The Houston Dynamo kick off the 2017 Major League Soccer season on Saturday night when the defending champions Seattle Sounders FC come to town (7:30 p.m. CT; TICKETS).

Saturday will not only signify the beginning of a new season, but also the debut of Wilmer Cabrera as head coach of the Dynamo. While picking up points will be a priority in every match, Cabrera knows there will be growing pains along the way.

“This is going to be the first game of the season, it’s not going to be perfect, but with a good mentality and if we continue to believe in what we’ve been doing in the past five weeks, we will be fine,” Cabrera said after the team's first training session back in Houston on Monday.

That mentality and work led the Dynamo to conclude its preseason with a 6-0-1 record and lifting the Desert Diamond Cup in Tucson, Arizona last weekend. More so than the results, preseason success for Cabrera means that the players are happy with their work and are understanding what the coaching staff is asking of them.

“It feels good because we have worked hard,” said Cabrera. “It has been very good work on and off the field. So far, we feel comfortable in that aspect. Now we just need to be sure that we continue growing, it’s not just about the first game but the 34 games during the regular season.”

The ultimate goal for the 2017 Houston Dynamo? According to Cabrera, it is “to have a competitive team that can take us to the playoffs.”

That goal is music to the ears of Dynamo fans, who have seen the team miss the playoffs the last three seasons. It will be a marathon stretched over 34 games and eight months; while there will be stumbles along the way, the focus is on each step in pursuit of the finish line.