DCU hopes to continue solid run vs. Houston

Washington, D.C. (SportsNetwork.com) - D.C. United will hope to continue its impressive start to the season when the club hosts the Houston Dynamo at RFK Stadium on Saturday.

It will be the lone meeting between the two sides this season due to Houston's move to the Western Conference, and the Dynamo will be eager to become just the second team to take points off of D.C. this term.

United, entering the weekend atop the Eastern Conference table, has claimed three wins through five matches, but its loss and draw against Red Bull New York has prevented the club from creating greater separation at the summit.

Ben Olsen's men held a two-goal lead over New York last weekend and were well- positioned to collect all three points, but the Red Bulls rallied with two goals to salvage a point in a 2-2 draw.

"We have to learn from some of the mistakes we made that cost us points. If we can take a large chunk of that game and build off it, I think we are in good shape," said Olsen. "There was a lot more good than bad in that game. It's probably the best we played this year from a soccer and a mentality standpoint, so we will learn from it."

Houston was a bit more fortunate last weekend as the Dynamo snapped a four- game winless run with a strong offensive showing, cruising past the Montreal Impact in a 3-0 victory.

It was Houston's first match this term that finished with more than two total goals, and it was the first time under new head coach Owen Coyle that the Dynamo managed to score more than a single goal in a game.

Rookie Rob Lovejoy was a major highlight of the match, logging just his fourth appearance this season while chipping in with his first professional goal and adding an assist.

"Montreal probably started the second half slightly better than us and I thought I needed to do something quickly to change it," Coyle said. "That's what we did we brought Alex Lopez on the right and Rob on the left to give us that youthful energy and the quality they���ve both got and we stretched the game. Every game he plays he's in the wars. He's got that little bit of Doberman about him, which I love, and he listens and he learns."

Perhaps what was most important for Houston, though, was that it managed to log another impressive defensive showing, resulting in its third shutout in six matches. The Dynamo have not conceded more than a goal in any of their six outings, leaving Coyle's men with a good chance of taking something from any match.