Joe Willis for most of the 2019 campaign had been the number one guy in goal for the Houston Dynamo. Willis first arrived in Houston over the 2014 offseason in a trade that sent Andrew Driver to D.C. United with Willis coming to H-Town to primarily serve as a backup goalkeeper to Tyler Deric. Willis largely performed as the number two keeper choice but injuries to Deric and increasingly positive performances by Willis saw his time in goal increase until he eventually took over the job.
The last two seasons have seen former Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera attempt to balance his starting goalkeepers by changing between Willis and Deric at various points in the season – possibly to keep the competition for the number one spot healthy.