Danny Mwanga

Union (8-5-7) at Chicago Fire (2-6-12) 9 p.m. Wednesday at Toyota Park, Bridgeview, Ill. TV: Comcast SportsNet. Last MLS game. The Union dropped a 2-1 decision to the visiting Colorado Rapids on Friday. Chicago hasn't played an MLS game since losing to the Portland Timbers,1-0, at home on July 16. Outlook: The Union won a 2-1 decision over Chicago on May 21 at PPL Park in Chester on a game-winning goal by the now-departed Carlos Ruiz.

Saturday at 6 p.m., Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, Colo. TV: TCN Records: Union, 0-1; Colorado, 0-1. Openers: The Union lost, 3-1, on Saturday to Sporting Kansas City at PPL Park. Colorado lost, 1-0, at Dallas. About the Rapids: Backup keeper Steve Ceus allowed one of the worst goals imaginable in the opening loss, coming off his line outside the box and seeing the ball bounce over his head. . . . Starting keeper Matt Pickens, the Rapids 2012 team MVP, who has been out with a lower leg injury, could return in net. He has trained all week with the Rapids.

PORTLAND, Ore. - It's been hard for almost any visiting team to get a good result at the Portland Timbers' cozy Jeld-Wen Field in this Major League Soccer season. Friday night, the Union were tasked with taking points from the match without two of their most important players. Danny Califf sat out because of a cold and Jordan Harvey was suspended. For most of the game, the Union's makeshift backline held firm. But it finally was beaten in the 72d minute on a set-piece goal by Mamadou Danso, and eventually succumbed to a 1-0 loss in front of 18,627 raucous fans.

When: 5 p.m. Sunday . Where: PPL Park, Chester. TV: ESPN2. At stake: First of two-game, aggregate-goal series. Game 2 is Nov. 3 at Houston, 8:30 p.m. ET Regular season: Houston: (12-9-13, 49 points , second place in the Eastern Conference); Union (11-8-15, 48 points, third place in the Eastern Conference). Coaches: Houston - Dominic Kinnear (100-67-81 overall, 73-53-60 in Houston); Union - Peter Nowak (61-49-46 overall; 19-23-22 with the Union)

The Union tried a revamped starting lineup to help jump-start its offense, but despite a better attack, lost to host FC Dallas, 2-0, on Saturday night. The Union began the game with Danny Mwanga and Roger Torres in the lineup, but was held scoreless for the third straight game on the road. The team has scored six goals in nine matches, the lowest total in the league. The Union fell to 0-2-1 in its last three and 4-3-2 overall. Dallas ran its shutout streak to 309 minutes and goalkeeper Kevin Hartman recorded his third consecutive shutout.

Despite another game in which they dominated possession, the Union couldn't snap their winless streak that now stands at eight games. In a familiar refrain of dominating everywhere but the scoreboard, the Union played the expansion Portland Timbers to a scoreless draw on Saturday at PPL Park. The Union (8-7-12, 36 points) are now 0-3-5 in their last eight games. Portland stands at 9-12-6 for 33 points, but the Timbers are just 1-8-4 on the road. The Union came closest to scoring in the 88th minute when Kyle Nakazawa one-timed a Justin Mapp cross and hit the post from 16 yards out. The Union started their most offensive-friendly lineup that included Danny Mwanga and Veljko Paunovic up top and playmakers such as Freddy Adu, Sebastien Le Toux, and Roger Torres in the midfield.

GABRIEL GOMEZ scored on a penalty kick in the 38th minute Saturday and the Union beat Columbus, 1-0. After Columbus' Eric Gehrig was whistled for a handball in the 18-yard-box, Gomez chipped Crew goalie Andy Greuenbaum and the Union (1-3-1) held on for their first win this season. Toronto FC (0-4-0) is the only remaining winless club in Major League Soccer. It was the second consecutive shutout for Zac MacMath following a scoreless draw with the Vancouver Whitecaps 2 weeks ago. In addition, the defense extended its shutout streak to 242 minutes.

Amobi Okugo never remembers entering a game so early, but the 20-year-old Union midfielder proved he was ready. Okugo saw his most extensive time this season when he entered last Saturday's 1-0 win over the visiting New York Red Bulls in the sixth minute after Brian Carroll strained a hamstring. Prior to that, he had played only five minutes in the opening, 1-0 win at Houston, but missed the next two MLS games while competing for the U.S. men's national team at the CONCACAF Under-20 championships in Guatemala.