The 2023 Houston Dynamo season was the 18th season of the team's existence since joining Major League Soccer (MLS) prior to the 2006 season. The Dynamo missed the playoffs in 2022 for the eighth time in nine years.

2023 was the first season under head coach Ben Olsen, who was hired on November 8, 2022. It was the second season under GM Pat Onstad and technical director Asher Mendelsohn. It was the third season (second full season) under majority owner Ted Segal. 2023 saw the Dynamo qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2017 after finishing 4th in the Western Conference. There they would advance past Real Salt Lake in the first round 2 games to 1 in a best of 3 series and defeat Sporting Kansas City 1–0 to advance to the Conference Finals, where they would fall 2–1 to LAFC. The season was highlighted by the club's second ever Open Cup title, winning 2–1 at Inter Miami in the final.

Team captain Héctor Herrera set a club record for assists in a season with 21 and was the first Dynamo player included in the MLS Best XI since Brad Davis in 2011.

Final roster

Appearances and goals are totals for MLS regular season only. No.NameNationalityPositionDate of birth (Age)Signed fromSigned inApps.GoalsGoalkeepers12Steve ClarkGKApril 14, 1986 (age 37)Portland Timbers202266013Andrew TarbellGKOctober 7, 1993 (age 30)Austin FC20231038Xavier Valdez (HGP)GKNovember 23, 2003 (age 20)Houston Dynamo Academy202200Defenders2Franco EscobarDFFebruary 21, 1995 (age 28)Los Angeles FC20232823Brad SmithDFApril 9, 1994 (age 29)D.C. United20231814Ethan Bartlow (GA)DFFebruary 2, 2000 (age 23)University of Washington20214205Daniel SteresDFNovember 11, 1990 (age 33)LA Galaxy202244417Teenage Hadebe (DP)DFSeptember 17, 1995 (age 28)Yeni Malatyaspor202151322Tate SchmittDFMay 28, 1997 (age 26)Real Salt Lake20235124Mujeeb Murana (HGP)DFSeptember 23, 2000 (age 23)Houston Dynamo 220230025Griffin DorseyDFMarch 5, 1999 (age 24)Toronto FC202166628Erik SviatchenkoDFOctober 4, 1991 (age 32)Midtjylland202317030Chase GasperDFJanuary 25, 1996 (age 27)LA Galaxy20235031MicaelDFAugust 12, 2000 (age 23)Atlético Mineiro2022251Midfielders6ArturMFMarch 11, 1996 (age 27)Columbus Crew20233428Amine BassiMFNovember 27, 1997 (age 26)FC Metz2023281016Héctor Herrera (DP)MFApril 19, 1990 (age 33)Atlético Madrid202240419Charles AugusteMFNovember 25, 1999 (age 24)Creighton University20230020Adalberto CarrasquillaMFNovember 28, 1998 (age 25)Cartagena202167627Luis CaicedoMFMay 18, 1996 (age 27)Cortuluá202325032Sebastian KowalczykMFAugust 22, 1998 (age 25)Pogoń Szczecin20238035Brooklyn Raines (HGP)MFMarch 11, 2005 (age 18)Barça Residency Academy202280Forwards7Iván FrancoFWApril 16, 2000 (age 23)Club Libertad202326311Corey BairdFWJanuary 30, 1996 (age 27)Los Angeles FC2021641018Ibrahim Aliyu (U22)FWJanuary 16, 2002 (age 21)NK Lokomotiva Zagreb202324321Nelson Quiñónes (U22)FWAugust 20, 2002 (age 21)Once Caldas202236423Ifunanyachi AcharaFWSeptember 28, 1997 (age 26)Toronto FC20230034Thorleifur Úlfarsson (GA)FWDecember 27, 2000 (age 22)Duke University2022497

