VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Jonathan Bond needed to make just one save to finish his fifth straight clean sheet and defender Franco Negri scored in the first half to help the Houston Dynamo beat the Vancouver Whitecaps 1-0 on Wednesday night.
Houston (12-6-2) leapfrogs Vancouver (11-4-4) into the top spot in the Western Conference by joining Los Angeles FC (2024) and Atlanta United (2019) as the only teams to post five shutout victories in a row.
Bond stretched his scoreless streak to 462 minutes with his eighth clean sheet in 20 starts this season.
Negri scored unassisted from long range in the 34th minute to give Houston the lead for good. It was his first goal this season and his third in 51 career appearances.
Yohei Takaoka finished with four saves for Vancouver.
Houston is 6-0-2 in its last eight matches and remains the hottest team in the league with a 10-2-2 run over its previous 14.
The Dynamo completed a season sweep after beating the Whitecaps 1-0 at home in May on a goal by newcomer Guilherme Santos six minutes into second-half stoppage time.
Houston improves to 2-9-4 on the road in the series.
The last time the Dynamo came to town Thomas Müller made his debut for the Whitecaps in a 1-1 draw last season.
Houston: At St. Louis City on Saturday.
Vancouver: Hosts FC Dallas on Saturday.
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