With back-to-back wins, the Dash are looking to add a third straight triumph and their second consecutive at home. Houston will host NJ/NY Gotham FC at Shell Energy Stadium on Sunday, June 11 at 6 p.m. CT. The Dash will host its annual Pride game and the first 2,000 fans to arrive at the stadium will receive a Pride-themed jersey flag, presented by MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Houston enters Sunday’s match after a 2-0 win over Orlando Pride at home on Saturday, June 3. Rookie midfielder Sophie Hirst scored six minutes into the match to give the Dash the 1-0 lead. It was the first career goal for Hirst. The Harvard product was drafted by Houston No. 20 overall in the 2023 NWSL Draft earlier this year. With four minutes left in the first half, forward Michelle Alozie scored her first goal of the season to extend Houston’s lead before the break. Alozie scored her first NWSL goal against the Pride exactly 365 days prior on June 3, 2022, when the Dash beat Orlando 5-0 at Shell Energy Stadium. Goalkeeper Jane Campbell earned her second consecutive clean sheet victory and made a season-high six saves in the match to preserve the shut out. The Stanford product currently has the fifth-most saves in the NWSL with 36 so far this season.
NJ/NY Gotham FC enters Sunday’s game after their match against Orlando Pride in the 2023 UKG Challenge Cup was postponed due to poor air quality conditions in the New York Metropolitan area. In league play, Gotham FC is 1-1-1 (WLD) across its last three games. In their most recent match against San Diego Wave FC, Gotham FC fell at home after a goal in the opening minute of the second half of the match. NJ/NY Gotham FC is led by forward Lynn Williams who was acquired in the offseason by Gotham FC following a trade with Kansas City. Williams is in a five-way tie for first place in most goals scored with five.
Last season, Houston swept NJ/NY Gotham FC with a 4-2 win on the road at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey on July 31. When Gotham FC came to Houston a few weeks later on August 17, the Dash beat the New Jersey-based team 2-1. The visitors were without a key defender, Caprice Dydasco, who joined Houston from NJ/NY Gotham FC following a trade on August 19.
The Dash will return to UKG Challenge Cup group play on Wednesday, June 14 at 7:00 p.m. CT. The Dash will take on Racing Louisville FC at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky. Houston returns home to host OL Reign on Saturday, June 17 7:30 p.m. CT at Shell Energy Stadium.
