Houston's success is what Real Salt Lake is looking for

When Dwayne DeRosario bolted for his native Toronto this offseason, many people wondered how it would impact the Houston dynasty he was leaving behind.

From 2003 to 2008, and despite a move from San Jose to Houston in 2006, DeRosario was one of the most celebrated players on a team that had won three Major League Soccer Cups and four Western Conference titles. His chicken-dance goal celebration became legendary, with 42 goals scored in a six-year span.

Without the attacking focal point of it all, the Dynamo seemed poised for a letdown in 2009. Those hunches appeared to be confirmed when DeRosario's former team went winless in the opening month of the season.

It was wishful thinking by everyone else in Major League Soccer.

Houston hasn't lost since, and it hosts Real Salt Lake Saturday at 6:30, hoping to improve upon a 10-game unbeaten streak that includes eight wins and two ties.

Much of the success can be attributed to coach Dominic Kinnear and the eight other core Houston players DeRosario left behind.

"They're a team that's been together a while. Dominic has always had those guys very organized, and they have 11 guys out there that do their individual job real well, and that makes up good chemistry for a good team; you have to give them credit," said RSL midfielder Clint Mathis. "I think that's why they've won all the championships they've won."

Not all of those core players were around during San Jose's 2003 MLS Cup championship, but they've been together since 2005 — their last season in San Jose — and they're clearly doing just fine without DeRosario.

The eight-man core includes Ricardo Clark, Wade Barrett, Brian Ching, Craig Waibel, Pat Onstad, Brian Mullan, Brad Davis and Eddie Robinson. Houston has added several other key elements to the equation in the past couple years — including standouts Stuart Holden and Bobby Boswell — but the veteran core is the backbone of it all.

"They're a consistent team, a team that's been together for a long time. They're a good team; they have really good players, a good coach. They're a team that commits day-in and day-out, and that's what's made them different than everyone else," said RSL striker Yura Movsisyan.