Entering Sunday's match against the Kansas City Wizards, Kamara, an MLS veteran of 54 matches, had never recorded a single assist in his career. Before the match he told a few friends of his that he wanted to get rid of that donut that, to some, makes him look like a selfish player.
But that zero is now gone, and gone for good. On a hot and sunny Sunday afternoon at Robertson Stadium, Kamara set up the Dynamo's first two goals of the game en route to a dominating 3-1 win.
"I promised myself that I needed to get one," Kamara said. "I was out there today to get one for sure and I was trying to do it and it all turned out perfectly."
In the 28th minute, Kamara had only Wizards 'keeper Kevin Hartman to beat, but he was at a bad angle, making a goal next to impossible.
That is when Kamara heard Brad Davis calling for the ball. Kamara slowed down and sent a perfect pass back to a trailing Davis, whose rising shot hit the back of the net just under the crossbar for a 1-0 lead.
"I did hear him calling for it and I couldn't be selfish," said Kamara, who now has two goals and two assists in six games since joining the team in a trade from San Jose in late July. "I knew Brad was going to have a better look there and with the way he has been going lately, it was an easy decision."
Davis has two goals and six assists in his last seven MLS games and is quickly moving up the Houston stat sheet. Davis now has three goals and seven assists overall.
Kamara helped make it 2-0 early in the second half when he made a nice play to keep the ball in bounds on the right flank after taking a long pass from Richard Mulrooney. Kamara fed the ball to a sprinting Stuart Holden, who tapped the ball over to Nate Jaqua for the team's second goal in the 54th minute.
"The way this team is going right now, we just have really good chemistry," Kamara said. "The way we are all moving the ball, I don't think it really matters who is in or who is out ... and those of us who have to spend some of the time on the bench, when it is our time to play, we are ready."
The next seven weeks are going to be difficult. With group play in the CONCACAF Champions League starting in 10 days, the Dynamo will be playing twice a week through Oct. 12. Houston is used to being shorthanded, though. They made Sunday's win look easy even without the services of Brian Ching (USA), Dwayne De Rosario and Pat Onstad (both Canada), who were all out of action while helping their respective national teams in World Cup qualifying matches. Jaqua, who now has four goals and three assists in seven matches since his return to Houston, was happy with his two-goal performance and said the team was never worried about having to play without three of its biggest stars.
"Sure we are missing those guys, who wouldn't," said Jaqua. "We just have a real deep team and half of our bench could be starters elsewhere in the league. It is nice having that luxury, but at the same time we all know what we have to do to go out there and get wins."
Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear was all smiles after his team's fourth consecutive home win. Sunday's start time had him concerned up the week before, but less than a half-hour after a dominating win in 90-degree heat, he was calm and more than happy to talk about the tough stretch that lies ahead for his team.
"The guys were really excellent today," Kinnear said. "We had a number of chances early in the first half. We deserved to be up 1-0 at the half and I told them at the break just to keep attacking, keep attacking.
"Today, I thought with the heat down there, that possession would be real important. With the upcoming schedule, it is important for us to get successful at home and we are. We have played some great attacking soccer in this stadium, and we have done it both with our best and while missing some key players."
At 8-1-3, the Dynamo have one of the best home records in the league. They will practice Monday in advance of next Saturday's match at San Jose, a team that has vaulted out of the Western Conference basement.
"We are having a lot of fun right now," Kamara said. "We are good at home, the team is as deep as I have ever seen, and everyone is feeding off each other."
And with two assists Sunday, Kamara is right in the middle of it for a team looking to become the first back-to-back-to-back MLS champion.
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