The Soul missed two extra points and amassed four defensive penalties in the second quarter alone, including a slew of pass-interference calls.

Their attitude?

Yeah, so what?

Instead of holding back, or getting called for holding again, the Soul responded with a second-half punch for a 60-49 victory against the Chicago Rush yesterday at the sold-out Allstate Arena to remain undefeated.

No one slugged harder than cornerback Mike Brown, who picked off Rush quarterback Sherdrick Bonner on back-to-back third-quarter plays.

"You've got to keep doing what you do," said Brown, who had six interceptions last season. "Our head coach tells us all the time we're going to have highs and lows."

The Rush (1-1) held a 28-26 halftime lead and trailed by 36-35 in the third quarter before Brown zoned in on Bonner and the inexperienced Rush offense, which has six new starters this season.

The Soul (2-0) cashed in on those picks with two Tony Graziani touchdown passes to Chris Jackson for a 50-35 lead.

The Soul defense attacked Bonner on the next possession, with Chicago native Gabe Nyenhuis registering a 7-yard sack.

"It comes down to making plays," Soul coach Bret Munsey said of Brown. "You need players to make big plays for you, and he's one of our playmakers. It's nice he stepped up and got things rolling in the second half."

Brown also helped with a 54-yard kickoff return in the second quarter. He finished with 108 yards on kick returns.

The Soul offense, which has yet to turn the ball over this season, was efficient. Graziani completed 21 of 32 passes for five touchdowns, with three straight scores going to Jackson in the second half.

Jackson had only one catch in the first half but finished with nine catches for a game-high 126 receiving yards.

"We had some real critical drives there when we needed to score," Munsey said.

The Soul started the game on the right note, holding the Rush scoreless on their first drive and then scoring on their first play, a 34-yard touchdown pass from Graziani to Larry Brackins.

But after making all 11 of his extra-point attempts in the Soul's opener, Connor Hughes missed two in the first half. The Soul also picked up five first-half penalties for 45 yards.

Nevertheless, the Soul shook off the shaky start and wrapped up the victory against the highly touted Rush, who knocked off the AFL defending champion San Jose SaberCats in their opener.

"It's huge," Brown said. "We've been saying all week, 'This is going to be a statement game.' "

A week after passing for a franchise-record nine touchdowns, Graziani looks to have the Soul offense in rhythm. Munsey said he was pleased to receive efforts from every unit against the Rush.

"Last week, we were an offensive machine," Munsey said. "Both sides of the ball have to play well to get a win. It's nice to see a team that's balanced on both sides, and right now we've got that."