“It’s good to be tested early and come out with three points,” said United midfielder Ben Olsen. “I think it shows that we got some men out there, and we stepped up in a difficult situation against a good team.”

After a lackluster first half by both teams in front of a paltry 12,594 at RFK Stadium, United (1-0-2, 5 points) got the only goal it would need two minutes after the break. Luciano Emilio took advantage of former United defender Bobby Boswell’s misplay of a ball over the top by Bryan Namoff, leaving the Brazilian free to chip onrushing Dynamo keeper Pat Onstad for his second goal of the year.

“It set up perfectly,” said Namoff. “The ball came across to my side, and I had a little bit of time to look up the field. Ange [N’Silu] did a great job coming across, which kind of opened up the space for Luci to come in behind. He was in essence one-on-one with Bobby Boswell so I just tried to play it in that space, and luckily Bobby missed, which created a one-on-one for Emilio, and he had a great finish.”

Five minutes later, Namoff cleared Ricardo Clark’s effort off the line on a corner, one of 12 second-half shots for the winless Dynamo (0-2-1, 1 pt). Eight of those shots came after United forward Jaime Moreno was handed a straight red card in the 71st minute – only six minutes after he entered the match – by referee Baldomero Toledo for tackling Brad Davis from behind as he dribbled laterally across the D.C. midfield.

“All these little tests make you a better team along the way,” said United head coach Tom Soehn. “You never want to go down a man, and the foul that happened that caused the red, I probably wouldn’t have played many games in my career if that’s always a red so it’s unfortunate. But you have deal with those circumstances, and our guys gutted it out and did a good job.”

But despite Houston’s overwhelming amount of possession over the final stretch, most of the Dynamo shots were off target. United goalkeeper Louis Crayton, busy throughout the match cutting off crosses and moderating tempo through controlled falls with the ball in his possession, finished with just four saves in his first start of the year.

But the demonstrative Liberian preserved the victory by getting a hand on Davis’ booming left-footed strike in the 81st minute, helping send it off the crossbar, and then safely cradling Stuart Holden’s 90th minute try from distance.

“I’m glad Crayton played tonight, and I’m glad he did well,” said Olsen. “There’s a certain confidence he gives us because he’s such a knucklehead back there. It’s nice to have a guy that’s been around the block a little bit. Hopefully he can continue on that type of form.”

Notes

United forward Ange N’Silu made his first start and appearance.

Houston was conducted on the sidelines by assistant coach John Spencer, as head coach Dominic Kinnear was suspended for the match.

United midfielder Fred made his first appearance of the season, coming on as a substitute in the 57th minute. Midfielders Devon McTavish (head laceration) and Santino Quaranta (hamstring), who were listed as doubtful and questionable, respectively, were not included in the 18-man roster.