Houston returns home for the second home game of the regular season and the first in almost a month. The Dash enter Sunday’s match with a 2-1-1 record and are in fourth place in the league standings. Sunday’s match is the first meeting between the two teams in 2022. Last season the two teams met twice during the 2021 regular season, both of which were wins for Houston. The final match up came on Oct. 10, 2021 at PNC Stadium and was a 4-1 victory which featured a brace from forward Rachel Daly.
The Dash are coming off a 2-0 win over Portland Thorns on Saturday. Houston took the 1-0 lead in the 45+3 minute of the first half off the boot of Daly. Forward Nichelle Prince found Daly who was making a run down the left side, Daly made a few moves past the Portland defense in the six-yard box and beat the goalkeeper to give Houston the lead heading into the half. Midway through the second half midfielder Sophie Schmidt extended Houston’s lead after defender Haley Hanson set Schmidt up with a give and go pass into the penalty box. Schmidt snuck the ball just over the Thorns goalkeeper on the near post as she was falling after being bumped by a Portland defender.
North Carolina is coming off a 1-0 loss at home against San Diego Wave FC. Forward Alex Morgan scored, what ended up being the game winning goal, late in the first half to put the Wave ahead of the Courage 1-0. After winning the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup, the Courage have gotten to a slow start in the regular season, dropping their first three games. Despite the result against the Wave, the Courage out shot San Diego 14-8 and led with 58 percent in possession.
The Dash host the Orlando Pride on June 3 for the second consecutive home game of the season. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT at PNC Stadium. Fans interested in attending the match can purchase tickets here.
Here are three key points ahead of Saturday's match:
- RACHEL DALY 100: Captain Rachel Daly is set to make her 100th career regular season appearance within the National Women’s Soccer League as well as with the Houston Dash. Daly is the second player in club history to reach this milestone, Kealia Watt (Ohai) was the first player to reach that milestone in 2019. Daly is Houston’s all-time leader in goals scored across all competitions with 40. Daly was drafted by the Dash in 2016 and led the Dash to a 2020 Challenge Cup title where she was named the tournament MVP. Daly, a Harrogate, England native was the first player from England to be drafted into the NWSL from St. John’s University.
- CAPITALIZING ON CHANCES: Through the three-game road stretch Houston scored five goals in three straight road games and had eight total big chances during that stretch. Against Portland the Dash were able to score two goals despite only having 39.3 percent of possession throughout the match. Despite the clean sheet, Portland’s expected goals of 1.25 was higher than Houston’s 1.15 once the final whistle was blown. Each of Houston’s goals have been scored by different players this season, except for Daly, who scored a penalty against Kansas City and scored against Portland. Three different players have also been credited with assists in goals where it was applicable.
- NORTH CAROLINA’S VETERAN LEADER: North Carolina veteran midfielder Debinha leads the Courage in shots, shots on goal and has scored one of two goals all season for the club. The Brazilian midfielder, who has won two league titles with the Courage, is not only a key part of the Courage’s always lethal attack, but also brings a significant amount of experience. A mainstay on the Brazilian Women’s National Team, the Brasopolis, Brazil Native represented her home nation in the 2020 Tokyo Games as well as the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France.
