playoff spot already clinched. The Orange are back in the postseason — this is the fall to wear Forever Orange like you mean it.
The Club
Houston Dynamo Football Club was founded on December 15, 2005, when the San Jose Earthquakes’ players and staff relocated to Texas — and the Dynamo wasted no time making their own history, winning MLS Cup in each of their first two seasons, 2006 and 2007. The Orange Crush, La Naranja, play in orange because orange is the identity: “Forever Orange” is not a slogan here, it is the whole personality. 2026 is the club’s 21st MLS season.
Home is Shell Energy Stadium in East Downtown Houston, the club’s home since May 12, 2012, and the only soccer-specific MLS stadium in a U.S. downtown. The Dynamo share it with the NWSL’s Houston Dash, and on a Texas Derby night there is no tighter, louder room in the league. If you are checking the Houston Dynamo schedule for a first trip, that is the one to circle.
The man in charge is Ben Olsen, head coach since ahead of the 2023 season — and the club backed him in the middle of the playoff race, extending his contract on October 21, 2026 through the 2027-28 season. Olsen, the 2014 MLS Coach of the Year, has taken Houston to the playoffs in three of his four seasons.
Is Guilherme playing? It is what Houston types into Google every single week — and lately the answer has been yes, and deciding games. The winter brought the most aggressive rebuild in club history: two new Designated Players and the return of a beloved captain. The orange Houston Dynamo jersey has rarely had this many names worth printing on the back.
⭐ FAN FAVORITE
#20 Guilherme — Houston Dynamo Style Jersey
$59.99
The rebuild’s headline act. A 2026 MLS All-Star and the team’s top scorer — the fan-inspired No. 20 Guilherme style jersey is the shirt of Houston’s playoff return.
Last Season (2025): The Step Back
The Olsen rebuild hit a wall. Houston sold two of their best players for club-record fees received — Adalberto “Coco” Carrasquilla to Pumas UNAM, then defender Micael to Palmeiras — and the defense that had conceded the third-fewest goals in MLS in 2024 leaked 56. The Dynamo finished 12th in the Western Conference with 37 points (9W–10D–15L), missed the playoffs by four points, and watched the postseason from home after back-to-back appearances in 2023 and 2024.
Ezequiel Ponce led the scoring with 10 league goals, and Jack McGlynn was the creative find of the year. But the cups offered no rescue: a U.S. Open Cup run ended in the Round of 16 at Austin, and the Leagues Cup ended in the group phase. The front office’s answer was the most aggressive winter in club history — a reported $13 million overhaul.
Best Players Right Now
Guilherme — #20, forward / left winger. The headline act of the rebuild and the team’s best player in 2026: the leading scorer, a 2026 MLS All-Star, and by mid-August he had scored or assisted on 67.9% of Houston’s goals — the highest share of any player in MLS at that point. Signed in January 2026 from Santos FC on a Designated Player deal through 2027-28, he scored the winner at Sporting KC on August 1 and the penalty winner against LA Galaxy on August 15.
Mateusz Bogusz — #19, attacking midfielder. The club-record swing of the winter: signed January 29, 2026 from Cruz Azul for a reported fee of up to $10 million, under contract through 2027-28 with club options beyond. Second on the team scoring chart with seven league goals, including the brace that buried Austin on July 25 and the 90+4′ penalty in the Texas Derby on October 17. A former LAFC star who won the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup with Cruz Azul.
Héctor Herrera — #16, central midfielder. The returning captain. Herrera rejoined in January 2026 as a free agent after winning a league double with Toluca, and made his 100th Dynamo appearance in all competitions on July 25. He scored Houston’s opener in the October 17 Texas Derby, captained the 2023 U.S. Open Cup title run in his first spell, set the club’s single-season assist record with 17, and made the 2023 MLS Best XI.
Lawrence Ennali — #11, winger. The chaos agent of the front line: three goals and four assists, third on the team in both categories, and the man whose runs won the penalty against LA Galaxy in August and drew the foul that got Emiro Garcés sent off in the same match.
Lucas Halter — #5, center-back. The winter signing from Botafogo who anchored the defense that produced the summer’s record shutout run. A first-choice starter all fall.
Jonathan Bond — #31, goalkeeper. The wall behind the streak: 10 clean sheets, including the 485-minute scoreless run that carried Houston through five straight shutout wins before St. Louis finally broke it on August 22.
Star Spotlight
The H-Town Night rout. July 25, 2026: the first match after the World Cup break became the night the rebuild announced itself — Houston 3–0 Austin FC at a sold-out Shell Energy Stadium, all three goals in a breathless first 32 minutes. Bogusz scored at 12′ and 29′, Guilherme at 32′, and the night doubled as Herrera’s 100th Dynamo appearance. Houston had lost the reverse fixture 2–0 in April; this was payback, and it launched the summer surge.
The wall. Starting with that Austin rout, Houston ripped off five consecutive shutout victories, tying the MLS record, capped by a 1–0 win at Vancouver on August 19. In the middle of the run, on August 15, Houston beat LA Galaxy 1–0 at home on 2006 Championship Celebration Night — Guilherme’s penalty the difference — the club’s first-ever fourth straight shutout win. By September 1, the Dynamo sat second in the West.
Derby chaos and a playoff berth. October 17, 2026, the Texas Derby had everything: Dallas led early, Herrera equalized at 49′, Bogusz buried a 90+4′ penalty to put Houston ahead — and Petar Musa answered with a 90+11′ penalty for 2–2, before a Dallas red card at 90+12′. A wild point in front of 20,112, on the weekend Houston clinched their 2026 playoff berth.
