Dynamo versus D.C. United preview

The Houston Dynamo are again off to a slow start, but there's reason to believe they'll be able to notch their first win soon.

The Dynamo expect to have Brian Ching and Kei Kamara together for the first time this season Saturday when they visit D.C. United, who are also seeking their first victory.

Ching scored in Houston's season-opening 1-1 tie against Columbus on March 21 but was unavailable last Saturday at San Jose because of U.S. national team duty. The Dynamo (0-1-1) lost to the Earthquakes 3-2 in a wild game, where all five goals were scored in a 15-minute span to close the first half.

Houston fell behind by giving up two goals in a three-minute span but soon tied the score with goals from Chris Wondolowski and Brad Davis less than 90 seconds apart. In the 44th minute, San Jose's Cam Weaver scored the game-winner.

Wondolowski was making his second start last weekend but will likely be relegated to the bench with Kamara's return.

Kamara missed the first two games while serving a suspension for a preseason altercation with an officiating crew. He had two goals and two assists in 10 games for Houston last year after being acquired from San Jose in July.

Kamara will be paired at forward with Ching, who led Houston with 13 goals last season, including one in a 2-0 win over United on July 23. The teams also played to a scoreless tie Oct. 12.

With his two top forwards in the lineup, Houston coach Dominic Kinnear is hoping the team can get its first win.

"We're 0-1-1, and if you're happy with that, you're in the wrong business," Kinnear said.

The Dynamo have a habit of getting off to slow starts, though.

Houston opened last season 0-2-4 before rebounding to win the Western Conference. In 2007, the Dynamo opened 2-5-1 and still went on to win their second straight MLS Cup.

Similar to Houston, D.C. (0-0-2) is also slow out of the gate.

After playing to a 2-all tie at Los Angeles in their season opener on March 22, United tied Chicago 1-1 last Saturday.

"It's important not to lose, to add points, and on Saturday we have to win, get the three points, because we need to catch up to other teams," midfielder Christian Gomez told the official Web site of MLS.

Luciano Emilio, who had 20 goals as a rookie in 2007 and led United with 11 last season, scored his first of the year Saturday to give the team a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute.

Coach Tom Soehn believes Emilo's goal is a sign of things to come.

"That goal he scored was a sign of the Luci that we've all come to know," Soehn said. "So it was a real positive for him, I think. He feeds off confidence and obviously the thing about him is that when he scores he scores a bunch, so hopefully we'll have a lot to follow."