The Houston Dash tied 0-0 with Sky Blue FC at BBVA Compass Stadium on Friday.
The Dash outshot Sky Blue FC by 14 shots and had five more shots on goal than the New Jersey club.
Rachel Daly finished the night with four scoring opportunities, two of which were denied in the second half by outstanding saves from Sky Blue FC goalkeeper Caroline Stanley. The forward missed narrowly with two other chances in the game.
Sky Blue applied early pressure winning a corner kick and forcing back-to-back clearances from Rebecca Moros and Cami Privett in the first two minutes of play.
Andressa was a constant threat, drawing a game-high six fouls, beginning in the 4th minute. Stanley handled the free kick inside her six yard box.
Daly finished the night with six shots and her first shot on goal came in the 8th minute despite a defender redirecting the ball.
The second overall pick of the 2016 NWSL College Draft, Raquel Rodriguez finished with one shot on goal and that came in the 12th minute with a long-range shot that went straight to Dash goalkeeper Lydia Williams.
Chioma Ubogagu made her first start of the season and had an impressive run in the 17th minute. The Coppell, Texas native dribbled from the edge of the box toward the penalty spot past four defenders, who eventually cleared the ball.
Co-captain, Kealia Ohai, won the first Dash corner kick of the game in the 18th minute. Andressa’s deliver found Poliana making a run into the six yard box. Rodriguez cleared the Brazilian’s header and the rebound found Caity Heap outside the box. The Texas Tech product made her first start of the season and after finding space she took her only shot of the game, but her effort went over the bar.
Poliana came close in the 22nd minute with a header off an Andressa corner kick that sailed high.
Daly’s first big chance off the night came from a pinpoint cross from Ubogagu but the forward missed narrowly at the near post for Houston’s best chance of the first half.
One of the best scoring opportunities was ruled offside in the 43rd minute. Privett won the ball near midfield, found Heap outside the box but Ohai was ruled offside as she made her run into the box.
Denise O’Sullivan made her first appearance of the season coming on as a substitute in the 46th minute. The Cork, Ireland native arrived on Sunday and trained for the first time with the team on Tuesday. The midfielder finished with two shots and a shot on goal.
Andressa created another scoring opportunity in the 47th minute. The Brazilian found Daly on the edge of the box and shot on goal. Stanley reacted quicklu to her right to deny Daly her second goal of the season and the rebound fell to Ohai who placed the ball in the back of the net, but she was ruled offside.
Daly continued to test Stanley and in the 59th minute a cross from Ohai led to a shot that went wide of the near post.
Andressa attempted to replicate her goal from last Saturday with an ambitious shot beyond 25 yards that Stanley handled on a bounce near the goal line.
The last scoring opportunity for the Dash came in stoppage time when Erin Simon cleared a header from Poliana a few yards from the goal line.
The Dash travel to the Midwest next week for a match against FC Kansas City at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 7 at Swope Park. The next home game will be at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 20 as the Dash host Alex Morgan and the Orlando Pride. For tickets for all Dash games, visit HoustonDashSoccer.com/tickets or call 713-276-GOAL.
Houston Dash (1-1-1, 4 points) vs. Sky Blue FC (1-1-1, 4 points)
NWSL Regular Season
April 29, 2016—BBVA Compass Stadium—Houston, Texas
Attendance: 5,081
Scoring Summary:
1 2 F
Houston Dash 0 0 0
Sky Blue FC 0 0 0
Houston Dash: Lydia Wiliams; Allysha Chapman, Becca Moros, Ellie Brush, Poliana; Cami Privett, Caity Heap (Denise O’Sullivan 46’), Andressa; Kealia Ohai © (Janine Beckie 64’) , Chioma Ubogagu (Stephanie Ochs 80’) , Rachel Daly
Unused substitutes: Morgan Brian, Bianca Henninger, Cari Roccaro, Melissa Henderson
TOTAL SHOTS: 20 (Rachel Daly 6); SHOTS ON GOAL: 7 (Rachel Daly 3) FOULS: 11 (Rachel Daly 3); OFFSIDES: 4 (Chioma Ubogagu, Kealia Ohai tied with 2) CORNER KICKS: 7 (Andressa 5); SAVES: 2 (Lydia Williams 2)
Sky Blue FC: Caroline Stanley; Kelley O’Hara, Erica Skroski, Christie Rampone ©, Erin Simon; Taylor Lytle, Ashley Nick (Kelly Conheeney 58’), Raquel Rodriguez (Nikki Stanton 76’), Sarah Killion, Maya Hayes (Danielle Schulmann 75’); Tasha Kai
Substitutes Not Used: Kim Decesare, Kristin Grubka, Caroline Casey
TOTAL SHOTS: 6 (Raquel Rodriguez 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 2 (Raquel Rodriguez, Tasha Kai tied with 1); FOULS: 12 (Raquel Rodriguez 3) OFFSIDES: 1 (Kelley O’Hara 1); CORNER KICKS: 3 (Kelley O’Hara 3); SAVES: 5 (Caroline Stanley 5)
Misconduct Summary:
NJ: Raquel Rodriquez (caution) 32
Referee: Reyna Fonseca
Assistant Referees: Amanda Ross, Benjamin Wooten
Fourth Official: Leszek Stalmach
