If somebody had told me several months ago that D.C. United would find itself in second place towards the end of April, I’d have chuckled. And if they suggested that the team would be in that position without Bill Hamid, Andy Najar and Hamdi Salihi in the starting 11, I’d have laughed hysterically.

After a dominant 4-1 victory against the beleaguered New York Red Bulls, however, that’s the position United finds itself in. Riding a hat trick by Chris Pontius, the red and black drove their Atlantic Cup rivals into the soggy turf of RFK Stadium last night, leapfrogging Thierry Henry and company and claiming second in the east. (How do you like them apples, Gothamist?) With the win, DCU extended their unbeaten streak to six games.

Just three days removed from a disappointing draw against the expansion Montreal Impact, D.C. United knew it couldn’t afford a lackluster first half against a team that had scored 15 goals in its past four matches.

“Last game, we had a slow start and that’s what we preached really hard for this game. We can’t afford to have that start, so we came out banging,” said DCU rookie midfielder Nick DeLeon. “Overall, it was a good team performance today.”

Pontius wasted no time giving United the lead. Just seven minutes in, he stripped Henry of the ball at the center circle, raced to the edge of the 18-yard-line and absolutely buried a shot into the upper 90. Maicon Santos did the heavy lifting on Pontius’ second of the evening , out-muscling three Red Bull defenders and finding him at the six-yard mark. He’d complete his hat trick in the 69th minute, picking the ball up 40 yards from goal and winding through New York’s defense, eventually slotting the ball past keeper Ryan Meara.

Henry had high praise for United’s forward. When asked if he thought he’d been fouled when stripped of the ball on DCU’s first goal, he said: “I don’t have anything more to say about this type of thing. The referee didn’t think it was a foul, so move on. Pontius is a great player; he did what he had to do.”

The Red Bulls found themselves paper thin on defense. Without the services of Roy Miller, Wilman Conde and Teemu Tainio, as well as suspended midfielder Rafa Marquez, New York failed at creating any kind of defensive pressure in their end of the pitch.

“Throughout the season, you’re going to have games like this where you’re playing a team that’s a little down, and you have to step up and take advantage of that,” United manager Ben Olsen said after the match. “I thought we did a very good job from start to finish of putting them under a lot of pressure and not letting them get comfortable.”

By the time Henry put the Bulls on the board in the 72nd minute—on a picture perfect free kick—the game was already over. Henry didn’t even bother to celebrate, choosing instead to wander back to the center circle with his head down.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that DCist called this victory last week. In my exchange with Gothamist’s resident soccer writer Dan Dickinson, I asked him which New York team we’d get: the anemic, rudderless unit that lost their first two games, or the high-flying bunch that went unbeaten in their next four. I think that question was pretty clearly answered last night. You can read his match report right here. “At least it’s a 3 leg Atlantic Cup this year?” he told me earlier this morning. Whatever helps you sleep at night, Dan.

Just remember the slogan: “Red Bull gives you wings!” Especially if your name is Chris Pontius.

Team Notes: Joe Willis started in goal again for United despite the fact that Bill Hamid is fully recovered from his injury. I asked Olsen if it’s safe to say the job is now Willis’ to lose. His response: “Joe is our starter” … United next faces Houston this Saturday at RFK. They will once again try to win two games in a row for the first time since mid ’09.