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Toronto FC-Dynamo Preview

May 29, 2009 - 8:03 PM By MATT BEARDMORE STATS Writer

Toronto FC (4-3-4) at Houston (4-2-3), 8:30 p.m. EDT

The last time Toronto FC played in Houston, Dwyane De Rosario scored the game's first goal and sparked the Dynamo to victory.

On Saturday night, the veteran midfielder and two-time MLS Cup MVP will try to send them to defeat.

De Rosario returns to Robertson Stadium to face Houston for the first time since being traded to Toronto in the offseason.

De Rosario spent eight seasons with the San Jose/Houston franchise and won four MLS Cups (2001 and 2003 with the Earthquakes, and 2006 and 2007 with the Dynamo) before being acquired by his hometown team Dec. 12 for defender Julius James and allocation money. De Rosario signed a four-year deal with Toronto on Jan. 21.

"Obviously (the Dynamo) are a team that I have a lot of respect for," De Rosario told Toronto's official Web site. "I'm excited to go back to Houston and I had a lot of success there, but I am now a Toronto FC player and most importantly we need to go there and get a good result. I'm just going to try to do what I do best and hopefully it works out this weekend.

"It means a lot to me playing in my home town and I want to recreate the great memories I had at Houston with Toronto."

One of those pleasant memories was last June 8, when De Rosario began the scoring and Brian Ching added the Dynamo's other two goals in a 3-1 win that dropped Toronto FC to 0-1-1 all-time in Houston.

Toronto FC (4-3-4) improved to 3-1-2 in its last six games with last Saturday's 3-1 win over New England, but interim coach Chris Cummins was not pleased with the performance.

"I don't think it was a great game," said Cummins, whose team is 2-1-2 since John Carver resigned April 25 for personal reasons. "We've played better and lost and played better and drawn."

De Rosario scored his third goal in three matches while Amado Guevara notched a pair, including his team-high fifth of the season off a free kick in the 70th minute. That score gave Toronto its first two-goal lead since a 2-0 advantage over Kansas City in its 3-2 win on March 21.

Houston (4-2-3), meanwhile, is seeking its fourth consecutive home win. The Dynamo improved to 3-0-2 at Robertson Stadium with Saturday's 3-1 victory over San Jose.

Ching and Kei Kamara each scored in the opening 12 minutes for Houston, which is 4-0-2 since a 1-0 loss to DC United on April 4.

"The team was really great, especially in the first 20 minutes," Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear said. "We really attacked the balls great on set pieces."

Brad Davis assisted on the first two goals to extend his team record to five consecutive games with an assist. He leads MLS with six helpers.