Ching pushes Houston into East final

HOUSTON (AP)

Leading by a goal after winning the opener of the two-game, aggregate total playoff series, the Houston Dynamo didn't want to rest on their advantage against Philadelphia. They made sure they got a victory and advanced to the conference finals for the fourth time in franchise history.

Brian Ching scored at the end of the first half, and the Dynamo defeated the Union 1-0 Thursday night, advancing 3-1 on total scoring after a 2-1 win Sunday at Philadelphia.

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''We talked about it and obviously they were behind and they were going to try to come out for a push,'' Houston head coach Dominic Kinnear said. ''From the very get-go, we said we couldn't sit on this lead, we had to try and go out and try and increase it and if not, just make sure the other team knows that you are not just going to sit back and try and play.''

The Dynamo play Sporting Kansas City in the West finals on Sunday in Kansas City for the chance to move on to the MLS Cup for the first time since 2007 when they won their second of back-to-back titles. Houston also advanced to the West finals in 2009, losing at Los Angeles 2-0 in overtime.

''Kansas City is extremely tough team,'' Ching said. ''They are playing really tough right now. They are one of the best teams in the league. They are playing at home, which will be extremely tough for us. Saying that, we are a team on a roll. We are a team that is defensively seeming to find our rhythm. We are scoring goals, too.''

The Dynamo have hit their stride at the right time, winning four straight and six of seven, and extending their unbeaten streak to eight games.

''Three months ago, if you were to tell us that we would be at this point with a chance to move on to the final, we would probably look at you with a little bit of disbelief,'' Ching said. ''Over the last three months, credit to (Kinnear) and all the guys in the locker room maturing. It's pretty special. Hopefully, we can continue on this run. I'd love to see this team make it to the final.''

Ching scored in first half stoppage time, taking a free kick by Brad Davis, who led the league in assists this season with 16 and had two during the series, and heading it in from the penalty spot and into the upper right corner, just inside the far post.

''He's been good,'' Davis said of Ching. ''It's been obvious he's scored in the past on them (set pieces). We're going to get our few a game and hopefully, we can capitalize on them, and tonight, we did again. It was a great header by Brian. He got a good run at it, and he's good at the end of it.''

Houston nearly scored in the 47th minute as Geoff Cameron weakly hit a shot from the penalty area to Philadelphia goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon. Calen Carr had a chance in the 54th minute, getting behind the Union defense, but had his right-footed shot from 10 yards out in the middle was stopped by Mondrago with a kick save.

Philadelphia missed a chance to tie the score in the 59th minute as Veljko Paunovic's shot from outside the upper right box was saved by Houston goalkeeper Tally Hall, who had five saves after stopping 10 shots in the first game.

Philadelphia, who couldn't get much going against Houston, only earned three wins in their final 16 games and didn't score in the final 173 minutes of the two-leg series and dropped its third straight game to end the season.

''I believe that the first half was very good, very fluid,'' Union coach Peter Nowak said. ''We have a couple of chances, a couple of shots from distance and basically didn't give anything to Houston. It could have been a different game.''

Off a corner kick in the 64th minute, Hall saved two shots by Paunovic from the far post.

''That's been our game for a long time,'' Hall said. ''Now, it's coming together. We are finding our form and trying to come from a couple different angles to play a complete game.''