HOUSTON -- Brian Ching exploded for two goals and Dwayne De Rosario added another as the Houston Dynamo moved into a first-place tie atop the Western Conference with a 3-1 win against Toronto FC at Robertson Stadium.
Ching scored both of his goals in the second half and assisted on De Rosario's stoppage-time tally in the opening period that sent the Dynamo on their way.
The Dynamo dominated from start to finish, taking advantage of a shorthanded Toronto squad playing without Amado Guevara and Maurice Edu. The TFC pair are out playing for Honduras and the United States, respectively, in international competition.
Jeff Cunningham scored the 99th goal of his MLS career when he beat Houston 'keeper Pat Onstad in the 71st minute.
That was the only blemish of the night for the Dynamo, who became the first team from the West this season to beat Toronto. Before tonight, the Reds were 3-0 against Los Angeles (two wins) and Real Salt Lake.
The Dynamo fired nine shots in the first half, including three by De Rosario and four others that were saved by the very busy Toronto goalkeeper, Greg Sutton.
The defense held the Reds to just one shot, and that was in the 26th minute when Cunningham took a pass from Brennan but sent an ensuing header over the crossbar.
Houston had scoring chances in the 14th, 24th and 29th minutes before De Rosario scored late. Ching was sniffing the net in the 14th minute after taking a pass from De Rosario, but Sutton made an aggressive save coming out of the net to make the stop.
Ten minutes later it was Holden looking for paydirt when he sent a bouncing shot from 30 yards out. But again Sutton was sharp, making the diving stop after moving to his right to protect the far post.
In the 29th minute, Ching actually beat Sutton, but his shot, after taking a nifty pass from Mullan, twisted away from the net and out of bounds.
The Dynamo had dominated the entire first half and finally were rewarded when De Rosario scored in stoppage time. Ching jumped up for a loose ball, headed a pass from midfield behind the TFC defense, to De Rosario who broke toward the net. He outraced Toronto defender Marco Velez and chipped a neat effort over Sutton and into the goal.
For the Dynamo it was the team's first-ever goal against the Reds. Last season, Houston managed just a tie in two meetings against Toronto FC, who was an expansion team a year ago.
It didn't take long for the Orange to the double the lead. Defender Pat Ianni jumped into the play in the 52nd minute and ran down the left side before feeding De Rosario with a crisp pass. Instead of shooting, De Rosario sent the ball over to Ching who settled the pass and fired a shot high past Sutton for a 2-0 lead.
Ching made it 3-0 just five minutes after Onstad made back-to-back, point blank saves on Laurent Robert and Jarrod Smith.
In the 69th minute, Holden saved a play by chasing down a loose ball near the corner before sending a pass toward Ching. All alone in the center of the area, Ching headed the ball into the net past a helpless Sutton for the back-breaking score.
Cunningham scored the 99th goal of his MLS career two minutes later, launching a long-range blast from outside the penalty area that sailed just under the crossbar, leaving Onstad no chance in the Houston goal.
The Dynamo have now won four of their last six matches after going winless in their first half-dozen games in defense of their title. That start had them in the West basement for most of the first month, but now they are tied with the Los Angeles Galaxy with 17 points.
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