D.C. United’s home woes this season have been well documented. Given the struggles, head coach Ben Olsen decided to put the team up in a Crystal City hotel before the match — a psychological tactic that Olsen hoped would lead the team to replicate their road success inside RFK Stadium. Well, it helped — the team, led by Chris Pontius and Dwayne DeRosario, put on a rare offensive display, defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps 4-0 on Saturday.

De Rosario, who assisted on two goals on Saturday, and Pontius, who scored twice, got the lion’s share of the headlines. Understandable, considering that the offensive outburst was the first time United had scored four goals in an MLS match since 2008. But the scoreline was hardly indicative of the match’s tight first half. The team leaned on debutant goalkeeper Joe Willis, whose diving stop of Camilo’s free kick with minutes left before the interval motivated United back to the front foot. Willis also made a couple of nice saves — including a instinctive leg save on Eric Hassli in the 66th minute, when a tally would have brought the Whitecaps back into the match.

Willis, who, according to assistant coach Chad Ashton, earned the right to start in place of Bill Hamid by doing “just a little bit better during the course of the week” than Steve Cronin, certainly enjoyed his time in net.

“It’s great to win, and this being my first game the whole experience was awesome,” said Willis.

Although a home victory over Vancouver — who, under former United manager Tom Soehn, holds the league’s worst record in its first year at the MLS level — was expected, it could represent a significant turning point for the team, who now sits in the Eastern Conference’s top three and right in the thick of the playoff hunt.