By Demetrio Teniente
With Houston moving back into the western conference this season, FC Dallas will play the Dynamo three times in 2015, intensifying the tension and excitement of the Texas Derby pres. by Novo Nordisk. Two of those games will be right here at Toyota Stadium and the June 26 matchup, the first MLS visit from Houston in over two years, is our fourth Premier Match of 2015.
For those of you unfamiliar with the rivalry, you should know that the Texas Derby is kind of a big deal; just ask FC Dallas defender Stephen Keel and former FCD defender George John.
GET YOUR TICKETS FOR PREMIER MATCH #4 VS HOUSTON ON FRIDAY, JUNE 26
The winner of the series is crowned the best team in Texas and gets to take home a replica 18th century mountain howitzer cannon, affectionately named El Capitán. The games are full of passion, tension and controversy both on the field and in the stands.
Last season, FC Dallas swept Houston in the season series with two emphatic wins at BBVA Compass Stadium, winning 4-1 win in MLS play and 3-2 in overtime in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup - keeping El Capitán in Frisco. FCD hasn’t lost to Houston since 2012, winning four times in a row in all competitions.
Not only will this be a great rivalry match in the middle of the season, but it’s also a chance to catch two of the most dynamic forwards in MLS go head-to-head in FC Dallas’ Blas Perez and Houston Dynamo’s Giles Barnes. Both Barnes and Perez finished the 2014 MLS season with 11 goals.
The Texas Derby is, hands down, FC Dallas’ biggest and most heated rivalry. And since this match is the second of three, it is quite possible that either team could secure the series title with a win (though we all know there's really only one team that will come into this one with a chance to clinch the cannon).
