The Houston Dash return to league action on Sunday as they host Christen Press, Becky Sauerbrunn and Utah Royals FC for our inaugural Salute to Women Veterans night, presented by Sasol.
Houston entered the break with a 1-0 victory over the Washington Spirit on July 22 after an early first-half goal from England international Rachel Daly. That was the seventh goal of the season for Daly, who was also named to the NWSL Team of the Month for July on Friday after finishing the month with three goals.
With the victory over Washington, Houston sits on top of Utah in the league table with 23 points, six points away from a playoff spot with six games left in the regular season. This will be the third and final meeting this season between the clubs after the series opened with a draw at BBVA Compass Stadium in March. Utah claimed the first victory in the series on May 19 with a 1-0 victory at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Houston will welcome three players returning from international duty as Australian midfielders Clare Polkinghorne and Kyah Simon return after competing in the 2018 Tournament of Nations, and Bianca Henninger rejoins the team after winning the gold medal with the Mexican Women's National Team at the 2018 Central American and Carribean Games in Baranquilla, Colombia.
Utah enters the match with a four-game winless streak. Prior to the international break, Laura Harvey's team held the North Carolina Courage to a scoreless draw on July 21 to snap a three-game losing streak. Utah will look to U.S. Women's National Team forward Christen Press to spark an offense that has scored 14 goals this season, the third-lowest team total in the league. Defensively, Becky Sauerbrunn and Abby Smith have anchored a back line that has allowed 18 goals, the third-fewest conceded in the league this season.
Looking ahead at next week, Houston will travel to the Garden State to face Carli Lloyd, Janine Beckie and Sky Blue FC for the second time this season. The match is scheduled to kickoff at 6 p.m. CT and will be streamed on the NWSL app or NWSLSoccer.com. The Dash return to BBVA Compass Stadium at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 17 to host Rose Lavelle and the Washington Spirit.
