Houston Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad never once looked bored in the team's scoreless draw last weekend against Chivas USA. And that was a feat all in itself.
Often credited as being one of the league's best 'keepers, Onstad made two good saves -- one in each half -- and made his job look easy as his teammates created one scoring chance after another at the other end of the field.
But as the Dynamo prepare to play host to the Colorado Rapids on Saturday evening at Robertson Stadium, Onstad doesn't mind the inactivity.
He's ready when he has to be, and said he has been quite impressed with the way the defense has improved substantially since a 3-0 loss at New England in Week 1.
"I think we are really defending a lot better as a team right now," Onstad said. "Guys are really taking responsibility on their set pieces and where they are supposed to be on the field.
"And in the course of the game, in the flow of the match, guys are really chasing down the balls they need to get to. Defensively we have tightened things up, but offensively, we are just not finding the net."
Richard Mulrooney is part of the team's improvement on the defensive side of the ball, as he has moved into the right back spot for the last four matches, which has included a pair of shutouts. He and the overall health of his teammates since the start of the season have the Dynamo playing, at least defensively, the way everyone predicted they would.
Now the focus shifts to getting win No. 1. Experts, fans and the team itself never dreamed April and half of May would come and go without the Dynamo getting their first three-pointer.
But, Mulrooney said, it's just a matter of time before the goals, wins and living up to expectations all start coming together on the field.
And Saturday, against a Rapids team that Houston has never lost to at Robertson Stadium (3-0-1, including a Western Conference Championship win) is the perfect time to start a different kind of streak.
"We just need to keep working to get that one goal, because once we get it that really opens teams up," Mulrooney said. "One goal for us became three and four last year, and it's just a matter of using a team effort and working the ball and getting that one opportunity underneath and burying it."
Midfielder Corey Ashe, arguably, had the best scoring chance of the game last weekend against Chivas USA. He was denied late by man-of-the-match Brad Guzan in the Chivas USA goal and said his floundered chance was just one example of many in a season-long frustration for his team.
But the season is still early, he said. His sentiments echoed Mulrooney's in that he thinks it is just a matter of time before the floodgates open.
"It's still early in the season," said Ashe. "Once we get a goal, I think things are really going to be OK. We need to just get a lead, keep it and I think this team is really going to get on a roll."
Andrew J. Ferraro is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
