Fate in their own hands

Dynamo control Western destiny with two games left

By JC Saegusa / HoustonDynamo.com

"It all comes down to us and what we can do on the field," said Houston's Brad Davis. (Shea/Getty)

Two weeks ago, the Dynamo secured a playoff spot for the fourth consecutive year with a tie against the Kansas City Wizards, but one would never have known by the atmosphere in the locker room and the demeanor of the players after the game. The Dynamo have much loftier goals than merely clinching a playoff spot. With two MLS Cup championships in their first two seasons in Houston (2006, 2007), last year's disappointing loss to the New York Red Bulls fell way short of team expectations.

Although the Dynamo are not mathematically eliminated from the Supporters' Shield race, they trail Columbus by five points with two games remaining. The Dynamo are still in the thick of the Western Conference race, and they still control their own destiny. With only two matches left in the regular season, the Dynamo coincidentally play the two teams they are tied with atop the conference, the LA Galaxy (Sunday, October 18, 2:00 p.m. at Robertson Stadium) and at Chivas USA (Sunday, October 25, 2:00 p.m.)

"It's us, L.A., and Chivas all tied at 44 points," midfielder Brad Davis said. "One of our goals every year is to make the playoffs, which we've done, and also to win our division."

While proud of clinching a fourth consecutive playoff berth, the Dynamo were not satisfied with the result against Kansas City, and the players expect to improve on their results heading into the playoffs.

"We're right there, and we play Chivas in L.A., so it all comes down to us and what we can do on the field," Davis said. "This weekend is going to be a big game for [the Galaxy] as well as for us, and we just need to take care of business no matter what it takes and try and get three points."

With the surging Galaxy coming into town to play in weather conditions predicted to be similar to a typical day in southern California -- 75 degrees and sunny -- the Dynamo are looking to the fans to give them the advantage, hoping for 30,000 fans covered in orange, banging 20,000 thunder sticks and cheering as if it were the MLS Cup championship game.

"We should have a big crowd this weekend," Davis said. "It should be a playoff atmosphere with L.A. coming to town. They have a good team, and it's going to be a tough game. It's like our playoffs are starting right now, and I think that's fine for all of us. We enjoy that, we enjoy this time of year, we have great fans and great support, and we can't wait to try and improve on what we left behind last year."