Houston Dynamo forward Erick "Cubo" Torres says the pace in Major League Soccer is faster than in the Mexican League.

Former Chivas USA star Torres recently returned to MLS after completing his loan at Chivas Guadalajara, and he said the game moves much faster in the U.S.-based league.

"Sure, they are different. The United States is faster, more physical, a little bit stronger and the defense doesn't let you hold onto the ball as long because they are so fast and they are so intense with their feet," Torres told ESPN Deportes.

"In Liga MX there are players who could be walking or jogging on the pitch. You can look up and take three, four even five seconds and nothing happens. Here you have a few seconds with the ball and they are right on you, pressuring you."

Torres also said he doesn't feel any extra pressure now that the MLS playoff race is tightening, and added that his main focus is to score goals for the club as well as trying to get noticed for a callup to Mexico's national team in its September friendlies.

The Dynamo travel to Portland on Friday after their 2-0 loss to the New England Revolution last Saturday ended a three-game win streak for the club.

Erick Torres says defenders pressure the ball much faster in MLS than they do in Mexico. Anonymous/LatinContent/Getty Images

Torres said he feels an extra responsibility to the club but said it is no pressure.

"It is more like a responsibility to set an example on the pitch, to work each day at 100 percent, to be professional and to be an example off the pitch," the 22-year-old said. "Of course it is an added responsibility, I treat it as such but not as pressure or anything more."

Torres still has a case pending against him in for a reported sexual abuse conduct charge in Guadalajara that dates back to April of this year.

The alleged incident took place one day after Chivas lost the Copa MX final to Puebla and four days before the Clasico Nacional against Club America, in a party at a motel on the outskirts of Guadalajara's metropolitan area with other Chivas players in attendance, according to the police report.

Torres' struggled to gain a regular spot in Chivas' plans while on loan. He was not a regular pick for Chivas coach Jose Manuel "Chepo" de la Torre, with much of his time coming in Copa MX competition, where Chivas reached the final this past season.

Torres said he feels more confident with Houston.

"Since I have arrived we have had three straight games that we didn't lose, two at home and one on the road [before the loss to New England]," Torres said.

"Now we know we are close to the playoffs and all the matches are important. We need to get as many points as possible so that we can finish as close ot the top of the table as possible. We also have two or three matches at home and that can help lift our spirits."