Chivas striker Justin Braun notches hat trick in 3-0 win over Houston

Chivas USA forward Justin Braun made it look so easy Saturday night.

With a touch here, a tap there, and a slide to finish it all off, the striker snapped his team’s five-game losing streak to the Houston Dynamo with casual grace and a grin.

Behind his three goals, Chivas picked up three critical points with a 3-0 victory over the Dynamo to send the team confidently into a five-game road trip after the All-Star break.

“We’re excited about not only the result, but the way we were able to play tonight,” Coach Robin Fraser said. “At the end of the day, some of the goals were really, really good.”

Outstanding service found Braun in all the right places Saturday, and he converted on almost every quality chance for his second hat trick of the season.

The first goal came in the 31st minute, when Chivas midfielder Jorge Flores dropped a pass back to defender Ante Jazic, who sent a perfect cross to Braun, who struck the ball in the air with his left foot from 10 yards out. Then, just nine minutes later, Blair Gavin’s chip dropped at Braun’s feet as he made a run alone in the middle of the box. Braun calmly tapped the ball over goalkeeper Tally Hall’s head to put Chivas up 2-0 before halftime. The game was long decided by the time Braun notched his third and final goal, sliding into a ball sent into the right side of box in the 86th minute.

The goals gave Braun seven on the season, moving him ahead of Nick LaBrocca for the team lead.

“It’s cool to get another hat trick,” Braun said. “I had hit a little dry spell, but this helped take that weight off my shoulders.”

Before Saturday night, Chivas (6-7-8) had only one win in 15 tries against Houston (5-7-9), and the team entered the game shorthanded in the attacking third with striker Ben Zemanski sidelined by an injured ankle.

Even so, Chivas played with a sense of offensive urgency largely absent this season. By the 12th minute, Gavin had already shimmied past a defender and sent a strike just high. After that, Chivas kept the pressure on, peppering Hall with quality chances to the end.

“Coming off this win, going into that long stretch of road games certainly gives your confidence a little bit of a boost,” Fraser said. “For us, to be in striking distance [of the playoffs] is important.”

matthew.stevens@latimes.com

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