Guilherme Santos scores twice in debut to rally Dynamo to 2-1 victory over Fire in season opener

By Canadian Press on February 21, 2026.

HOUSTON (AP) — Guilherme Santos scored two goals in the second half of his MLS debut to rally the Houston Dynamo to a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Fire in a season opener on Saturday night.

Santos found the net for the first time in the 67th minute — with assists from Jack McGlynn and Ezequiel Ponce — to tie it 1-1. He scored the winner unassisted 11 minutes later off a deflection.

Santos joined the Dynamo after scoring 95 goals in 429 appearances for Brazilian Série A side Santos FC.

Hugo Cuypers picked up where he left off last season, scoring unassisted in the 31st minute to stake the Fire to a 1-0 lead. Cuypers had 17 goals in 33 appearances last season and scored 10 times in 31 appearances in 2024 — his first season in the league.

Jonathan Bond totaled two saves for the Dynamo, while Chris Brady saved two shots for the Fire.

Head coach Gregg Berhalter led Chicago to its first playoff appearance since 2017 last season.

Up next

Houston: Hosts Los Angeles FC on Saturday.

Chicago: Hosts CF Montreal on Saturday.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer

The Associated Press