Atlanta United and Houston Dynamo finished with a 1-1 draw in the opening match of the inaugural Torneo de Tejas preseason tournament on Saturday night at Shell Energy Stadium. Houston secured an extra point by winning the penalty shootout 4-3. Atlanta United will continue its preseason campaign against Red Bull New York on February 11 and FC Dallas on February 14.
Latte Lath scored his first goal of the preseason for Atlanta in the 38th minute, assisted by Will Reilly, who also notched his first assist of the preseason. Houston equalized early in the second half with a goal from Lucas Halter, set up by Agustin Bouzat.
The match was decided on penalties, with Houston prevailing after both teams converted several attempts. The penalty takers for Atlanta were Berrocal, Pita, Brennan, Gill, and Togashi; for Houston, Markanich, Lingr, Holmes, Negri, and Wiesner took part.
Several Atlanta midfielders—Steven Alzate, Alexey Miranchuk, and Cooper Sanchez—were unavailable due to day-to-day injuries.
Atlanta United’s starting lineup included goalkeeper Lucas Hoyos; defenders Ronald Hernandez, Enea Mihaj (replaced by Stian Gregersen in the 56th minute), Juan Berrocal, and Dominik Chong Qui (substituted by Matt Edwards in the 56th minute); midfielders Tomás Jacob (Adyn Torres – 80′), Tristan Muyumba, Will Reilly (Adrian Gill – 71′); forwards Miguel Almirón (Santiago Pita – 71′), Saba Lobjanidze (Luke Brennan – 56′), and Latte Lath (Cayman Togashi – 56′). Jayden Hibbert and Toto Majub were listed as substitutes but did not play.
Atlanta United FC is a professional soccer team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The club competes in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference as an expansion franchise founded in 2017. Since its founding, Atlanta United has won several titles including the MLS Cup in 2018 as well as the U.S. Open Cup and Campeones Cup in 2019. More information about their achievements can be found on their official website.
