As bad as United struggled to open the season, the Houston Dynamo have taken the worst of it. Like United, the Dynamo began the MLS season with high expectations, coming off of CONCACAF Champions’ Cup success. Houston also had the auspicious task of defending their MLS Cup.

While the Dynamo have been unable to turn their season around, United came into Saturday night’s match unbeaten in three games with wins in their last two. Before 18,078 at RFK Stadium, United extended their winning streak and compounded Houston’s woes with a 2-1 victory.

The win was punctuated by Christian Gomez’ return to form. Though Gomez had found net twice this season, he had been without an assist and largely unable to replicate the danger he presented to opposing defenses during last year’s MVP campaign. That all changed Saturday when the Argentinean led United to victory during a phenomenal first half.

During his team’s early struggles, coach Tom Soehn spoke of a lack of energy and team-wide defensive effort. United’s newfound commitment to the concepts yielded tangible results against the Dynamo. Focused and determined from the start, United scored in only the fourth minute. After earning a free kick 30 yards from the goal, Christian Gomez bent his shot around Houston’s wall and into the upper left corner of the net.