The Union are the last unbeaten team in MLS. How have they rebounded from the Pachuca disaster?

The dust doesn’t settle often in MLS, but when it did after last weekend, it revealed an unexpected sight.

Of the 29 teams jostling in the league’s early-season traffic, just one has yet to lose: the Union, at 3-0-3 (12 points). That’s a surprise in many years, but even more so in a year that started with eight games in 24 days, including the Concacaf Champions Cup.

Good luck guessing how long the unbeaten run will continue. It might even end Sunday, when the Union visit Atlanta United in what’s always a big game leaguewide, and is again this time.

The contest is a rare traditional TV appearance for the Union, on Fox’s main broadcast network, no less. (It’s also on Fox Deportes in Spanish, and free on Apple TV.) The 2:30 p.m. broadcast time (kickoff is at 2:40) is early enough for viewers to catch the end of the Masters, an event of interest here and certainly down south.

So why not take a moment to point out where things are now, when the scene is worth pointing at.

» READ MORE: How the Union can play in next year’s Club World Cup

“It doesn’t always feel that way, because we had one loss that is kind of stuck in all of our brains that hurt,” Union manager Jim Curtin said, referring to the 6-0 demolition at Pachuca in the Champions Cup. “But in some ways that loss gave us a bit of a reset. … Overall now, as you see in league play, going to a lot of difficult places on the road and not getting beat is something that we take pride in.”

The players share that mentality.

“I think it shows how good this team is,” striker Julián Carranza said. “We keep being the same group as always, with the same mentality, and we’re happy to keep winning. I’m happy to keep scoring. And hopefully, it keeps going that way.”

The Argentine has indeed scored, four goals in five regular-season appearances on a team-high 16 shots. (Quinn Sullivan also has 16 shots, with one more game played.) His record in all competitions is even better: eight goals in eight games. You can tell when a striker is in form, and he’s in form.

“I mean, I keep doing the same thing every single day, every single week, same as the years before: just keep working for myself, for the team,” Carranza said. “Now the balls are going in, so that’s the only difference, but I’ve been doing the same thing, always.”

He did allow for a second difference, and it happened to be a big one: “I think I’m sharper at this point.”

» READ MORE: Julián Carranza and Dániel Gazdag spark a 2-1 Union comeback win in Nashville

Curtin agreed.

“I think it’s the best Julián Carranza has played,” he said. “I say it all the time: he is the perfect striker for this club, and that part is clear. Does the defensive work, does the attacking work. I would not call any of his goals this year lucky, either — he’s earning every one.”

Goalkeeper Andre Blake credited the chemistry of a squad that’s been together for a while.

“We have a strong group, mentally and physically,” he said. “We really know each other, we really know the league, and we know that when everybody is feeling good, everybody’s healthy and everybody’s really working together, we can be a pain. So I just think we are at a good moment right now, where players are feeling good, players are confident, everybody’s contributing, and collectively, we’re being rewarded.”

Blake is one of three players who’ve shaken off injuries in recent days, and will be at full strength for Sunday. He suffered a concussion, striker Mikael Uhre had plantar fasciitis in a foot, and left back Kai Wagner had been dealing with a leg problem. (He has played every game this year, so that’s not surprising). All three trained fully in practice Friday.

“Kai came back a little slower than Mikael — Mikael was back in training right when we returned [from Nashville],” Curtin said. “I’m sure he’s in a little bit of pain and soreness, but nothing that’ll prevent him from playing and contributing hopefully in a big way against Atlanta. Kai fully trained [Friday], and [had] a little soreness, but he’s fine.”

» READ MORE: Andre Blake is back from a concussion, should start for the Union in Atlanta

The word reset is a helpfully neutral way of describing what’s happened since the Union went out of the Champions Cup when they did. Fans (and Curtin) might also have seen it called something different in this space when it happened: a good thing.

The notion certainly got some fans riled up, though they were already riled by the margin of the loss.

The point wasn’t made to excuse the 6-0 score. It was simply to reflect a longstanding truth: If you aren’t going to win the tournament, get out of it instead of spending another month-plus with the burden of midweek games and travel.

And the Union aren’t the only team that’s been routed. In the quarterfinals, Club América dismantled New England and Monterrey crushed Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami. (That series even drew cheers up north for exposing the Herons’ over-reliance on old stars.)

Not only are the Union unbeaten since the Pachuca loss, but they’ve won every game where they had full rest beforehand.

» READ MORE: Bradford Jamieson IV was once a young phenom in Los Angeles. Now he’s a Union assistant coach.

The 3-1 upset at Portland on March 23 was the first time all year that they did, even though they were severely shorthanded. The 2-0 win over Minnesota on March 30 was at full strength, and looked the part. Then came last Saturday’s 2-1 comeback at Nashville, earned with the team’s trademark gumption.

“That’s just how we play, how we always confront every single game,” Carranza said. “Sometimes it gets difficult, we’re losing and we have to win. But we always show that we always want to win.”

Then he added: “This team is always like that: the game is never lost when we’re playing. So that’s our mentality, and it’s a good one.”

Indeed it is. And that prediction … well, better that you be the judge.