The Houston Dash are on the road again this weekend, heading west to face Seattle Reign FC. After a big win last week in Orlando, the Dash are looking to keep the momentum going and pick up another three points against the no. 2 team in the league.
Here are three things the Dash need to do in order to pick up three points:
1. Score Early
Last week, the Dash earned a come-from-behind victory over the Orlando Pride late in the second half. They also came from behind for the win in their last matchup against Seattle, their winning goal coming in stoppage. To ensure a win, they’ll have to make it a point to score in the first half and use it as an advantage when they go into the locker room at halftime.
“We’ve been building on something good these last couple of weeks and on some solid performances,” midfielder Kyah Simon said. “Now it’s just a matter of that cohesion and understanding on the field.”
The Dash have been able to score some great second half goals as of late, but being able to have that same urgency and efficiency in the first half to find that back of the net would pay off greatly against a team like Seattle.
2. Put Away Opportunities
“I think if we have a lot of movement and capitalize on our chances we’ll be able to get the three points,” midfielder Sofia Huerta said.
The Dash have proven that they are capable of creating plenty of scoring chances in almost all their games, but those chances haven’t produced as many goals as they’d like. The next step here, which ties into the first point, will be to put away their chances so they aren’t scrambling in the second half to find a goal to equalize or finish off a match.
3. Quicker Transition Offensively and Defensively
Because they’re going against the team with forwards who are able to pounce on mistakes very quickly, the Dash will want to be quicker on the transition. They have gotten caught springing forward, leaving the defenders outnumbered once the ball heads back toward their own goal.
“If we’re sort of compact and make sure we don’t sell ourselves and put them under pressure, then we can definitely win the ball and create some chances for ourselves,” defender Clare Polkinghorne explained.
Offensively, Huerta added, “Once we win the ball in our defensive half and break that line and get past a few players on the Seattle team and find Kealia (Ohai), Rachel (Daly), or Kyah going forward, then we can get dangerous chances.”
The Dash were able to transition quickly in the offensive perspective quite a few times against Orlando last week, which eventually led to their two goals for the win. If they can continue doing so this weekend in Seattle, Houston should be able to find the back of the net more often.
