CHESTER, Pa. — They did it again.
With a two-goal burst in the first half and a four-save Andre Blake shutout, the Union rattled off their third consecutive win with a 2-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday night at Talen Energy Stadium.
"It's not like a no-hitter where we're not talking about it," Union manager Jim Curtin said. "We're talking about it a lot and the guys are really taking pride in it."
After going winless in their first eight games of the season, the rejuvenated Union had outscored their opponents 7-0 in the last three matches prior to Wednesday. And that dominance continued over the Dynamo.
"We weren't an 0-4-4 team," Union veteran Chris Pontius said. "I've been on a bad team. I know what a bad team feels like. This wasn't a bad team, so I knew we weren't an 0-4-4 team. We just kept plugging away. We didn't change much. We showed up to work, rolled up our sleeves and got the job done. Credit to the guys for keeping their head on straight and getting the job done."
In the 17th minute, the host's newfound confidence translated into a goal spawning from a beautiful combination between Ilsinho, Pontius and Fafa Picault. With the ball at the key, Ilsinho laced a right-flank pass to a wide open Pontius, who immediately lofted a high ball to the left for Picault. From there, the diminutive speedster lifted himself over the Dynamo defense to head the ball off the crossbar and in for the 1-0 Union lead.
"It was a good cross by Chris," Picault said. "I can jump, so I just jumped and knocked it in."
The goal was Picault's second of the season.
"We kind of put them in a situation that they weren't comfortable with and that was crucial for us," Pontius said.
With ease, the Union struck again in the 38th minute, when C.J. Sapong pushed the ball right to Pontius in possession. Tying a career high with his sixth assist of the year, the veteran found Ilsinho with a centering pass that allowed the Brazilian to easily hit a seam and the goal, doubling the Union lead.
"The move starts with Chris and three guys inside the box," Ilsinho said. "I'm behind C.J. and just said, 'Leave, leave, leave.' And he left it for me."
It was Ilsinho's first of the season.
"Ilsinho is a great player," Union midfielder Haris Medunjanin said. "I think he's the real No. 10. He can hold the ball. He can move between the lines. Like you saw the first half, when we have the ball and we know how to play, he's such an important player for us. He makes the run, he sees the ball, he knows where he needs to play."
Entering the second half, the league's leading scorer Cubo Torres and the 6-4-1 Dynamo weren't able to crack the Union defense, which has posted four straight shutouts. Curtin, whose club is now a respectable 3-4-4, tapped Jack Elliott and Oguchi Onyewu in the middle with Ray Gaddis and Fabinho on the flanks of his back line.
"That's a testament to the quality we do have on the back line," Gaddis said. "I feel like the whole team did well collectively at defending tonight. That's what it's going to take."