HOUSTON -- The Houston Dynamo are unbelievably good when the level of competition is at its highest. There really isn't another way of describing the team that is three wins away from a third consecutive MLS title.
Sunday, in front of what surely will be another frenzied crowd at Robertson Stadium, the Dynamo will try to shut down the New York Red Bulls in a place where they have never lost a playoff match.
All year long the Orange have talked about their home-field advantage and what it means playing in front of an loyal throng that has been spoiled by one success story after another.
Now it's win or go home, and the Dynamo's all-time home scoring advantage of 11-2 in the MLS Cup Playoffs means nothing. Ask either team in front of an audience, and they will tell you that it doesn't matter.
That is the right thing to say with so much at stake, but the numbers don't lie.
"I think when the playoffs start everything gets thrown out the window because anything can happen," said Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear. "Attention to detail, minor errors, things like that always tend to get magnified. Records mean nothing."
In 2006, the Dynamo dropped their opener at Chivas USA before winning two in a row at home to reach the MLS Cup Final, as Houston dismantled Chivas in the second leg and then Colorado to reach its first championship game against New England.
At Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, the Dynamo fell behind only to tie the match and win the MLS title on penalty kicks.
Last year was eerily similar. The Orange dropped their playoff-opening match at Dallas before rallying for a 4-1 win at home in the second leg. Then, a week later the Dynamo dropped the Kansas City Wizards 2-0 in front of a record crowd at Robertson Stadium to earn a rematch against the Revs.
Now, for the first time in team history, the Dynamo do not trail entering the second leg of a playoff series. Last week, they earned a draw in the first leg when Kei Kamara poked a shot into the net in the 85th minute.
Even though they are heavily favored to beat a New York team that won just a single match away from home in 2008, they are not relying on numbers to get them to the Western Conference Championship.
"We weren't enthralled with our performance, but now it's not about the performance, it's about the result," said Houston defender Bobby Boswell. "And now, coming home, where we have played really good all year, I think we have put ourselves in a great position. We realize the importance of that, and hopefully we can get the job done."
Stuart Holden assisted on Kamara's goal and is part of what is arguably the deepest bench any MLS team has employed in a long time. The Orange have rallied to tie or win games in the latter stages at least a half-dozen times this year, and Holden said that is just part of the team's mental makeup.
The modus operandi, he said, is never say die.
"The team mentality is that we are never out of a game," added Holden. "We know we're never out of it, and even when we are down two-nil or something like that, we just keep battling to get a goal."
As for taking New York lightly, a team that was outscored 28-12 away from Giants Stadium this year, Holden just shrugged off the suggestion that his team wouldn't be prepared for what is sure to be a desperate visitor.
"Anything can happen in the playoffs, and we have seen it before," Holden added. "We know the numbers, we know the stats and we know there are a lot of people that are going to count us as a favorite entering the match this weekend. But we always know that they have some weapons and that on any given day they can beat us. We're not going to take them lightly, and we are going to come out Sunday and take it to them from the get-go."
Kinnear pushed his team with several long practices this week. He knows his squad has allowed just two goals in four home playoff matches while scoring 11. Kinnear, like the team he leads, is level-headed and calm as his team prepares for the latest installment of the biggest game in team history.
He knows that no MLS team has ever won three consecutive titles. Even before the team caught fire after sputtering out of the game, Kinnear wanted no part of any championship talk.
Kinnear only brings that up when he is discussing team goals and where the squad would like to be when if they are rewarded with the chance to play at The Home Depot Center on Nov. 23.
Sunday, the Dynamo have their best positioning ever after one playoff match. Instead of trailing in their first home match to start the playoffs, the team has a clean slate and a full bill of health.
But to Kinnear, none of that matters.
"We got the draw in New York, but now we have to come back here and win," said Kinnear. "We still have to win."
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