The Houston Dash fell to the North Carolina Courage 1-0 following a match delay in the 52nd minute due to severe thunderstorms in Houston.
Captain Sophie Schmidt made her 100th career regular season appearance after starting in Friday evening’s match. Schmidt became the 75th player in NWSL history to reach that milestone.
In the 14th minute, North Carolina looked to take the lead but was called off by referee Thomas Snyder following a review. Defender Ryan Williams was deemed to be in an offside position following the review.
North Carolina took the lead in the 33rd minute after forward Tyler Lussi was able to find space behind Houston’s defense.
Forward Ebony Salmon and Schmidt nearly connected for the first goal of the game for the Dash midway through the first half. Schmidt regained the ball in the midfield after a Courage player mishandled the ball. Schmidt found a streaking Salmon who was unable to get a shot off before the North Carolina defense was able to recover.
Salmon nearly equalized in the 39th minute after she beat a defender on the far side, found space and took a shot on goal that was stopped by Courage goalkeeper Casey Murphy.
Houston had an opportunity to equalize in the 42nd minute following a free kick earned after forward María Sánchez was fouled. Sanchez’s free kick bounced around in the box and landed at the feet of Schmidt who chipped the ball toward goal and hit the far post.
Houston will be back in action on Wednesday, May 3 at 7:00pm CT at Shell Energy Stadium for the second match of the 2023 UKG NWSL Challenge Cup against the Chicago Red Stars. Wednesday’s match will be the second of four 713 Nights this season. 713 Nights, presented by Bud Light, are one of the best values in Houston as fans can purchase $7 tickets, $1 hot dogs and $3 beers.
