Sebastian Ferreira earns praise after leading 4-3 victory over San Jose Earthquakes

The Houston Dynamo defeated the San Jose Earthquakes 4-3 on Saturday in a chaotic fashion that left head coach Paulo Nagamura in awe of his side.

“Crazy, right?,” Nagamura said.

“I think if you were in the stands you enjoyed the game, as a fan I think you enjoyed a good game of soccer. San Jose is a good team. They are offensive-minded, and they created different challenges for our team, but I think the players understood what the strategy was going into the game. They were resilient for the entire game, disciplined to the game plan and credit to our guys who really, really performed tonight.”

Designated Player Sebastian Ferreira led the team’s offensive efforts, kicking off the scoring in the eighth minute before Darwin Quintero and Teenage Hadebe added to the tally. Ferreira then rounded out the score with a second in the 68th minute to secure the team’s four goals.

His performance earned the praise of Nagamura as the head coach labeled him “a big part of this puzzle.”

“Huge, huge. I think Sebas is a big part of this puzzle in Houston and for him to get the brace today was great,” Nagamura said. “Felt really happy for him. There is room for improvement for sure, but I think for him to get those first two goals will give him a boost of confidence and hopefully he can just move from there.”

The 24-year-old had previously gone five games without scoring, but now the player is back.

He said: “I tried to keep calm because one gets desperate alone. The coaching staff and teammates talked to me, that I had good games, that I shouldn’t despair, that the goal was going to come, and it has already come. I hope it continues to come quite often.

"It took a while, but it's here. So, now let's hope they come often and if they come in pairs, I won't get mad about that either.”

The victory boosted the team’s place on the Western Conference table to sixth with 11 points in six games and a record of 3-2-1. The Dynamo are now tied with Texas rivals FC Dallas and Austin FC.