The Philadelphia Union needed to beat the Houston Dynamo by one goal in order to keep their Major League Soccer (MLS) playoff hopes alive on Thursday night in Robertson Stadium.

Instead, they lost by one.

That means "Orange Crush" is on the fast-track to Kansas to play Sporting Kansas City on Sunday. The Union, well, they’re on the fast-track to winter break.

Despite some last-minute dramatics by Veljko Paunovic, Philadelphia was just unable to get past Houston goalie Tally Hall, who was stingy inside the net throughout his shutout performance.

Houston striker Brian Ching used his head at the 45 minute mark to put the Dynamo on top one-zip just before the half.

Turns out that’s the only point they needed.

For more on tonight’s game, as well as a look into the 2012 season, be sure to visit our team page, or our Philadelphia Union blog Brotherly Game by clicking here and here.