The Houston Dynamo will have a new, younger look in 2011 when they take the field against second-year Philadelphia Union, a team with nine new offseason acquisitions, in Saturday’s season opener with a 7:30p.m. start at Robertson Stadium.

Despite being an expansion team, Philadelphia won the teams’ season series last year with a dramatic 3-2 stoppage-time win in Houston in May and a 1-1 tie in Philadelphia in October.

The Dynamo begins the 2011 season with a full 40 percent of the roster yet to participate in a game with the club.

Their offseason moves yielded 10 players who have yet to make their Houston debuts. Houston acquired three players via draft (Kofi Sarkodie, Will Bruin, Evan Newton), three via trade (Colin Clark, Jason Garey, Jordan Graye), two via international signings (Hunter Freeman, Jermaine Taylor) and two via the Dynamo Academy (Alex Dixon, Josue Soto).

MLS SuperDraft picks Kofi Sarkodie and Will Bruin both ended the preseason competing for starting spots. No Houston rookie has ever started an Opening Day match, and only Geoff Cameron, in 2008, has played at all as a rookie in an opener. Eighth-year head coach Dominic Kinnear has only started one rookie on Opening Day in his coaching career: Danny O’Rourke in 2005 with San Jose.

At 19 years, 362 days, defender Kofi Sarkodie could become the youngest player in Houston history to start an MLS match if he gets the nod on Saturday. The current Dynamo record is held by midfielder Danny Cruz, who scored in his first MLS start on May 22, 2010 at the age of 20 years, 139 days.

Midfielder Brad Davis led the Dynamo offense in the preseason with four goals and six assists in only 535 minutes. Davis notched five goals and 12 assists in league play in each of the last two years to earn team MVP honors. His preseason goals included one penalty kick and three direct free kicks; his six assists included four from corner kicks.

Houston goalkeeper Tally Hall is expected to start in net, taking over for the departed Pat Onstad. Although Hall has played only five MLS games, he has made 18 starts for the Dynamo in all competitions over the past two years, twice tying the club record with 10 saves in a single match.

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