OTTAWA – It’s remarkable to think that it’s the same Ottawa Fury FC side that has recorded four consecutive shutouts going into Friday night’s game with Bethlehem Steel FC at TD Place (7 p.m. ET | Match Center | ESPN+) as the one that conceded nine goals in its first two games of the season.

But the club’s current shutout streak is a measure of the side’s growth under new Head Coach Nikola Popovic in the two months since its start to 2018 that has Fury FC (2-4-3, 9pts) upwardly mobile in the Eastern Conference. With his side looking to bridge the five-point gap to the playoff positions as it nears the middle third of its season, Popovic is happy with the progression the side has shown.

“If we look at the four last games, the opponents are having trouble breaking us down and are not getting chances, and I think this is a huge part of our team’s growth,” said Popovic. “How we have worked collectively in how we defend is a big step forward.”

The club has gone 2-0-2 in its last four outings after last Saturday’s 0-0 draw on the road with the Charleston Battery with goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau recording 12 saves over that span. Over the past three games, however, Crepeau has only been called on to make five saves, a sign that the group before him has begun to tighten up collectively and something the Canadian international is appreciative of.

“At the beginning of the season, we talked a lot about patience, about the system and our positioning,” said Crepeau. “We can now see that players are understanding the system and it’s paying off, the results are coming. The rhythm is in our favor right now so we just want to keep going.”

Ottawa’s shutout streak of 377 minutes will be challenged by Steel FC (4-4-2, 14pts), which made the sort of move Ottawa is hoping to in the coming weeks with back-to-back victories in Week 10. Bethlehem earned a home victory against the New York Red Bulls II and then a road victory against Indy Eleven that pushed the side into fifth place in the Eastern Conference as part of a cluster of four teams all sitting on 14 points.

Earning the club’s first road win of the season against an Indy side that was coming off positive results against top four sides Louisville City FC and Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC was a big confidence boost for Steel FC as it put itself back into the mix in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

“Really pleased with the effort,” said Steel FC Brendan Burke. “I thought in terms of the style of play, we were similar teams but I’m glad that ultimately our quality showed through in Fabian [Herbers] and Santi [Moar] on the first goal. I thought in terms of our energy level, we were fantastic. If we can replicate that like we did against Red Bulls II, that same grit and fight and combine that with our style of play from the first few games then I think we’ll be exactly where we want to be and now it’s about maintaining the momentum.”

With both teams entering in the mood to continue their recent runs, Crepeau believes the opening to Friday night’s game could be a big determining factor in which club comes out on top. After the way Ottawa has stifled opponents of late, the mental edge the side has cultivated has Fury FC eyeing a third win in its last five outings.

“It’s about that winning mentality, that fighting spirit and getting the three points at home,” said Crepeau. “We’re not in a position where we can slow down right now. We need to keep going, get ourselves in a good position in the first 15-20 minutes of this game, dictate the rhythm of this game and everything will go well.”