and referee Jair Marrufo pointed to the spot. But United 'keeper Troy Perkins guessed correctly, diving to his right to palm away Dwayne De Rosario's effort.
• But the Canadian international made no mistake seconds later. He took a Craig Waibel square pass, cut back to avoid two over-committing defenders and fired home a low shot to give Dynamo new life, but they could get no closer.
• Here's Soehn's team (4-3-1-2); Troy Perkins - Bryan Namoff, Bobby Boswell, Facundo Erpen, Joshua Gros - Fred (Clyde Simms 77), Brian Carroll, Ben Olsen - Christian Gomez (Rod Dyachenko 89) - Luciano Emilio, Guy-Roland Kpene (Nicholas Addlery 71). Substitutes Not Used: Marc Burch, Kasali Yinka Casal, Stephen deRoux, Jay Nolly
• Here's Kinnear's team (4-3-1-2): Pat Onstad - Richard Mulrooney, Ryan Cochrane (Craig Waibel 46), Eddie Robinson, Wade Barrett - Brian Mullan, Ricardo Clark, Brad Davis (Stuart Holden 84) - Dwayne De Rosario - Brian Ching, Joseph Ngwenya (Corey Ashe 70). Substitutes Not Used: Mike Chabala, Patrick Ianni, Zach Wells, Chris Wondolowski
HOUSTON DYNAMO
Houston Dynamo remained the hottest team in Major League Soccer, extending their unbeaten and shutout streak while claiming a second 4-0 victory in two weeks, defeated the New York Red Bulls on Thursday night at Robertson Stadium. Dynamo kept pace with FC Dallas in the Western Conference, now with 26 points from 15 matches, three points behind the Hoops (with two matches in hand) and with the second-most points in the league.
LAST MATCH
• Dynamo had posted shutouts in three consecutive games, though they saw their five-game winning streak come to an the weekend before in a goalless draw at FC Dallas. The Red Bulls returned to action the weekend before following a two-week layoff, but a 1-0 loss to Columbus extended their winless run to three games.
• A quiet opening period burst to life when Dynamo scored two goals in four minutes around the half-hour mark. First, Kevin Goldthwaite was booked when he pulled down Brian Mullan on the right flank. From the ensuing free kick, Stuart Holden whipped the ball into the box and Joseph Ngwenya rose up to head the ball powerfully off the turf, bouncing it high inside the left-hand post (28).
• Houston then doubled their lead in the 31st minute through another set piece. Holden swung in a corner from the right, and Brian Ching slashing header was well-hit, only to come back off the post. But after a couple of half-clearances, the ball rolled back to Ching at the edge of the area, and he knocked it back home through the crowded goalmouth for his goal since May 5.
• Dynamo made it 3-0 five minutes into the second half, and again it was a Holden service that led to the goal. Another corner was put in from the right, and Ngwenya met it at the near edge of the six-yard box with a glancing header that slipped inside the post as Red Bulls 'keeper Ronald Waterreus could only push it into the side netting.
• Holden then capped his magical night in the 79th minute. Newly acquired Nate Jaqua held the ball up outside the area and laid back to Holden. The Scottish-born winger then lashed a wicked blast from some 20 yards that whistled inside the right-hand post.
• Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear made two changes to the team that played to the scoreless draw with FC Dallas the Saturday before. Eddie Robinson was suspended, so Patrick Ianni returned to central defense, and with Brad Davis out for 2-3 months through injury, Stuart Holden came in wide on the left of midfield.
• Here's Kinnear's team (4-3-1-2): Pat Onstad - Craig Waibel, Ryan Cochrane, Patrick Ianni, Wade Barrett - Brian Mullan, Richard Mulrooney, Stuart Holden (Corey Ashe 82) - Dwayne De Rosario - Joseph Ngwenya (Chris Wondolowski 46), Brian Ching (Nate Jaqua 85). Substitutes Not Used: Mike Chabala, Nick Hatzke, John Michael Hayden, Zach Wells
• "I thought we played well," Kinnear said. "When the game goes on, and you get into the 80th minute, you want to keep it a zero (on the scoreboard) because the guys are pretty proud of keeping the ball out of their own goal. I think the best way to do that is when you have it, you keep it."
TEAM NEWS
• Before the match, Dynamo learned that left winger Brad Davis will out for anywhere from two to three months with a torn meniscus in his right knee. Stuart Holden stepped into his place on the left side of the midfield - and played a part in each of the Orange's four goals.
• "Brad was a big part of our team, so there was a big void left by him," Holden said. "I wanted to come in and help in anyway I can. I was put in some set pieces, and there was the good header by Joseph. My shot - Nate laid a good one off, and I was happy to find the corner of the net."
• Two of the services were headed home by Joseph Ngwenya, his first goals for Houston in four games. It was his first multiple goal game in MLS.
• "I had some great balls served in from Stuart," Ngwenya said. "The first one was a good ball and the second one was great as well. I'm happy I managed to get the ball on them. I think our goal tonight was to come in and put them on their back heels. It's always great to get that first goal so fast. It's always nice to get that quick first goal. It settles everyone down."
• It was also a fourth consecutive clean sheet by Dynamo, who ran their scoreless streak to 425 minutes. It came with a second start in three matches by Patrick Ianni in central defense - who played two minutes in his rookie season a year ago.
