HOUSTON — It’s been an exciting couple weeks for Houston Dynamo defender David Horst.
The Pine Grove graduate was added to Major League Soccer’s Team of the Week on Monday for the second straight week following a dominating performance in a 1-1 draw Saturday with Sporting Kansas City.
A week earlier, Horst and the Dynamo shut out the Los Angeles Galaxy and legends Steven Gerrard and Robbie Keane in a 3-0 victory.
It’s icing on the cake for the center back, who, after mostly coming off the bench to start the season, has again become a staple in the back line for first-year Houston manager Owen Coyle.
“I feel really good right now,” Horst said in a phone interview Monday. “We had a little stretch against Portland and Dallas where I didn’t think I played as well. Owen told me I need to pick it up a little bit again. Coming into these last couple games here, I really refocused myself.”
Horst and Dynamo goalkeeper Tyler Deric both made the Team of the Week following the win over the Galaxy on July 25. Houston limited L.A. to just seven shots all game, three of which were blocked.
Gerrard, who recently jumped to the MLS after a storied career in Liverpool, and Keane each got one shot on goal, but to no avail.
“Those are two guys that I grew up watching,” Horst said. “Especially a guy like Gerrard — I loved watching his games when I was younger. Some of the goals he’s scored throughout his career have been fantastic. So to be able to play against him was a pretty cool experience.”
But it was all business on the pitch — though Horst admitted, “It was cool to be able to say a few words to (Gerrard) ... Friendly banter during the game, nothing bad,” he said with a laugh.
“Once we got into the game, we knew we really had to shut those two guys down if we wanted to be successful,” Horst added. “I thought our midfield did a great job of shutting Gerrard down and the back four did a great job shutting Keane down. Those are arguably two of the top five players in the MLS and Gerrard is one of the best English players of all time.
“Overall, I thought it was a great team performance and I think it’s something for us to build off going forward.”
Horst’s form continued into Saturday’s game in Kansas City, where he made two spectacular plays to keep Houston in the game.
While he also closed down Sporting goal scorer Dom Dwyer, his potential goal-saving tackle on Roger Espinoza drew the most attention.
Espinoza took an onside pass to break in behind the Dynamo back line in the 56th minute with Kansas City leading 1-0. But before the Sporting midfielder could get a shot off, Horst galloped 20 yards to head off the Honduran with a precise tackle in the box to Deric’s left.
“Kansas City made a great play getting Espinoza open there on the side,” Horst said. “I was just doing my job as a defender. I got back and I knew if I could get close enough to him, that I could get to ground and make a tackle.
“Luckily, Tyler Deric slowed him up enough and gave me enough time to get back and make that tackle. I’d like to say that there was one thing that worked well, but it was a lot of luck and good timing.”
The four points Houston (7-8-6) took from its win over L.A. and draw with Kansas City proved crucial to its hunt for a Western Conference playoff berth. The Dynamo are now just one point back from Real Salt Lake for seventh place and four off Seattle for the sixth and final playoff spot.
With little more than a dozen games remaining in the MLS season, Horst and the Dynamo have hit their stride at the right time.
“Hopefully now I can keep this momentum going into the last part of the season,” Horst said. “Because these next 12 games are critical for us.”