Dynamo, Atlante meet again

HOUSTON, Texas -- Over the last fifteen years at the national team level, the rivalry between Mexico and the United States has solidified into one of the best rivalries in all of soccer. With Superliga and the various CONCACAF competitions, the rivalry between the two nations has seeped into the club level. The next chapter of that rivalry will be written when the Houston Dynamo and Atlante FC meet in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals.

The first leg of the two-game, aggregate goals series opens Tuesday night at Robertson Stadium (9 p.m. CT), with the return match set for Estadio Quintana Roo in Cancun on March 3.

The two teams first met at Robertson Stadium just more than six months ago in SuperLiga 2008. Houston thrashed Atlante 4-0 in a game where the Mexican team didn't force Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad to make a single save. Atlante will be out to show that their form last summer during their preseason was a fluke and hope to take advantage of the fact that, this time around, Houston is in preseason.

Houston will see several similar faces to the one they defeated last summer. Atlante are led by striker Luis Gabriel Rey and dynamic risk-taking goalkeeper Federico Vilar, although he is suspended for Tuesday's first leg. Rey is off to a fast start in the 2009 Clausura with four goals and two assists in only seven games.

Rey's fast start however hasn't translated into success for his team. After starting out their season with a tie and a victory, in their last five games, Atlante has three draws and two losses. Seven points total in seven games has left the 2007 Apertura champions at the bottom of their group in the Clausura.

For the Dynamo, they have played a much more condensed preseason this year. Despite the shortened preseason and the fact that defender Eddie Robinson will be out Tuesday due to a red card received in the final game in Champions League group play, Houston coach Dominic Kinnear thinks his team will be up to the task.

"We are very happy with the way things have been going so far and I think we'll be ready when the whistle blows on Tuesday," Kinnear said. "All our focus goes to Atlante. It's a great opportunity."

The team is also chomping at the bit to get things started.

"(We're) definitely excited. Most teams now are going through preseason and we have a game that matters so early in the preseason. It's good to be able to do that," said Ricardo Clark. "So we're excited. ... (It is) good to have a game that has actual meaning and will hopefully take us far in the tournament."

While Atlante are in the midst of their regular season, their game against Houston will mark its third game in less than seven days. As a result, the game plan according to Kinnear will be to jump on the opposition early.

"They have a game on Wednesday and a game on [Saturday], so the message has been put out by ourselves to the team that's important for us for the first 10-15 minutes to give them all we have and see if they're fatigued a little bit," Kinnear said. "Hopefully they will be. But they are a good professional team, and it won't be easy. So we have to make sure that our mentality is one of, I wouldn't say desperation, but it would be nice to get a win in this first game."

Clark, along with forward Brian Ching, recently returned from the U.S. national team's 2-0 victory against Mexico in World Cup qualifying. Ching hasn't spent too long celebrating as he is focused on the task at hand.

"We're getting ready for the game on Tuesday. It's a game that is going to be extremely difficult because [Atlante] is in the middle of its season," Ching said. "... We look to get out on top of them from the start and hopefully we start the season on a positive note."

Clark expects the best from Atlante on Tuesday night.

"We obviously had a successful result against them last time and we hope to repeat that," he said. "They're going to be gunning for us, for sure, so we just have to be ready to step up."