Player movement

In Per Major League Soccer and club policies terms of the deals do not get disclosed. DatePlayerPositionAgePrevious clubNotesRefNovember 22, 2022 ArturMF26 Columbus CrewAcquired in exchange for $200,000 in 2023 GAM, $100,000 in 2024 GAM, and a conditional $50,000 in GAMNovember 23, 2022 Andrew TarbellGK29 Austin FCSigned on a free transferDecember 7, 2022 Ifunanyachi AcharaFW25 Toronto FCSigned on a free transfer, acquired his rights in stage 2 of the 2022 MLS Re-Entry Draft on November 22, 2022December 21, 2022 Charles AugusteMF23Creighton UniversityUndrafted free agentJanuary 6, 2023 Brad SmithDF28 D.C. UnitedSigned on a free transferJanuary 7, 2023 Iván FrancoFW22 Club LibertadSigned on loan for the 2023 season with an option to buy.January 12, 2023 Franco EscobarDF27 LAFCSigned on a free transferJanuary 23, 2023 Amine BassiFW25 FC MetzFull transfer for an undisclosed fee. Fee is reportedly $1.5 million.February 9, 2023 Djevencio van der KustDF21 FC UtrechtSigned on loan with an option to buy.February 16, 2023 MicaelDF22 Atlético MineiroFull transfer for an undisclosed fee. Fee is reportedly $500,000. Spent the previous season on loan to Houston Dynamo 2.February 16, 2023 Mujeeb MuranaDF22 Houston Dynamo 2Signed as a homegrown player.February 17, 2023 Tate SchmittDF25 Real Salt LakeSigned on a free transfer. Acquired his player rights by sending a 3rd round pick in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft to RSL.February 23, 2023 Luis CaicedoMF26 CortuluáSigned on a free transfer.March 24, 2023 Erik SviatchenkoDF31 MidtjyllandFull transfer for an undisclosed fee. Fee is reportedly $1,480,000.April 16, 2023 Chase GasperDF27 LA GalaxyClaimed off waivers.April 25, 2023 Ibrahim AliyuFW21 NK Lokomotiva ZagrebFull transfer for an undisclosed fee as a U-22 Initiative player. Fee is reportedly $2,300,000.July 13, 2023 Nelson QuiñónesFW20 Once CaldasExercised the purchase option on the loan. Transfer fee undisclosed but is reportedly $1,250,000, with Once Caldas maintaining a 25% sell-on clause.August 1, 2023 Sebastian KowalczykMF24 Pogoń SzczecinFull transfer for an undisclosed fee. Fee is reportedly $540,000.

Out DatePlayerPositionAgeDestination ClubNotesRefNovember 7, 2022 Mateo BajamichFW23 Estudiantes de Río CuartoContract option declinedNovember 7, 2022 Ian HoffmannDF21 Moss FKContract option declinedNovember 7, 2022 Marcelo PalominoMF21 AFC EskilstunaContract option declinedNovember 7, 2022 Zarek ValentinDF31 Minnesota UnitedContract option declinedNovember 9, 2022 Fafà PicaultFW31 Nashville SCTraded for $50,000 of 2023 GAM, $50,000 of 2024 GAM, and a conditional $150,000 of 2024 GAM.November 11, 2022 Tim ParkerDF29 St. Louis City SCTraded for $250,000 of 2023 GAM and $250,000 of 2024 GAM. Dynamo will pay a portion of his salary for two seasons.November 16, 2022 Darwin QuinteroFW35 América de CaliContract option declinedNovember 16, 2022 Memo RodriguezMF26 LA GalaxyContract option declinedNovember 16, 2022 ZecaDF28 Esporte Clube VitóriaContract option declinedNovember 16, 2022 Darwin CerénMF32 C.D. ÁguilaContract expiredNovember 16, 2022 Sam JunquaDF26 FC DallasContract expiredJanuary 10, 2023 Adam LundqvistDF28 Austin FCTraded for $300,000 of 2023 GAM and $200,000 of 2024 GAM.February 16, 2023 Michael NelsonGK28 FC TulsaWaivedJune 30, 2023 Djevencio van der KustDF22 FC UtrechtLoan ended/returned to UtrechtJuly 23, 2023 Juan CastillaMF18 Deportivo CaliSold for an undisclosed fee.

Loans out DatePlayerPositionAgeDestination ClubNotesRefJanuary 9, 2023 Matías VeraMF27 Argentinos JuniorsLoaned for remainder of 2023.March 3, 2023 Danny RíosFW19 Las Vegas LightsLoaned for remainder of 2023.May 26, 2023 Beto AvilaFW22 Charleston BatteryLoaned for remainder of 2023.July 27, 2023 Sebastián FerreiraFW25 Vasco da GamaLoaned for remainder of 2023.

MLS SuperDraft

RoundPickPlayerPositionAgeCollegeNotesRef234Isaiah ReidFW21ClemsonSigned with Houston Dynamo 2.363Frantz PierrotMF23ConnecticutSigned with Athlone Town.

