A very important match on Friday night for the Houston Dash and the Chicago Red Stars. A win by Houston would have given them the three points they needed to tie the Red Stars in the standings. Moreover, the Dash would have the tiebreak against Chicago in their favor. So, this was a must win game by coach James Clarkson and his squad. On the other side, getting points on the road would give Chicago more stability in the standings as they are now in a playoff spot.
Houston played with one of its best staring elevens. The addition of defender Abby Dahlkemper gave a big boost to the Texas team in the back line. The Dash played very confident, and they ended up controlling the tempo of the match. Also, in offense they created some chances. However, they have been struggling in their last matches to convert opportunities to goals.
Courtesy of Chicago Red Stars
The Red Stars started pressuring Houston and used their speed and very dynamic game to create chances to score. Chicago’s forwards Mallory Pugh, Katie Johnson, and former Dash players Morgan Gautrat and Kealia Ohai used the sides to attack the Houston defense. And even though they created some chances, they were not as clear as they hope for. In addition, goalkeeper Jane Campbell and the Houston defense was precise most of the match.
Even though Houston did not create many chances, they were dangerous in the last third. One of those chances was a long pass to Rachael Daly, who got the ball and beat goalkeeper Cassie Miller with a power shot to the near post at the 22’. With her fifth goal of the season, Daly broke the Dash NWSL Regular Season goal record. She not only gave the lead to the Orange, but she surpassed Kealia Watt, having scored now 29 goals.
The partial at the half was a 1-0 in favor of the home team.
The second half was very similar to the first one. Houston controlled most of the match, but when Chicago had the ball, they created chances to find the equalizer. Set pieces was a way the visitors could find the goal. And certainly, after a free kick that was blocked by Campbell, Chicago found the tie at the 77’ when Casey Krueger put it in for the 1-1.
After the goal, Houston tried to be more aggressive, but they were not able to find a second goal and ended up tying another match that they were leading. Chicago, on the other side, was happy with the point as they remain in a playoff spot and they avoid losing on a tiebreak against Houston.
Now, the Dash will have a couple of weeks to prepare for the remaining of the season as they need to regroup and start getting wins to secure a place in the playoffs, which is their main goal this year. Also, Chicago will also have a couple of weeks to prepare for a difficult match against Portland Thorns and to finish the season in a high note to compete for the championship.
