D.C. United earned their second consecutive victory with a composed 2-0 win over Houston Dynamo at RFK Stadium on Saturday night, powered by goals from Josh Gros and Christian Gomez.
The goals came midway through each half under beautiful spring weather conditions in the nation's capital as United remained unbeaten on the young campaign while Dynamo fell to their second consecutive defeat.
Without playmaking midfielder Dwayne De Rosario -- out through suspension -- Houston seemed intent on disrupting United's attack by shackling its central architect, playmaker Gomez, as Dynamo holding midfielder Adrian Serioux tenaciously shadowed the Argentinian. The Canadian international was pesky enough to instigate a reaction just 10 minutes in, as an irritated Gomez swung an elbow after Serioux had harried him halfway across the pitch, but referee Abbey Okulaja kept his card in his pocket and gestured for calm.
United defender Facundo Erpen almost gave the visitors a free pass to goal in the 14th minute as he lingered with the ball a bit too casually as Brian Ching pressured, and the Hawaiian-born striker picked his pocket and advanced towards goal. D.C.'s Bobby Boswell covered for his teammate alertly, however, and Ching's shot ricocheted off the second-year defender's shin and over the endline.
On the ensuing corner kick, Dynamo's swirling movement in the D.C. penalty area made space for Serioux to rise and meet the inswinging delivery from Brad Davis, but he sent his downward header bouncing wide of the far post.
United got themselves into trouble at the back again just five minutes later, when Brandon Prideaux's poorly-hit square ball launched a Dynamo counterattack that Brian Mullan nearly capped with a diagonal run from the left wing, only to be denied by a risky lunge from Boswell.
But it was the home side who finally broke the deadlock after 24 minutes, thanks to a free kick that they hardly wanted in the first place. Gros, breaking free down the left flank, had reached the Houston endline despite having Kelly Gray draped all over him, and he sent in a low cross that found Jaime Moreno eagerly waiting just 10 yards from goal, but Okulaja decided not to play the advantage and whistled for a free kick.
The decision worked in United's favor when Gomez whipped a dipping cross to the back post that Moreno reached at point-blank range, only to be denied by a sprawling Pat Onstad. But the veteran 'keeper couldn't hold the ball and Gros reacted quicker than Gray to blast it into the open net for a 1-0 lead.
But Houston did not wait long to strike back, as Ching outmuscled Lucio Filomeno to latch onto a loose ball in the United box following Clark's low free kick from distance, but the big target man's apparent equalizer was erased as the assistant referee raised his flag for offside.
The men in orange continued to threaten as the first half wound down, with a smart passing move down the right connected Gray to Moreno, allowing the Venezuelan to reach the endline and cut back a tempting centering pass for Ching at the spot. But the striker hesitated to shoot, instead laying off a poor pass for Davis, who turned onto his left foot and ripped a shot that Prideaux deflected wide of goal.
Dynamo came out of the halftime break with purpose, controlling play in the early moments of the second stanza but failing to truly test Perkins in the United goal.
Serioux had been hurling himself around the pitch with reckless abandon all evening, and his exuberance finally went too far with a two-footed challenge on Olsen in the 53rd minute that Okulaja had little choice but to punish with a yellow card.
Despite their tenuous lead, United were sitting back somewhat, inviting the visitors out in the hopes of finding space to work their vaunted counterattacks, and the patient approach nearly lulled Dynamo to sleep in the 68th minute as Gomez lofted a nicely-weighted through ball into the path of Freddy Adu's run. But the 16-year-old had to rush his shot as Onstad came off his line, and he chopped his attempt wide.
United had been wreaking havoc off set pieces throughout the contest, and they hit pay dirt again with less than 20 minutes to go after Adu's jinking run across the top of the box drew a clumsy foul by Houston center back Ryan Cochrane.
Gomez and Adu both stood over the inviting free kick, but in the end it was the right-footed South American who curled a shot that nicked off the Dynamo wall and past a stranded Onstad to double the home team's lead.
Adu nearly capped a strong performance with some clear chances in the late going, as he dashed forward to snag Olsen's pass before cutting inside past Serioux and aiming for the far upper corner, but the effort carried just wide. Then he took a pass from second-half sub Alecko Eskandarian after a 50-yard run into the box, and Adu set himself up for another left-footer that caromed off the crossbar.
Houston's aerial prowess should have gotten them back into the match in the 82nd minute, when Moreno headed Davis' searching ball back across the face of goal for Ching, but he couldn't get full power on his own header and it floated well wide.
The final whistle gave United all three points, as the Black-and-Red concluded their three-game homestand undefeated. Dynamo will try to end their two-game skid with a trip to Salt Lake City next Saturday, while D.C. head north up I-95 for another Atlantic Cup clash with New York.
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