Staff

ExecutiveCoaching staff

Friendlies

Preseason

Competitions Major League Soccer

Standings Western Conference

Overall

Results summary

Results by round

Match results

MLS Cup Playoffs

Round One

Conference Semifinals

Conference Finals

U.S. Open Cup

Leagues Cup

South 2 Group Stage

Knockout Stage

Player statistics Appearances, goals, and assists {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;" |+ ! rowspan="2" | ! rowspan="2" | ! rowspan="2" | ! rowspan="2" | ! colspan="3" | ! colspan="3" | ! colspan="3" | ! colspan="3" | ! colspan="3" | |- !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |- |2||DF||||align=left|||41||3||1||28||2||1||5||1||0||4||0||0||4||0||0 |- |3||DF||||align=left|||21||1||2||18||1||2||3||0||0||4||0||0||2||0||0 |- |4||DF||||align=left|||32||0||1||27||0||1||0||0||0||5||0||0||0||0||0 |- |5||DF||||align=left|||28||2||2||26||2||2||0||0||0||2||0||0||0||0||0 |- |6||MF||||align=left|||47||2||1||34||2||0||5||0||0||4||0||1||4||0||0 |- |7||FW||||align=left|||33||3||4||26||3||3||0||0||0||3||0||1||4||0||0 |- |8||MF||||align=left|||42||15||8||28||10||4||5||2||0||5||2||4||4||1||0 |- |9||FW||||align=left|||13||0||0||11||0||0||0||0||0||2||0||0||0||0||0 |- |11||FW||||align=left|||48||14||8||34||8||6||5||1||0||5||3||2||4||2||0 |- |12||GK||||align=left|||41||0||2||33||0||2||5||0||0||0||0||0||3||0||0 |- |13||GK||||align=left|||8||0||0||1||0||0||0||0||0||6||0||0||1||0||0 |- |14||FW||||align=left|||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0 |- |15||DF||||align=left|||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||1||0||0||0||0||0 |- |16||MF||||align=left|||44||6||21||30||4||17||5||1||2||5||1||1||4||0||1 |- |17||DF||||align=left|||16||1||0||12||1||0||2||0||0||2||0||0||0||0||0 |- |18||FW||||align=left|||37||6||4||24||3||3||4||0||0||5||3||1||4||0||0 |- |19||MF||||align=left|||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||1||0||0||0||0||0 |- |20||MF||||align=left|||38||4||11||25||3||8||5||0||1||4||1||1||4||0||1 |- |21||FW||||align=left|||41||5||4||28||4||2||5||0||1||5||1||0||3||0||1 |- |22||DF||||align=left|||5||1||0||5||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0 |- |23||FW||||align=left|||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0 |- |24||DF||||align=left|||2||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||2||0||0||0||0||0 |- |25||DF||||align=left|||33||5||3||19||3||2||5||0||0||5||1||0||4||1||1 |- |27||MF||||align=left|||37||1||0||25||0||0||2||0||0||6||1||0||4||0||0 |- |28||DF||||align=left|||30||0||1||17||0||1||5||0||0||4||0||0||4||0||0 |- |30||DF||||align=left|||8||0||0||5||0||0||0||0||0||3||0||0||0||0||0 |- |31||DF||||align=left|||37||1||0||24||1||0||5||0||0||4||0||0||4||0||0 |- |32||MF||||align=left|||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0 |- |32||MF||||align=left|||9||0||1||8||0||1||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0 |- |33||FW||||align=left|||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0 |- |34||FW||||align=left|||28||4||1||18||3||1||3||0||0||3||1||0||0||0||0 |- |35||MF||||align=left|||10||1||0||7||0||0||0||0||0||3||1||0||0||0||0 |- |38||GK||||align=left|||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0 |- |40||DF||||align=left|||2||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||2||0||0||0||0||0

Disciplinary record {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;" |+ !width=15 rowspan="2" | !width=15 rowspan="2" | !width=15 rowspan="2" | !width=100 rowspan="2" |Player ! colspan="2" |Total ! colspan="2" |MLS ! colspan="2" |Playoffs ! colspan="2" |U.S. Open Cup ! colspan="2" |Leagues Cup |- !style="width:30px;"|!!style="width:30px;"|!!style="width:30px;"|!!style="width:30px;"|!!style="width:30px;"|!!style="width:30px;"|!!style="width:30px;"|!!style="width:30px;"|!!style="width:30px;"|!!style="width:30px;"| |- |2||DF||||align=left|||16||0||11||0||2||0||1||0||2||0 |- |4||DF||||align=left|||4||0||4||0||0||0||0||0||0||0 |- |5||DF||||align=left|||2||0||2||0||0||0||0||0||0||0 |- |6||MF||||align=left|||8||0||6||0||0||0||1||0||1||0 |- |7||FW||||align=left|||3||0||3||0||0||0||0||0||0||0 |- |8||MF||||align=left|||2||1||1||1||1||0||0||0||0||0 |- |9||FW||||align=left|||1||0||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||0 |- |11||FW||||align=left|||6||0||4||0||1||0||1||0||0||0 |- |12||GK||||align=left|||5||0||4||0||1||0||0||0||0||0 |- |16||MF||||align=left|||11||2||8||2||1||0||1||0||1||0 |- |17||DF||||align=left|||2||0||1||0||0||0||1||0||0||0 |- |18||FW||||align=left|||3||0||2||0||0||0||0||0||1||0 |- |20||MF||||align=left|||13||0||9||0||3||0||1||0||0||0 |- |21||FW||||align=left|||5||1||5||1||0||0||0||0||0||0 |- |22||DF||||align=left|||1||0||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||0 |- |25||DF||||align=left|||10||0||7||0||1||0||2||0||0||0 |- |27||MF||||align=left|||7||0||6||0||0||0||1||0||0||0 |- |28||DF||||align=left|||8||0||7||0||1||0||0||0||0||0 |- |30||DF||||align=left|||2||1||1||0||0||0||1||1||0||0 |- |31||DF||||align=left|||7||1||7||1||0||0||0||0||0||0 |- |32||MF||||align=left|||1||0||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||0 |- |34||FW||||align=left|||1||0||1||0||0||0||0||0||0||0

Clean sheets {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |+