Major League Soccer is in full swing, while the Premier League is just beginning to turn the wheels on their new season.
It showed as Stoke City fell to the Houston Dynamo 2-0 in the BBVA Compass Dynamo Charities Cup.
Andrew Driver placed a long free kick past Asmir Begovic in the 11th minute, and Houston went wire-to-wire as Giles Barnes added insurance two minutes from the final whistle.
It broke a two-match losing streak for Houston in the event, having fallen to Valencia and Bolton the previous two years.
Houston are firing on all cylinders, and this win - although just a friendly - still shows the club is finding their groove. It was a tough May and June, but July has seen Houston win their past two league matches, with massive matches against Chicago and Columbus coming up.
Against Stoke, manager Dominic Kinnear used a number of younger players, although he did give Brad Davis his return from a hamstring injury, coming on in the 66th minute for Warren Creavalle.
For Stoke, the loss is a bit concerning, although it will likely be chalked up as an attempt for the squad to begin its transition to new manager Mark Hughes ahead of the upcoming campaign. U.S. international Geoff Cameron got a chance to return to the club that sold him to the Premier League.
Check out the highlights from the match here: