PASSION OF THE PLAYOFFS
Steve Clark interview: “I hope we’ve brought success to Houston Dynamo”
The 37-year-old spoke exclusively to AS USA about Houston’s chances, home advantage and Héctor Herrera’s importance to the team.
Houston Dynamo goalkeeper Steve Clark is no stranger to the playoffs.
The veteran stopper was crowned Eastern Conference champion with Columbus Crew in 2015 and went on to win the Western Conference twice with Portland Timbers. He has also suffered playoff heartbreak in MLS Cup, losing the showpiece final on three occasions.
Now 37 years old, the Houston keeper knows all about the fine margins in post-season competition. As part of our Passion of the Playoffs series, Clark tells AS USA that he feels ready to finally lift the biggest prize this year.
“I definitely look back at past playoff experiences, knowing that I’ve played in plenty of playoff matches and had a lot of success,” Clark says.
On Saturday evening Clark and Houston Dynamo play the final game of their best-of-three series against Real Salt Lake. With the series tied, it’s do-or-die time for a Houston side that have already exceeded all expectations this season. Will Saturday’s clash be their final bow, or the start of something really special?
Houston bounce back after tough spell
Going into the 2023 season Houston Dynamo had not made the playoffs since 2017, the joint-longest streak in the league. New coach Ben Olsen was tasked with bringing together a new-look team at a club that had had little to cheer about in recent seasons.
Last year Houston finished second-from-bottom in the Western Conference, losing more games than anyone else in the West. That was Clark’s first season with the club and the contrast between that and his second could hardly be more stark.
This time around Houston finished the regular season just a point behind reigning MLS Cup holders LAFC. Clark tells AS USA that the momentum has been building since the start of the year.
“We’ve definitely seen the energy grow throughout the year. The fans have been a little bit starved of success so I hope we’ve given them that this year. The excitement around the team is palpable.”
Performances on the pitch have improved dramatically, but Clark points to the togetherness of Dynamo squad as a key reason for their success. He gives credit to Olsen and general manager Pat Onstad for their off-season squad-building and the atmosphere that they have cultivated within the team.
“They’ve done a great job of getting good characters in the building, but also just allowing people to be individuals. That’s allowed us to gel more naturally.”
Clark a key part of Houston’s experienced core
Houston do not have the offensive fire-power or the individual brilliance that some MLS teams possess, but Olsen has imparted a clear style-of-play on this talented group of players. They have one of the highest pass-completion percentages of any team in the league and a new-found confidence that makes them a very tough proposition to face in the post-season.
When asked how this team compares to the Conference-winning sides that he has been a part of in the past, Clark believes that the 2023 Houston Dynamo stack up well.
“There are definitely similarities. There’s a feeling within the team, a confidence when we step on the field now. But also the quality that we have on the ball, an ability to control the game with the ball which I think few other teams in the league do.”
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Houston’s progression under Olsen this season may seem sudden, but some key foundation blocks were put in place last year. Mexican international Héctor Herrera joined from Atlético Madrid midway through the 2022 campaign, a major coup for the Houston.
It took him a little time to settle in a new country, playing in a new league, but Herrera’s performances this season have been among the very best in MLS. The 33-year-old has recorded five goals and 17 assists from midfield, putting him just one goal involvement short of Houston’s single-season record.
“Héctor has been so good, we ask so much of him,” Clark explains. “His ability on the ball is really unique, I don’t think that there’s a player in MLS that their team demands more of.”
“He leads by example, but he’s just a really fun guy. He’s laughing a lot, he’s very humble and he’s just a really good teammate.”
Change of culture at Houston
After a long spell of playoff failures, even making it to the post-season was a major achievement for Houston this year. They came agonisingly close to sealing the Round One best-of-three series on the road, but Real Salt Lake secured a penalty shootout victory to keep the series alive.
It remains to be seen how that set-back in Utah will affect the Houston team, but this group of players have shown that they can deal with the pressure in crucial moments. They lifted the US Open Cup in September, beating Inter Miami to win their first piece of silverware since 2018, and Clark is eager to see how far this journey can go.
“This has been one of the most fun years that I’ve ever had,” the 37-year-old says.
“To start in Houston two years ago - with where the team was then, to where we are now - it’s been really gratifying to be a part of that change of culture. To be part of a total turnaround of a franchise, that doesn’t happen all the time.”
Houston’s hopes of progression into the Conference Semi-finals rest on the outcome of Saturday’s game. They take to the field at Shell Energy Stadium for what could be the last time this season, but Clark certainly has no intention of calling it a day anytime soon.
“Playing-wise I feel really good about my game and I think I’m getting better with age, which is fun at 37. I hope to be here for a long time to come.”