2006 Houston Dynamo season

Houston Dynamo vs Colorado Rapids on April 2, 2006

The Dynamo played their first game on April 2, 2006. Amidst a crowd of 25,462 people in Robertson Stadium, the Dynamo beat the Colorado Rapids 5–2. Brian Ching led the charge for the Dynamo with four goals, all of which were set up with assists from teammate Dwayne De Rosario. In stoppage time, Alejandro Moreno scored MLS' Goal of the Week with a game-clinching bicycle kick. On May 6, 2006, the Houston Dynamo won their first intrastate rivalry game against FC Dallas, 4–3 at Robertson Stadium. Craig Waibel had a career year for the Dynamo, ending up one of the finalists for defender of the year. He logged 5 goals and 1 assist during the regular season. Ronald Cerritos and Julian Nash were released in June to make room for Paul Dalglish.

Mike Chabala, Stuart Holden, Martin Hutton, Patrick Ianni, Mpho Moloi, Adrian Serioux, and Zach Wells were the new additions to the pre existing San Jose Earthquakes 2005 Roster.

The Dynamo finished their first season in Houston with an 11–8–13 record, good for second place in the Western Conference. They lost the first game of the two-legged conference semifinal to C.D. Chivas USA, 2–1, on October 22 in Los Angeles. Chivas goalkeeper Brad Guzan stopped De Rosario on a penalty kick that could have tied the match.

In the second leg on October 29, Houston defeated Chivas USA 2–0 at Robertson Stadium, advancing in dramatic fashion. After a red card to Chivas' Juan Francisco Palencia, Houston's Brad Davis converted a second-half penalty kick to tie the aggregate score. With the match in second-half stoppage time, Brian Ching headed in the winning goal from close range to delight the crowd of more than 17,000.

On November 5, 2006, the Dynamo defeated the Colorado Rapids 3–1 in the Western Conference final to earn a spot in its first MLS Cup. Scottish forward Paul Dalglish scored twice in front of an MLS Cup Playoffs-high crowd of 23,107.

Paul Dalglish holds the trophy after the MLS Cup victory

On November 12, 2006, the Dynamo defeated the New England Revolution 4–3 on penalty kicks after a 1–1 tie to win the 2006 MLS Cup held at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. The game was scoreless until the second session of extra time, when New England's Taylor Twellman scored. Only one minute and six seconds later, Brian Ching headed in the tying goal for Houston, and the championship was, for the first time in MLS history, decided by a shootout. Substitutes Kelly Gray and Stuart Holden made Houston's first two penalty kicks, and standouts Dwayne De Rosario and Brian Ching made the last two. Ching's gave Houston a 4–3 lead, and goalkeeper Pat Onstad stopped New England's Jay Heaps on the final attempt to secure the win.

With the win, the Dynamo advanced to the 2007 CONCACAF Champions' Cup.

2006 Dynamo Squad

This is the final roster for the Houston Dynamo at the end of the 2006 Season. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  USA Zach Wells 2 DF  USA Eddie Robinson 3 DF  USA Kevin Goldthwaite 4 DF  USA Chris Aloisi 5 DF  USA Ryan Cochrane 6 DF  USA Kelly Gray 7 MF  USA Chris Wondolowski 8 FW  SCO Paul Dalglish 9 MF  USA Brian Mullan 11 MF  USA Brad Davis 12 FW  USA Julian Nash 13 MF  USA Ricardo Clark 14 MF  CAN Dwayne De Rosario

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 FW  VEN Alejandro Moreno 16 DF  USA Craig Waibel 17 MF  USA Mike Chabala 18 GK  CAN Pat Onstad 19 DF  USA Patrick Ianni 21 MF  USA Aaron Lanes 22 MF  USA Stuart Holden 23 MF  RSA Mpho Moloi 24 DF  USA Wade Barrett (captain) 25 FW  USA Brian Ching 26 FW  USA Marcus Storey 30 GK  USA Martin Hutton 51 MF  CAN Adrian Serioux

Players who were with the Earthquakes at the end of the 2005 season and moved to Houston are not listed. Likewise, players who were with the Earthquakes and were released, retired, or out of contract after the 2005 season and did not move with the team to Houston are not listed.

In

Per Major League Soccer and club policies terms of the deals do not get disclosed.

Date	Player	Position	Age	Previous Club	Notes	Ref
January 20, 2006	Patrick Ianni	DF	20	UCLA	Selected with the 8th overall pick in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft	[1]
January 20, 2006	Zach Wells	GK	24	MetroStars	Acquired in exchange for a 4th round pick in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft	[2]
January 20, 2006	Andre Schmid	FW	22	St. John's University	Selected with the 8th pick in the 3rd round (32nd overall) in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft	[3]
January 20, 2006	Mike Chabala	MF	21	University of Washington	Selected with the 8th pick in the 4th round (44th overall) in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft	[3]
January 26, 2006	Mpho Moloi	MF	22	University of Connecticut	Selected with the 7th overall pick in the 2006 MLS Supplemental Draft	[4]
February 16, 2006	Marcus Storey	FW	23	Columbus Crew	Acquired in exchange for a 2nd round pick in the 2007 MLS Supplemental Draft	[5]
March 24, 2006	Adrian Serioux	MF	26	New York Red Bulls	Acquired in exchange for Danny O'Rourke	[6]
April 18, 2006	Stuart Holden	MF	20	Sunderland	Free Transfer	[7]
August 17, 2006	Paul Dalglish	MF	29	Hibernian	Free Transfer	[8]

Out

Date	Player	Position	Age	Destination Club	Notes	Ref
March 24, 2006	Danny O'Rourke	DF	22	New York Red Bulls	Traded to New York Red Bulls in exchange for Adrian Serioux	[6]
	Andre Schmid	FW	22	New York Red Bulls	Released. Joined the reserves for the Red Bulls
August 21, 2006	Ronald Cerritos	FW	31	San Salvador	Released	[9]

Out

Date	Player	Position	Loaned to	Notes	Ref
	Mike Chabala	MF	Portland Timbers		[10]
June 29, 2006	Martin Hutton	GK	Portland Timbers		[11]