It was the kind of night the Houston Dynamo have been waiting for all year.
With more than a month of their second consecutive title defense already gone, the team has spent much of 2008 defending every action, having to explain time and time again why the points aren't coming.
Now, for the first time since winning the MLS Cup last November, they won't have to talk about what could have been or what should have been.
A 2-1 win against the Colorado Rapids in the books, the Dynamo celebrated with loud music in the locker room and enough positive chatter to make up for six weeks of frustration.
Forward Brian Ching and midfielder Dwayne De Rosario each made their mark on the win with their first goals of the season. Coincidentally, both players scored the 45th goals of their MLS careers and did so with a little bit of luck.
Found was the same luck that proved so evasive until the team finally put an end to their longest winless streak since moving to south Texas before the 2006 season.
"I am really happy tonight," said Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear. "The result was deserved, especially with all the hard work the guys have been putting in. I think you saw in the first half, especially, we came out with a great attitude and got the goal."
That goal belonged to Ching, who nearly scored in Week 2 against FC Dallas, but replays correctly showed that it was an own goal.
Saturday, Ching was perhaps the recipient of some of that aforementioned luck. Stuart Holden sent a long ball out of midfield and Ching raced toward it as Rapids goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul came off his line. But Coundoul missed on his effort to clear the ball, Ching slipped around and rolled the ball into a now empty net in the 43rd minute.
"Yeah, luck was just going my way tonight," Ching said. "Stewie (Holden) made a great play to get on the end of that ball, to put me through; he really anticipated that a little bit.
"And I don't know what the goalie was doing there, but I am just happy he did what he did and that the ball landed there for me being wide open. I couldn't miss that one."
Pat Onstad and the Dynamo defense had their hands full with Christian Gomez and Omar Cummings all night.
But they held their own, until Gomez found Cummings with a perfect pass in the 68th minute. Cummings, who had two really good chances foiled earlier in the match, got around a tiring Eddie Robinson and beat Dynamo 'keeper Pat Onstad.
"We knew Cummings was really fast, but I think the bigger player to take care of was Christian Gomez," said Dynamo defender Bobby Boswell. "Rico (Ricardo Clark) did a really good job with him and the one time he did get a little bit of space, they scored a goal.
"That is just the kind of player Christian is. He is just really good at serving guys the ball and it really helps if they are fast. I thought we did pretty well on his tonight."
But the Rapids goal shook the Dynamo to life -- and once again, they used a spot of good luck to score their first game-winning goal of the season.
A throw-in bounced in the box and the Dynamo were awarded a penalty kick by referee Tim Weyland after Colorado's Ugo Ihemelu was ruled to have played the ball with his hand in the box. De Rosario didn't miss, sending Coundoul the wrong way with the kick.
"It's a good feeling," De Rosario said. "It's not the way you want it to come out, giving up a goal in the second half. In all fairness, I think we did well with the way we kept composed after they scored.
"A team with our record would typically let our heads down and come out with a tie. We kept creating chances, and we got a little break our way that we worked for. I got a shot, and I'm glad I buried it."
And so are the rest of his teammates. The proverbial monkey off their back, the team can now begin preparing for a Chicago Fire team that has proved as good as anyone in MLS this season with a new goal -- start a winning streak.
"I am happy with the win, happy for the guys, because I know all the hard work they have been putting into getting us there," Kinnear added. "And it was really nice to see Dwayne and Brian get on the scoresheet as well.
"Overall it was a great night. A really great night."
Andrew J. Ferraro is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