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More Orange stars, same Forever Orange.
This Season (2026): The Playoff Return
Houston sit 5th in the Western Conference on 47 points from 30 matches (13W–8D–9L), 41 goals scored and 39 conceded — one point behind fourth-place San Jose in the race for a top-four seed and home-field advantage in Round One. The playoff spot was sealed on the weekend of October 17–18, returning the Dynamo to the postseason after missing out in 2025, and for the third time in four seasons under Ben Olsen. As a top-seven seed, Houston project to skip the Wild Card round and go straight into the Round One Best-of-3.
The arc of the season is two stories in one. Since returning from the World Cup break, Houston have avoided defeat in 13 of 16 matches, and in late summer they were the West’s form team — the five straight shutout wins, the 485 minutes without conceding, second place by September 1. The recent line is bumpier: a six-match winless run of draws and defeats, including the wild 3–3 at San Diego and the 2–2 Derby draw. There was also a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal run, ended by St. Louis on penalties in May.
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Mark Your Calendar
Saturday, October 24, 2026 — vs Minnesota United FC, Shell Energy Stadium (7:30 p.m. CT). “Space City Night” in Houston, and the return fixture after the 2–2 draw in Minnesota on October 10 — McGuire’s stoppage-time header included.
Wednesday, October 28, 2026 — at Seattle Sounders FC, Lumen Field. The first leg of a Pacific Northwest road trip, with top-four seeding on the line.
Sunday, November 1, 2026 — at Portland Timbers, Providence Park. The road finale of the regular season.
Saturday, November 7, 2026 — vs St. Louis CITY SC, Shell Energy Stadium (7:00 p.m. ET). Decision Day, the regular-season finale — against the very side that knocked Houston out of the U.S. Open Cup on penalties in May. Seeding and revenge, same night.
November 20 – December 2, 2026 — Round One, Best-of-3. As a top-seven seed, Houston skip the Wild Card round (November 18) and open the Audi 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs here; the higher seed hosts Games 1 and 3 if needed. Conference semifinals follow December 5–6, conference finals December 11–12, and MLS Cup 2026 lands on Friday, December 18. Every match streams on Apple TV with MLS Season Pass.
Biggest Rivalries — The Wars
1. FC Dallas — the Texas Derby, for El Capitán. The original Texas war, played since Houston’s first season in 2006 for a working Civil War-era mountain howitzer awarded to the season-series winner — still the most distinctive trophy in MLS. The 2026 meetings were pure chaos: a 4–3 Dallas win in March in which Houston scored three goals in five minutes and still lost, then the 2–2 classic on October 17 with penalties at 90+4′ and 90+11′. Dallas took the 2026 series — and El Capitán goes back north.
2. Austin FC — the Copa Tejas fight. The three-way Texas cup has given this rivalry the freshest scars: Austin won the 2025 U.S. Open Cup meeting 3–1 and the first 2026 league meeting 2–0 at Q2 Stadium. Houston’s answer was the loudest result of their summer — the 3–0 rout on July 25 that launched the shutout streak. In the final 2026 Copa Tejas standings, Houston edged Austin for second place behind Dallas.
3. LA Galaxy — the Cup-final grudge. No cannon, no cup-within-a-cup — just history that still hurts. The Galaxy beat Houston in back-to-back MLS Cup finals, 1–0 in 2011 and 3–1 in 2012, in David Beckham’s final MLS match. The 2026 meetings brought a small, sweet measure of revenge: a 1–1 draw at Carson in May, then the 1–0 home win on August 15 — 2006 Championship Celebration Night, the fourth win of the record-tying shutout streak.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do the Houston Dynamo play their home games?
At Shell Energy Stadium in East Downtown Houston (2200 Texas Avenue), the club’s home since May 12, 2012 — the only soccer-specific MLS stadium in a U.S. downtown. The Dynamo share it with the NWSL’s Houston Dash.
Are the Houston Dynamo in the 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs?
Yes — Houston clinched their playoff spot on the weekend of October 17–18, 2026, returning to the postseason after missing out in 2025. They sit 5th in the Western Conference on 47 points and, as a top-7 seed, skip the Wild Card round and go straight into the Round One Best-of-3 Series (November 20 – December 2). The final seed is set on Decision Day, November 7.
Who are Houston Dynamo’s best players in 2026?
The winter rebuild’s two Designated Players lead the way: Brazilian winger Guilherme (#20), the team’s top scorer and a 2026 MLS All-Star, and Polish attacker Mateusz Bogusz (#19), signed from Cruz Azul for a reported fee of up to $10 million. Behind them, club legend Héctor Herrera (#16) returned from Toluca in January 2026 for a second spell — he made his 100th Dynamo appearance in July 2026.
Why do the Houston Dynamo wear orange — and what is the “Season 20” kit?
Orange is the club’s identity color (“Forever Orange”), worn since the first season in 2006. The current home shirt is the adidas “Season 20” kit (2025–26), celebrating the club’s 20th MLS season: an orange shirt with an embossed diamond pattern inspired by the 2011 jersey, and the return of heritage Space City Blue on the side panels and collar. Its hem crest carries the H-Town mottoes “Hold It Down” and “Forever Orange.”
⚽ Houston Dynamo Fan Shop
The full Orange trio — Guilherme, Bogusz and Herrera in Forever Orange.
Sources & official links: Houston Dynamo official site · MLS official site · Houston Dynamo tickets
Forever Orange, full voice, a cannon to win back — hold it down, Houston.
