The Houston Dash will travel to the East Coast for their first trip to the Tar Heel State on Saturday as they face the reigning NWSL Champion, the North Carolina Courage at 6:30 p.m. at WakeMed Soccer Park. The game will be streamed live on the go90 app and NWSLSoccer.com.
Rookie goalkeeperJane Campbell finished with seven saves against Seattle Reign FC last Saturday, including a penalty kick stop versus Jess Fishlock. Campbell earned NWSL Save of the Week honors for the penalty kick save, which was the first of her professional career. The defensive unit in front of Campbell will be directed by captain Amber Brooks who has played every minute of the 2017 season for Houston. Brooks is one of 10 players in the league to have played every minute for their team this season. Rachel Daly will be eligible for selection after missing last Saturday’s game due to a suspension. The Dash will be without Bruna Benites due to yellow card accumulation after she picked up her fifth yellow card of the season in Saturday’s game against Seattle.
The Courage sit atop the league table through 21 games and have clinched a playoff spot in their first season in North Carolina. The Courage feature an attacking trio of Sam Mewis, Lynn Williams and Jessica McDonald, who have combined to score 15 of North Carolina’s 30 goals this season. Defensively, the Courage have allowed the fewest goals in the league with 18 due in part to the contributions of Abby Dahlkemper and Abby Erceg.
This will be the first of two meetings between Houston and North Carolina, who relocated from upstate New York in the offseason. Houston had a 4-1-2 all-time record against the Western New York Flash; and the Flash claimed their first NWSL Championship at BBVA Compass Stadium last fall. Houston and Western New York drew both games last season.
