Kealia Ohai enters the final game of the regular season (TIX: ow.ly/v49T304gr2a) with two goals in mind: Lead Houston to its first victory over Seattle and capture the league’s scoring title in the process.
The Dash have lost six consecutive games to the Reign and Sunday’s national platform will also give her the opportunity to claim the NWSL Golden Boot, the award for scoring the most goals in the regular season.
“I definitely think that’s in the back of my mind, but first and foremost we want to win this game,” Ohai said. “Since I’m so close and it is right there I really want to win [the award]. Obviously I want to keep scoring goals and producing for my team, there are a lot of girls that are really dangerous and right there. We will see what happens but the first thing is getting the win.”
The forward has 10 goals and is tied with Western New York Flash forward Lynn Williams for the most goals in the league this season. The Flash’s Jessica McDonald and Portland Thorns FC’s Nadia Nadim trail by one with nine goals each. Kansas City FC’s Shea Groom is also within reach with eight goals.
Ohai’s top priority is to contribute to the team’s success, whether that’s an assist or a goal. Despite a challenging first half of the season the Utah native was confident that she could raise her game to a new level.
“I just needed to get one [goal], when I got that first one it made everything a lot easier,” Ohai said. “This run has been awesome. Everyone has been really excited, very active on social media and team leaders like Carli [Lloyd] have been awesome. So it’s really cool for me. I love scoring goals so it’s been a really fun environment.”
For Dash head coach Randy Waldrum, claiming the Golden Boot against Seattle would increase the significance of the award as the Reign has only allowed 19 goals this year. The Reign are tied with two other clubs for the second fewest goals allowed in the league this season. Additionally, the Reign need a victory to contend for the final playoff spot. A draw or victory for the Flash on Saturday against the Boston Breakers would eliminate Seattle from postseason contention.
“If she does it against Seattle and ends up winning it by getting a goal or a couple against the Reign then she can be really proud of doing it against a team of that caliber,” Waldrum said. “We are all pulling for her and we will all do our best to get her the ball in the right situation. It would be great to do it against Seattle.”
Waldrum added that regardless of who wins the award the forward should be proud of her contributions to the team this season.
“If it doesn’t pan out that way, she was in the mix all the way to the end. We’ve seen so much growth and I think she would be disappointed, but she can walk away really proud of what she’s done this season for us,” Waldrum said. “Hopefully we can build on that for next year. It’s been exciting to see her growth and exciting to see her put the ball in the back of the net week to week. She’s had a really good run in this second half of the season and it correlates to the success the team has had in this part of the season.”
The 24-year-old shares Waldrum’s optimism for next season and acknowledged that scoring in the final game of the season would not come easy due to Seattle’s tactical approach.
“They’re a very possession oriented team, when they get a hold of the ball it’s tough to get it back,” Ohai said. “We’re just focusing on pressing hard and defending – playing the way we know how to play and we look a lot more dynamic in our attack. Seattle is a great team so we’re excited to put that out on the field against a team that matches up pretty well against us.”
