Matt Besler and Graham Zusi were with the U.S. Men's National Team for the World Cup. Paulo Nagamura, Igor Juliao and Benny Feilhaber were subbed off by halftime due to injury. Toni Dovale received a red card in the 20th minute.
The odds were certainly not in Sporting KC's favor when they went to BBVA Compass Stadium on June 6, 2014. But through it all, and with a pair of homegrown center backs - Kevin Ellis and Erik Palmer-Brown - holding down the defense, Sporting KC persevered with an emphatic 2-0 win on the road.
The win extended Sporting KC's shutout streak to four straight over the Dynamo at BBVA Compass Stadium, a streak that has reached 375 minutes.
"It's a rival we respect," Feilhaber told media after Thursday's training session.
The two teams have formed a bitter rivalry over the past four years, fueled by playoff meetings in 2011, 2012 and 2013. Houston got the better of Sporting the first two years, but Peter Vermes' side got the last playoff laugh, knocking the Dynamo out of the 2013 MLS Cup Playoffs en route to an MLS Cup championship.
Vermes quipped after training on Thursday that the Sporting/Houston rivalry paralleled the great Chicago Bulls / Detroit Pistons rivalry.
"[The Pistons] were a hurdle that Michael Jordan had to get over and I always thought that Houston was our hurdle," Vermes said. "We needed to get through them to get the confidence to become an MLS champion.
"They made us a better team," Vermes added. "They have a lot of players that have winning mentalities."
The latest installment of the Sporting KC / Houston rivalry kicks off Saturday night under the lights of BBVA Compass Stadium. The match will kick off at 7:30 p.m. CT with pregame coverage beginning at 7 p.m. CT on 38 the Spot and SKCTV across the Midwest.
