Home » Who Are the Best Houston Dynamo Soccer Players of All Time?

Who Are the Best Houston Dynamo Soccer Players of All Time?

Houston Dynamo F.C. has played for 18 years in the MLS after relocating from San Jose in 2005. The club won the MLS Cup in each of its first two seasons and also has a US Open Cup from 2018 under its belt. Who are some of the best players in the Dynamo’s history, and what are their accomplishments with the club? Keep reading to find out.

Who Are the Best Houston Dynamo Soccer Players of All Time?

Brad Davis
Brian Ching
Ricardo Clark
Mauro Manotas
Pat Onstad
Boniek García
Geoff Cameron
Alberth Elis
Dwayne De Rosario
Will Bruin

1. Brad Davis

Two-time MLS champion
Most games in Dynamo history
Most assists in Dynamo history

Brad Davis was taken third overall in the 2002 MLS Draft by the MetroStars and played three seasons in the MLS before joining the precursor to the Dynamo in 2005. Davis played ten years with the club after relocation and has the most games played and assists in club history. The left midfielder won the MLS Cup in each of his first two seasons in Houston.

Davis had one goal and nine assists in his first season with the Dynamo in 2006. Between 2009 and 2015, the midfielder had seven straight seasons of double-digit goal contributions. Davis’ best offensive seasons came in 2011 and 2012 when he had 18 goal contributions in each season. After leaving the club in 2015, he played one more season in the MLS before retiring. Davis played in 322 matches across all competitions and contributed 45 goals and 97 assists. The midfielder has the most games and assists in the Dynamo’s history and the fourth most goals for Houston by any player.

2. Brian Ching

Two-time MLS champion
Most goals in Dynamo history
Five seasons as the Dynamo’s top goal scorer

Brian Ching was initially drafted in the second round of the 2001 MLS Draft by the LA Galaxy and later played for San Jose before joining the Dynamo in 2006. Ching is a two-time MLS champion and has the most goals scored in the club’s history. The center-forward won the MLS Cup in each of his first two seasons in Houston. The Hawaiian was also the club’s top goal scorer for the first five years that he played for the Dynamo. Ching scored eleven goals in 2006 and 13 goals in 2008. The forward also had 11 goal contributions during the following season.

Ching played through the 2013 campaign with Houston before retiring. Ching scored 67 goals during his eight-year tenure with the club, which is the most by any player in the history of the Dynamo. The forward also contributed 27 assists during his 216 appearances for the club.

3. Ricardo Clark

Two-time MLS champion
Second-most games in Dynamo history
Seventh-most goals in Dynamo history

Ricardo Clark was the second pick in the 2003 MLS Draft by the MetroStars, and he joined the Dynamo for their first year in Houston in 2006. Clark played for the club for ten years and appeared in the second-most games in club history. The center midfielder won the MLS Cup in each of his first two seasons with the Dynamo. He had ten goal contributions during his first four seasons with Houston. Clark left the club in 2009 to explore a career in Europe but returned to the Dynamo three years later.

2013 to 2016 were the best offensive years of the midfielder’s career. Clark had eight goal contributions in each of the first two seasons while scoring eight goals in 2015. The midfielder also added six goal contributions in 2016. Clark left Houston for Columbus after the 2017 campaign and retired two years later. Clark appeared in 295 matches and scored 31 goals for the Dynamo, which are the second and seventh most, respectively, in the club’s history.

4. Mauro Manotas

2018 US Open Cup winner
Second-most Goals in Dynamo history
Three seasons as the Dynamo’s top goal scorer

Mauro Manotas joined the Houston Dynamo in 2015 after previously playing professionally in Columbia. Manotas has been a consistent goal scorer for the club and has the second-most goals in Dynamo history. The center forward started to play more frequently as a 20-year-old in 2016 with Houston, as he led the team with six goals in 22 league games. Manotas had 15 goal contributions in the following season as well.

The forward led the Dynamo in goal-scoring in 2018 and 2019, as he had 19 and 13 goals, respectively. He also won the US Open Cup with Houston in 2018 and had seven assists during the 2019 campaign. 2020 was Manotas’ last year with the club, as he scored just three goals. The forward has since been playing in Mexico. Manotas netted 64 goals during his tenure with the Dynamo, which is the second most in the history of the club.

5. Pat Onstad

Two-time MLS champion
Most games by a goalie in Dynamo history
Four seasons in the top six in clean sheets in MLS

Pat Onstad first played in the MLS at 35 years old with the San Jose Earthquakes before being on the original Houston Dynamo squad in 2006. Onstad is a two-time MLS Cup winner with the club and has played the most games by a goalie in the club’s history. The goalkeeper won the MLS Cup in each of his first two seasons with the Dynamo. Onstad was reliable in net during his tenure with Houston, as he started 23 or more games in each of the five seasons he played for the club. He also had double-digit wins in each of his first four seasons with the Dynamo.