• "As the game wore on, Stuart got better and better. Pat was very physically challenging and made life difficult for their forwards. They played well against Kansas City as well. The way they played tonight doesn't surprise me. It shows they have consistency in their attitude," Kinnear said.
• There was also a run-out for striker Nate Jaqua, acquired just days before from the Los Angeles Galaxy. He contributed to Holden's goal, holding play up before laying off for the native Scot's fierce blast.
• "I'm excited. On my first day here, I get in," Jaqua said. "The team played great today, so it was fun watching that. We got a win. I played 10 minutes, so that was fun. I just come and help the team and help them win. I'm excited. It's a great team. It's a great organization. I was just happy to be here and want to keep us winning."
• Kinnear said depth will be important for Dynamo in the run-up to the All-Star break. "You have to make sure that guys get rest so we won't have a lot of training. There'll be minutes shared. Our squad is a bit thin right now. We've got some injuries right now, but that's how it goes. You have to take it one game at a time, one minute at a time," he said.
D.C. UNITED
D.C. United continued their recent roll, winning for the second time in as many games, coming away from Arrowhead Stadium with a 1-0 victory against the Kansas City Wizards on Wednesday afternoon. With the victory, United moved into first place in the Eastern Conference with 23 points from 13 matches, a point ahead of the New England Revolution and two ahead of the Wizards.
LAST MATCH
• D.C. United had lost just once over their last eight games, rebounding from that loss with a 4-1 win against Colorado in their last match, while the Wizards were in the throes of a four-game winless streak.
• The game's lone goal came in the 44th minute. Clyde Simms battled for a header and knocked it forward to Fred, who slipped it square to Luciano Emilio inside the area. Emilio took a step to his left before cutting a shot back across his body, inside the near post. It was his eighth goal on the campaign, one shy of the MLS lead.
• The Wizards outshot United 21-11, but Troy Perkins made eight saves on the day for the clean sheet. United were also helped by the woodwork twice, as Perkins pushed a Jack Jewsbury freekick onto the post early in the first half, and Kurt Morsink saw a close-range effort come off the post early in the second. The Wizards have had 46 shots over their last two games, and won 38 corner kicks, and yet scored just a single goal.
• United head coach Tom Soehn made two changes to the team that defeated the Colorado Rapids 4-1 at RFK Stadium the previous Thursday. Greg Vanney made his United debut, coming in for Facundo Erpen after the two defenders traded teams when Vanney came from Colorado. Nicholas Addlery also came into the starting lineup, replacing the injured Guy-Roland Kpene.
• Here's Soehn's team (4-3-1-2): Troy Perkins - Clyde Simms, Devon McTavish, Greg Vanney, Joshua Gros - Justin Moose (Domenic Mediate 46), Brian Carroll, Fred (Stephen deRoux 86) - Christian Gomez - Nicholas Addlery (Rod Dyachenko 77), Luciano Emilio. Substitutes Not Used: Marc Burch, Jeff Carroll, Jay Nolly, Brad North
• "I think they got the better of the chances. (Goalkeeper) Troy (Perkins) came up big time and time again," said Soehn. "We have to give our guys credit, we didn't get many chances, but when we did we put one in."
TEAM NEWS
• United held on for just their second shutout of the season - and their first for a victory - in resisting the Kansas City dominance over nearly the entirety of the match.
• "We were just lackadaisical with the ball in our own half," Perkins said to The Washington Post. "We got caught keeping the ball at our feet, too many touches, then bad passes, and put ourselves in trouble. They were right down our throats."
• The United offense is clicking without all-star forward Jaime Moreno, who scored for Bolivia in their 2-2 draw with Peru in the Copa America on Tuesday night, his second goal in the South American championship.
• "We absorbed a lot of pressure and we weren't having a lot of possession," said Greg Vanney, who was making his debut for United after being acquired in a trade with the Colorado Rapids. "The quality of individuals that we have in the attack, at any moment we're a dangerous team. That's the exciting part of joining this team. We can turn a game like this at the drop of the hat."
• For Emilio it was his eighth goal on the campaign - his sixth in the last five games. Among the players to hold the MLS record of seven games is Raul Diaz Arce, who performed the feat with D.C. United in 1997.
• "When I caught the ball and I turned, I had the impression that would be a defender was coming right at me. So that's why I kind of faked and created my own space to get the shot off," Emilio said through an interpreter. Said Fred to The Post: "My first instinct was to shoot the ball, but as I looked up, I saw there was enough space to get Luci the ball. When I played it to him, I told him, 'You've got time.' "
• Despite having the veteran Vanney in the back four - and coming away with the clean sheet - Soehn admitted there was still a learning process with the remainder of the group.
• "He isn't quite familiar with the guys yet, and you could tell. There were some times that we slipped up a little," Soehn said. "It was good that Troy was on his game today and covered any mistakes we made in the back. I think soon enough he will gel nicely with the rest of our guys."
• Said Vanney: "It was a combination of (goalkeeper) Troy (Perkins) being on his game today. I do think a lot of the chances they had weren't entirely clean. We had guys challenging from sideways and pressuring from behind. Troy was just cutting off angles and getting touches on balls."
