The Houston Dash will host the Orlando Pride on Friday night in their second straight home game. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. CDT and it will be streamed live on Paramount+ in the United States and internationally on Twitch. Tickets start at just $7 and are available at HoustonDash.com.
The Dash will be home for the second straight week and enter the match against Orlando with a 2-1-2 record. Friday’s match marks the 17th time the two teams have met since Orlando joined the league in 2016. Houston has not suffered a defeat to the Pride since April 2018, including a 1-0-1 mark last season. The Dash are 5-0-2 against the Pride in league play and 7-0-2 record across all competitions against Orlando since 2018.
Houston played to a 1-1 draw against North Carolina at PNC Stadium on Sunday night. Dash Captain Rachel Daly, who was playing in her 100th career regular season game, opened the scoring in the first half during stoppage time. Daly became the second player in club history to reach the 100-game milestone. The Houston Dash will honor Daly in a special pregame ceremony Friday evening.
Orlando is coming off a 2-2 draw with reigning NWSL Champion Washington Spirit on May 27. The Pride scored two goals within three minutes of each other – both of which came in stoppage time – to force the draw at home. The Pride are sitting in sixth place with a 2-2-2 record. Orlando leads the league in yellow cards with 11 total, the Dash are 10th in the league with five.
Here are three key points ahead of Saturday's match:
- HOUSTON’S ATTACK: The Dash are fourth in the league in goals scored with six and third in assists with four. Forward Rachel Daly is second in the league with three goals after scoring in back-to-back matches. Three different players have scored Houston’s other goals. Forward Nichelle Prince scored a goal and recorded a team-best two assists so far this season. So far in 2022 nine different players have scored goals for the club across all competitions. All of Houston’s goals this season have come from inside the box.
- ORLANDO DEFENSE: Through six games, the Pride have allowed 12 goals – the most in the league-- and have a minus-three goal differential. Orlando average’s two goals allowed per game. In each of Houston’s wins, the Dash have been able to score two goals and keep the opponent off the board. Of the 12 goals allowed by Orlando this season, nine have come inside the box.
- CLUB TIES: Midfielder Marisa Viggiano, who returned to action against North Carolina after being sidelined with an injury, will face off against her former team for the first time. Viggiano was acquired via trade from Orlando. Viggiano was drafted out of Northwestern by the Pride in the 2019 NWSL College Draft. Defender Megan Montefusco (formerly Oyster) played with Houston in 2020 and 2021 and helped the Dash win the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup will return to face off against her former club for the first time.
