One team will win their first trophy in NWSL play.
The first soccer trophy to be awarded in North America this year will be handed out at Rio Tinto Stadium as the Houston Dash take on the Chicago Red Stars in the NWSL Challenge Cup Final. The Dash entered the knockout stage as the #4-seed where they first defeated the Utah Royals on penalties in the quarterfinals and then 1-0 over the #8-seed Portland Thorns in the semifinal.
Rachel Daly, who was named MVP of the Challenge Cup, scored the lone goal for the Dash against the Thorns and is one of three players who has scored multiple goals in the competition with three which is joint-top along with North Carolina’s Lynn Williams. The only other player with multiple goals is Daly’s teammate Shea Groom. The only other player to have scored for Houston was Kristie Mewis.
The Red Stars were the #6-seed after a 1-2-1 preliminary round. They overcame OL Reign on penalties before defeating Sky Blue FC in the semfinals, 3-2, in a match that saw the Red Stars score more goals in that match than they did the previous five (two). Five different players have scored for the Red Stars. Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher is second in the Challenge Cup with 18 saves. Houston’s Jane Campbell is third with 17.
Red Stars head coach Rory Dames took advantage of the format playing some of his younger players to see who could make the jump to the starting eleven in the knockout stages. One of those players was Bianca St. Geroges and she came up big in the semifinal with a goal and an assist. Rachel Hill also scored in that match and Zoey Goralski was vital in place of an injured Casey Short against Sky Blue FC.
The Red Stars were in the NWSL Championship last year after four straight years of falling at the semifinal hurdle. They lost to eventual champions North Carolina in the Final. They are looking for their first trophy at the top level of women’s soccer in the United States.
Prior to this Challenge Cup, the Dash had never qualified for the NWSL Playoffs finishing no better than 5th in their previous six years of existence. But with Rachel Daly, Shea Groom, Kristie Mewis, and Jane Campbell; the Dash are now looking for their first trophy.
These teams appear evenly matched and took different paths to get to this final. One of these two teams will lift a trophy for the first time in their history. The match will kickoff at 11:30am CT Sunday on CBS.
