A quick look at the MLS standings shows that the Eastern Conference has the upper hand when it comes to overall league play.
Four teams in the East have at least 10 wins and the fifth-place New York Red Bulls have more points than every team in the West, save for the conference-leading Houston Dynamo.
But the two-time defending champions have played well against the superior conference this year. Counting Sunday's come-from-behind, 2-1 win over the Chicago Fire, the Dynamo are now 6-4-1 against the East, better than any other team in the West.
Houston dropped a poorly played 3-0 decision at New York last week and wanted to make up for that showing at home in front of more than 22,000 loyal fans.
Mission accomplished.
"I think both teams really created a lot of chances tonight," said Dwayne De Rosario, who scored the team's first goal in the seventh minute. "We finished two of them tonight and I know, as a team, we could have converted a lot more.
"But the fight in this team, the desire and the non-stop, championship-first attitude helps us out a lot and having these fans on our side is a tremendous help."
Never was that fight more evident than in the sixth and seventh minutes, after watching Brian McBride and Cuauhtemoc Blanco team up for a 1-0 Chicago lead.
The Dynamo thought Blanco fouled Boswell, who was knocked to the ground. They watched Chicago take a 1-0 lead on the play.
But instead of turning toward the officials and complaining, the Dynamo tied the game a minute later when Brad Davis sent a free kick to De Rosario, who was stationed in the box. De Rosario beat Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch with a left-footer.
"I think that first goal tonight really lit a fire under this team," said Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear. "We thought the play on Boswell before the goal was a foul, and there is always a huge letdown when you give up the first goal of the game like that, but we didn't stop.
"Responding like we did was great for us. That got us going. But, to me, the play of the game was the second score, the game-winner."
The goal by Brian Mullan in the 39th minute that made it 2-1 was pretty.
Houston used a series of crisp passes that resulted in a great play by Davis, who got the defense to key on him, leaving Mullan wide open.
For Mullan, it was his third goal of the year, and Davis knew it was going in from the moment he slid the pass across the turf.
"I checked inside, took a look over my shoulder" at teammate Nate Jaqua, Davis said. "I saw the defender coming, so I let the ball go. Nate took a good touch, he was very unselfish in the box, and then he slid it back to me. The other defender had to pinch over or that would have left me with a wide open shot. That left Mullan open at the far post. All I had to do was get it in his space."
The Dynamo have a week to prepare before hosting the Kansas City Wizards next Sunday in Houston. With another chance to improve their record against the East, the Dynamo know they beat a very good Chicago team Sunday night.
For now, they will enjoy it. After a day off Monday, it will be time to focus on K.C.
"It was a great win against a very good team," said Dynamo 'keeper Pat Onstad. "Chicago is a really good soccer team and they have a lot of good players. They are good at forward, and everyone knows they are the best defensive team in the league.
"They proved to be a tough challenge for us, but I think we played a fantastic game tonight and got the result we deserved."
Added Kinnear, "This was a good, well-played game for both sides and considering the weather I thought we played good football tonight. It was a fast game and the ball was bouncing quite a bit out there tonight.
"We had a few teams pick up some points on us this weekend, so it was good to respond with a great match against a great defensive team and we will see where we go from here."
Andrew J. Ferraro is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
