NEW YORK — The Chicago Fire began the season by surrendering four goals in a disappointing defeat in their home opener.

Since then, the defense has tightened up and the points have accumulated.

The Fire extended their surprising undefeated streak to four games on Sunday night by keeping New York City FC off the board in a scoreless draw at Yankee Stadium. The road result moved the Fire to 1-1-3 on the year, and also saw them record a third consecutive shutout.

That record and recent run of form have taken more than a few observers by surprise. Not many envisioned that the Fire would be so stingy defensively after the the club suffered a 4-3 loss to NYCFC in Week 1, but Veljko Paunovic’s men have bounced back by conceding just once since that forgettable first game of the campaign.

“It sucks to learn from a loss and a bad loss, but it was obviously a learning experience and everybody jelled,” Fire goalkeeper Matt Lampson told SBI. “We’re getting better and better with each game, particularly in possession and I’m happy with the progress we’re making.

“It was an embarrassing game the first game. It really was, and we wanted payback for these guys. Unfortunately we couldn’t get a goal, but I’m really proud of the way these guys fought today and we deserved the point.”

On Sunday, it took some dogged determination and scrappy defending from the revamped Fire to stymie an NYCFC side that created the bulk of the game’s best chances. It also took some stellar work from Lampson in goal.

Lampson finished the night with eight saves, thwarting New York City FC each and every time they tested him. The 26-year-old goalkeeper even denied David Villa on three occasions, including on a point-blank effort following a corner kick in the first half and a streaking run down the right flank in the latter parts of the second stanza.

“(Lampson) was excellent tonight,” Fire left back Michael Harrington told SBI. “He was a big-time, kept us in the game and made saves when he needed to, obviously a couple spectacular saves, so credit to him. When you’ve got a goalkeeper behind you that’s playing like that, it does a lot for your confidence as a defender.”

The Fire’s new-look back four also did its part. Rookie centerback Jonathan Campbell and Johan Kappelhof came up with several timely interventions, fullbacks Harrington and Rodrigo Ramos held firm on their respective flanks, and the midfield and forwards also chipped in to make life difficult for NYCFC.

All that nearly allowed the Fire to take all three points. Campbell found the back of the net in the 60th minute on a set piece flicked on by Gilberto, but the goal was disallowed due to an apparent offside call.

Nonetheless, the Fire left Yankee Stadium with confidence, not frustration.

“We played a very good game,” said Paunovic. “I want to congratulate our players who did a fantastic game, mentality, mechanically, shape. I think it’s a great thing to highlight, and attitude and mentality, and now I’m 100 percent (convinced) that we are on a great path and we are going to be successful and winning team this season.”

If the Fire are to enjoy a good season, they will need to continue to be solid defensively. They will also have to break a mind-boggling winless streak of road games that has stretched to almost two full years. The club has not been victorious away from home since July 12, 2014, when it blanked the New England Revolution, 1-0, at Toyota Park.

The Fire are hungry to do so, however, and believe that performances like the one they put forth on Sunday are steps in the right direction.

“In this league, if you’re getting shutouts, you’re going to have a chance to win every game,” said Harrington. “We start there, have that good foundation, and we know we have good attacking players that are going to get on the scoresheet and obviously turn games into wins.”