The Houston Dash will celebrate their fourth annual Pride Night tonight as they host the Boston Breakers in their first meeting of the regular season.
Houston earned its first victory under interim head coach Omar Morales last Saturday in a 2-0 contest against the Orlando Pride. Dash forward Carli Lloyd scored her first goal of the season moments before halftime. Defender Poliana found Lloyd outside the box with a short pass, and her first touch was a shot to the top corner of the far post. Poliana tallied her second assist of the game in the second half when she found Rachel Daly inside the box and the England international beat the Pride keeper at the near post for her second goal of the season. Rookie goalkeeper Jane Campbell made her second start of the season and notched her first win and first clean sheet as a professional. Tonight will be the first game forward Kealia Ohai misses due to a left knee injury she suffered in Orlando.
Boston enters Week 11 with eight points after a disappointing stretch that includes four consecutive losses. The Breakers will be without midfielder Rose Lavelle, who suffered a hamstring injury earlier this month. The Breakers began the season with impressive victories over Seattle Reign FC and Sky Blue FC, but their struggles on the road have left them at the bottom of the table.
Second-year head coach Matt Beard infused a lot of young talent in the offseason with four selections in the first round of the 2017 NWSL College Draft. Additionally, the opening day roster featured more than a dozen new players, including former Dash defender Allysha Chapman, Canadian international Adriana Leon, New Zealand international Rosie White and Megan Oyster, who made her debut with the senior U.S. Women’s National Team in April.
Two players who return for the 2017 season include Natasha Dowie, who led the Breakers in goals last season with three and Julie King, who matched a career-high for goals scored in a single season last year with two.
The Dash will travel to the Midwest this weekend to face the two-time NWSL Champions, FC Kansas City, at Swope Soccer Village at 7 p.m. on Sunday, July 2nd. The Dash return to BBVA Compass Stadium on July 8 to kick off a three-game homestretch against Christine Sinclair and the Portland Thorns, Mallory Pugh and the Washington Spirit and Rose Lavelle and the Breakers.
