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Dynamo-Fire Preview

Apr 23, 2010 - 4:58 PM By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA STATS Senior Writer

Houston (2-1-1) at Chicago (1-2-1), 8:30 p.m. EDT

If the Houston Dynamo had met the Chicago Fire in the 2009 MLS Cup, they would have had every reason to feel confident.

The Dynamo, off to the best start in franchise history, look to win their sixth straight against the Fire on Saturday night in a matchup of teams that came close to meeting in last year's title game.

Houston lost to Los Angeles in last season's Western Conference finals and Chicago missed its own opportunity to advance to the MLS Cup, losing to eventual champion Real Salt Lake in the East. Instead of meeting the Fire (1-2-1) with a championship on the line, the Dynamo (2-1-1) had to wait until this regular season for a chance to extend a five-game winning streak in the series.

Houston has never lost at Toyota Park, going 3-0-1, and it is playing well entering this meeting. The Dynamo are off to the best four-game start in team history, topping their 2-2-0 record in 2006.

However, Houston is playing its first road game since opening the season with a 1-1 tie against FC Dallas on March 27. The Dynamo concluded a three-game stretch at home with a 3-0 win over Chivas USA last Saturday.

Geoff Cameron, Lovel Palmer and Dominic Oduro scored goals. Sharp passing between Cameron and Corey Ashe led to Houston's first two scoring opportunities, the second resulting in a goal.

"He and I have a great relationship," Ashe told the Dynamo's official website. "We go home and discuss the game. He looks for me, and I look for him. He's a great player. He knows I like to run at guys one-on-one. ... He's the quarterback of the team."

Forwards Cam Weaver (knee) and Brian Ching (hamstring) are expected to miss another game, so Ashe will likely get another chance to start in the midfield, moving Brian Mullan to forward. The Dynamo have a combined five goals in their victories.

"Houston is a very direct team - very physical, very fast and they're going to get after us," Fire goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra said. "It's not like we really need to change what we do to accommodate them, we just have to be tuned in and focused on what we're doing and make sure that's right."

Dykstra helped the Fire secure their first victory of the season, earning his first career win and recording his first assist in a 2-0 victory over winless D.C. United last Saturday.

Dykstra is the first Chicago goalkeeper in nearly four years to post an assist. Zach Thornton had one on June 28, 2006, in a 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake.

Dykstra, who lowered his goals-against average to 1.25, is trying to give the Fire a consistent presence in net after 2008 MLS goalkeeper of the year Jon Busch was waived in the preseason.

"It was nice to win after not having the greatest start," he said. "It was a huge mental hurdle for me, but as soon as it was over I shifted focus toward preparation for Houston."