Houston Dynamo head coach Ben Olsen believes his side are finally putting themselves on the map after climbing to the summit of Major League Soccer's Western Conference, but has warned his players they must keep fighting for league-wide respect.

A 1-0 midweek victory over Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place—sealed by Franco Negri's 34th-minute strike—extended the Dynamo's winning run to five matches and sent them above Vancouver into top spot. The milestone also marked the first time Houston have completed a regular-season double over the Whitecaps.

Houston have not finished atop the West since 2008, with their highest finishes since coming in 2009 and 2011 as runners-up. As they prepare to travel to Energizer Park to take on St. Louis City SC, Olsen made it clear that maintaining their standing remains the ultimate goal.

"We always dream," Olsen said. "We always dream, especially once you start to see some potential in a team, but there are a lot of games left. And I've been through the MLS too many seasons as a player and coach to get too riled up right now. We need to just keep pushing and try to grab as many points as we can."

"Within that, we need to get better and just keep rolling. We're always [feeling] like a little bit of an afterthought in this league. That's just how it's been since I've been here. So, we're still digging out of that, and we have to put ourselves on the map and make teams and the league respects us."

Defensive Solidity Fuels Historic Run

Houston's recent resurgence has been underpinned by historical defensive resilience. The Dynamo have secured five consecutive shutout victories, becoming only the third club in MLS history to achieve five straight wins without conceding a goal, matching runs by Los Angeles FC in 2024 and Atlanta United in 2019.

Key contributor Guilherme has been integral to their form, completing team-high tallies for successful dribbles (five) and duels won (10) against Vancouver, while Jack McGlynn was the only player on the pitch to complete more passes into the attacking third.

St. Louis Look to Bounce Back

Hosts St. Louis City SC enter the clash on an 11-match unbeaten run in all competitions (W7 D4), though they were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw against Sporting Kansas City last time out. Eduard Lowen netted his 20th career MLS regular-season goal in first-half stoppage time, joining Joao Klauss as the only players in club history to reach that milestone, before Calvin Harris levelled for Kansas City.

Reflecting on the midweek performance, St. Louis head coach Yoann Damet admitted his squad felt the physical toll of their schedule: "It was a game with a lot of challenges, where we came out a little bit flat in terms of energy. In the end, we're walking away with a point. There is a lot of fatigue coming from the West Coast trip. We're not going to make it an excuse... I still think, as a group, these are games where we need to improve, and we can do a lot better."