HOUSTON (March 1, 2026) \u2013\u00a0Houston Dynamo 2\u00a0launch their fifth\u00a0MLS\u00a0NEXT\u00a0Pro\u00a0campaign this Sunday, March 1, hosting Colorado Rapids 2 at\u00a0SaberCats\u00a0Stadium, with kickoff set for 6:00 p.m. CT.<\/p>\n
The match marks the first of a four-game homestand and the first of three meetings between the two sides this season. Fans can claim free tickets to every Dynamo Dos home match via\u00a0Tixr<\/a>.<\/p>\n The season starts under new leadership, with\u00a0Jeremy\u00a0Hurdle\u00a0taking over as interim head coach of Dynamo 2 following the promotion of\u00a0Marcelo\u00a0Santos\u00a0to the first team as an assistant coach. Hurdle previously assumed the same role during the 2024 season when\u00a0Kenny\u00a0Bundy\u00a0was promoted to the first team coaching staff.<\/p>\n Like last year, Dynamo 2 will continue to build on the Club’s commitment to providing young players with unique and consistent opportunities to develop their skillset and perform at the professional level. The 2025 campaign saw Dos field the youngest roster in MLSNP, with an average age of just 18.9 years and a total of 13 Dynamo Academy players made their professional debuts, while four scored their first professional goals.<\/p>\n Dos strengthened their roster over the offseason, signing Alief (Houston) native\u00a0**D\u2019Alessandro**\u00a0**Herrera**<\/a>, midfielder\u00a0**Gustavo**\u00a0**Dohmann**<\/a>, attacker\u00a0**Arthur**\u00a0**Sousa**<\/a>, Dynamo Academy forward\u00a0**Jahmani**\u00a0**\u201cJJ\u201d Bell**<\/a>, forward\u00a0**Alan**\u00a0**Martins**<\/a>\u00a0and defender\u00a0**Vinicius Rodrigues da Silva**<\/a>. The Club also\u00a0signed<\/a>\u00a0three of their\u00a02026 MLS SuperDraft selections, including forward\u00a0Austin\u00a0Brummett\u00a0(University of Connecticut), defender\u00a0Agustin\u00a0Resch\u00a0(Seton Hall University), who has been named to the first team bench for the first two regular season matches, and midfielder\u00a0Gilberto\u00a0Rivera\u00a0(San Jose State University).<\/p>\n Houston\u2019s 2026 roster also features the return of a strong young core, including Dynamo Academy midfielder\u00a0Mattheo\u00a0Dimareli, a regular in the U.S. Youth National Team pool, forward\u00a0David\u00a0Garcia, who signed an MLSNP contract last season, defender\u00a0Isaac\u00a0Mwakutuya, midfielder\u00a0Noah\u00a0Betancourt, who also signed an MLSNP contract last season, and forward\u00a0Sebastiao\u00a0Nzita, who became the youngest player to debut for Dynamo 2 in Club history and the third-youngest player to appear in an MLSNP match. Additionally, goalkeeper\u00a0Pedro\u00a0Cruz\u00a0will make a return after\u00a0earning<\/a>\u00a0the\u00a02025 Goalie Wars\u00a0title and being named as a\u00a0finalist<\/a>\u00a0for the\u00a02025 MLS NEXT Pro Goalkeeper of the Year\u00a0award.<\/p>\n In 2025, Dynamo 2 earned their first penalty shootout victory of the season in their first matchup versus Rapids 2, edging Colorado 5-4 on penalty kicks after a scoreless draw. The result in regulation marked the team\u2019s second clean sheet of the season, backed by four saves from Cruz. The two sides met again later that year, where Dos fell 2-1 on the road, before securing a 1-0 road victory over Colorado on Sept. 14, earning their fourth clean sheet of the season thanks to five saves by Cruz.<\/p>\n Colorado finished third in the Western Conference last season with 51 points and a 15-8-5 record (WLD). They reached the championship final and fell 3-1 in penalties to Red Bull New York II. This year, the club signed head coach Erik Bushey to a new contract as he continues in his role with Rapids 2, a position he has held since the team\u2019s inaugural season in 2022.<\/p>\n