HOUSTON - Chicago Fire head coach Dave Sarachan left Robertson Stadium on Sunday night "extremely pleased" with his team's 1-0 win against defending MLS Cup champions Houston Dynamo.
"We knew coming in here that it wasn't going to be easy," Sarachan said. "We put together what I thought was a good lineup and game plan, and I thought our guys from start to finish really competed and pulled out a great win tonight."
The win is Chicago's second in a row, and means that the Fire remain undefeated with a 3-0-1 record on the season. It was the second season in a row the Fire have come to Robertson Stadium and left with a 1-0 victory.
Sarachan was especially pleased with his team's defense, which allowed Houston only three shots on goal in the contest. The Fire's physical style took its toll on the Dynamo attackers, especially in the second half.
"I think our back line was terrific tonight, making it hard on their forwards," he said. "... We made it a difficult night for them."
Such excellent defensive play meant that Chicago goalkeeper Matt Pickens was less busy than usual, though he did make two important saves, stopping a close shot by Houston midfielder Dwayne De Rosario in the fourth minute and deflecting a dangerous header by Brian Ching in the 22nd minute.
"I didn't think [Pickens] was tested that much, but when he was, he made the saves," Sarachan said.
Fire forward Chris Rolfe scored the only goal of the match in the 60th minute, receiving the ball from midfielder Gonzalo Segares on the right side before dribbling across the area and slotting the ball past Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad.
"I didn't think Gonzalo would see me on the far side, but he put a great ball over the top. ... I played back and it came right to me," Rolfe said. "[Dynamo defender Wade Barrett] bit on my fake shot, went down to the left and left a hole for me to shoot through."
Houston has struggled offensively thus far this season, scoring only one goal in their four games. Despite Houston's offensive drought, Rolfe said that his team didn't have the mentality that one goal would be enough.
"We knew we were going to have to battle against these guys," Rolfe said. "The fact that they hadn't scored that much this year didn't mean they couldn't explode tonight."
About his winning goal, Rolfe said that he "didn't strike the ball as well as I wanted to," but the end result kept the Fire undefeated and sitting in first place in the Eastern Conference, in a tie with the New York Red Bulls.
It may be early in the season, but Sarachan plans to keep his team at the top of the standings. "It's never too early to be in first place. ... I think it's a good place to be, and we want to keep it there."
The Fire will try to retain their place atop the Eastern Conference when they play the New England Revolution in Foxborough, Mass. on Sunday, May 6.
Lucas Ogden-Davis is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
