The Houston Dash suffered a 2-1 loss against the Portland Thorns this evening at BBVA Stadium.
Houston found the back of the net first, scoring early in the second half when forward Kyah Simon headed a ball into the right side of the net from a free-kick midfielder Christine Nairn in the 51st minute. The goal is Simon’s first of the season and second with the Dash.
The Thorns leveled the match in the 70th minute when defender Tyler Lussi shot a ball from outside the box near the right side of the crossbar. Portland took the lead five minutes later when Lussi lofted a ball over the top of the Dash back line to forward Midge Purce, who ran onto the ball and slid it into the net, just past the reach of Dash goalkeeper Jane Campbell.
Houston captain Kealia Ohai tested her luck in the 67th minute, hitting a one-touch shot off of a high ball that landed inside the box. Ohai, who became just the sixth player to appear in 100 games for the same club this evening, struck again shortly afterwards when Simon sent her a wide pass that she dribbled into the box and shot on target. Unfortunately for the Dash, her effort wound up in the hands of Portland goalkeeper Britt Eckerstorm.
Portland had the first dangerous chance of the night shortly after the opening whistle when forward Simone Charley dribbled the ball into the box and struck a ball that landed in Campbell’s hands.
In the 14th minute, Nairn saw an opportunity and drilled a low shot from outside the box that deflected off of midfielder Kristie Mewis and nearly found the back of the net before being punched out by Eckerstrom.
Ten minutes later, Houston defender Arianna Romero found Mewis again with a ball from behind that the midfielder headed toward the Portland goal, just missing wide left.
Along with Ohai’s 100th appearance, Campbell reached a milestone of her own, making her 50th consecutive start tonight.
The Dash will travel to the East Coast to take on the North Carolina Courage at 6:30 p.m. CDT at Sahlen’s Stadium in Cary, North Carolina. The match will be streamed live on Yahoo!Sports.
