Two weeks ago, D.C. United traveled to Los Angeles to play a depleted Galaxy team and were lucky to come away with a disappointing 0-0 tie after Nate Jaqua missed two easy opportunities in front of the United goal. Determined not to fall into the trap of playing down to their competition again, United scored early in their 3-1 victory over the visiting Chicago Fire and never looked back.

Fire goalie Matt Pickens bobbled a ball in front of his goal in the sixth minute and Rod Dyachenko slammed it home for a quick 1-0 lead. Dyachenko's goal, his first as a professional, set the tone as United pressured their opponents from end to end and dominated play against a shorthanded Fire team that was missing regulars Justin Mapp, Ivan Guerrero, Chris Armas, Thiago, Chris Rolfe and Logan Pause for various reasons. United was in a somewhat similar position with Bobby Boswell sitting out due to a red card and Jaime Moreno on call for the Bolivian National Team, but suffered no drop off in play. Devon McTavish got the start in Boswell's place and did fine against Chicago's anemic offense.

Luciano Emilio provided the other two goals, showing the early-season goal scoring form that he had been missing recently. He, along with Dyachenko, did an excellent job getting the ball up front and holding it, placing tremendous pressure on the Fire's backline. Also notable was the Josh Gros-Fred-Dyachenko line-up on the left side of the field. All three players worked with each other flawlessly, particularly in the second half when United dominated possession of the ball. Fred is looking more and more comfortable out wide on the left, which opens up passing lanes to the front line. Poor Calen Carr, listed as a Forward in Chicago's lineup, spent the entirety of the second half chasing Fred up and down the left sideline in a losing battle that was a lot of fun to watch.

United's victory moved the Black-and-Red into sole possession of fourth place in the MLS East standing, just four points behind first place New York, who have played two more games than United. D.C. travels to winless Salt Lake City on Saturday to play old friends Alecko Eskandarian and Nick Rimando. Freddy Adu will miss the game due to his call up for the Under-20 World Cup.

Photos by Kyle Gustafson