Onstad had 11 clean sheets in 2007 and 10 clean sheets in 2009. The keeper finished in the top six in the category four times while playing in Houston. The Canadian played the 2011 campaign with D.C. United before retiring. Onstad played 163 games for the club, which is more than any other goalkeeper in Dynamo history.

6. Boniek García

2018 US Open Cup winner
Second-most assists in Dynamo history
Third-most games in Dynamo history

Boniek García joined the Houston Dynamo in 2012 after playing professionally in his home country of Honduras. García played for a decade for the club and has the second-most assists in club history. The central midfielder had 13 goal contributions during his first two seasons in Houston, which included his highest single-season goal total in the MLS with four goals in 2012. García had another seven-goal contribution during the 2015 campaign before tallying nine assists in 2016.

The midfielder had a successful 2018 as he won the US Open Cup with the club and added seven goal contributions. After three more seasons in Houston, the Honduran talent returned to his home country in 2021. García appeared in 266 matches across all competitions for the Dynamo, which is the third-most in club history. The midfielder also places second in Houston’s history with 32 assists for the club.

7. Geoff Cameron

2009 finalist for MLS Defender of the Year
Tenth-most games in Dynamo history
Two seasons in the top ten in minutes played

Geoff Cameron was a third-round selection by the Houston Dynamo in the 2008 MLS Draft. Cameron was one of the best defenders in the MLS at one point and played five seasons for the club. The center-back played in 23 games during his first season with the Dynamo but only started eight games for the club.

His first season in a starting role came in 2009 as Cameron finished as a finalist for the 2009 Defender of the Year Award. The defender had two goals and four assists that season. After an injury-shortened 2010 campaign, Cameron had his best offensive year in 2012 as he compiled five goals and three assists. The center-back left the Dynamo after 2013 to play in England and eventually retired from the sport in 2022. Cameron appeared in 144 matches across all competitions and had 15 assists for the club, which placed him in the top ten in Houston’s history in both categories.

8. Alberth Elis

2018 US Open Cup winner
Third-most assists in Dynamo history
Fifth-most goals in Dynamo history

Alberth Elis joined the Houston Dynamo in 2017 after playing professionally in Honduras and Mexico. Elis played four years for the club and is one of the best offensive players in its history. The right winger scored ten goals and added three assists in his first season in Houston. Elis helped the Dynamo win the US Open Cup in 2018 while also producing eleven goals and nine assists. The Honduras player had 17 goal contributions during the 2019 campaign. Elis appeared in just seven MLS matches in 2020 but still scored four goals and had three assists that year.

The winger moved to a Portuguese Club afterward followed by a stint playing in France. Elis appeared in 101 matches across all competitions for Houston during his four-year tenure. He scored 35 goals and had 28 assists over that span. The winger has the third-most assists and the fifth-most goals in the history of the Dynamo.

9. Dwayne De Rosario

Two-time MLS champion
2006 leading goal scorer for the Dynamo
Eighth-most goals in Dynamo history

Dwayne De Rosario first played in the MLS with the San Jose Earthquakes before being a part of the Dynamo’s inaugural squad in 2006. De Rosario won two MLS Cups with Houston and is one of the club’s first primary goal scorers. The attacking midfielder tied for the most goals on the Dynamo in 2006 with 11. He also contributed four assists that season as the club went on to win the MLS Cup.

The Dynamo repeated as champions in 2007, with De Rosario scoring six goals and adding three assists. 2008 was the midfielder’s last season with the club and he once again had nine goal contributions. De Rosario played eight more seasons in the MLS and even won an MVP Award in 2011. The Canadian player finished with 29 goals for Houston, which ranks as the eighth most by any player for the club.

10. Will Bruin

Third-most goals in Dynamo history
Sixth-most assists in Dynamo history
Seventh-most games in Dynamo history

Will Bruin was drafted eleventh overall in the 2011 MLS Draft by the Houston Dynamo. Bruin played six full seasons for the club and has some of the best offensive stats in the club’s history. The center forward scored five goals during his rookie campaign. Bruin’s best offensive season for Houston came in 2012 when he scored 12 goals and had four assists. He followed that up with 15 goal contributions in the following season as well, and the forward had 11 goal contributions in both 2014 and 2015.

In his final season with the Dynamo, Bruin had four goals and two assists. The forward joined the Earthquakes after the 2016 season and is currently playing for Austin F.C. Bruin appeared in 199 matches across all competitions during his tenure, which is the seventh most by a player in Houston’s history. The forward also had the third-most goals for the Dynamo with 57 and the sixth-most assists for the Dynamo with 22.