The Houston Dash concluded their 2019 home schedule with a scoreless draw with the Washington Spirit in front of 5,247 fans at BBVA Stadium tonight. With the draw, the Dash extended their unbeaten streak against the Spirit to seven consecutive games.
Dash goalkeeper Jane Campbell finished with three saves on the night as she kept a clean sheet for the sixth time this season.
The Spirit got the first shot of the game in the third minute when forward Ashley Hatch caught a loose ball that the Houston defense wasn’t able to clear. Although Hatch scored the goal, the referee called her for a handball as she controlled it.
Houston responded quickly when forward Rachel Daly received a ball in the box and shot to the middle of the goal, forcing the first save of the game by Spirit goalkeeper Audrey Bledsoe in the ninth minute. Two minutes later, Dash midfielder Sophie Schmidt sent a ball in behind the Spirit back line to midfielder Sofia Huerta, whose shot whistled inches too high, barely missing the goal. Huerta tested her luck again in the 13th minute when she headed a ball wide of the goal off of midfielder Christine Nairn’s free kick.
Campbell made a crucial save in the 15th minute when Hatch sent the ball past Houston defender Ally Prisock and into the feet of Spirit forward Crystal Thomas. Thomas into a one-versus-one position and shot a ball that Campbell dove low to punch away.
Houston kept pressing throughout the remainder of the first half. In the 25th minute, Daly finished a sequence that saw the ball carom around the box by trying an audacious bicycle kick from the top of the penalty area, missing wide from the left post.
Campbell continued her stellar play this season when she stopped a shot from Spirit forward Mallory Pugh in the 37th minute. Pugh dribbled into the box and shot from a pass by midfielder Chloe Logarzo, but Campbell pushed it wide.
Ten minutes into the second half, Houston midfielder Kristie Mewis came close to scoring on a corner kick that was blocked and cleared by Bledsoe. Dash defenderAmber Brooks headed the ball inches away from the goal through a rebound before Hatch cleared it wide.
Mewis came the closest to scoring in the 75th minute when she cracked a hard shot from the top of the penalty area. Her shot forced a save from Bledsoe, who got just enough of a touch on the ball to tip it up into the crossbar. The rebound fell to Daly, but Bledsoe was able to stop her shot as well.
The Dash created a pair of extremely dangerous chances in stoppage time, first through Mewis and then thanks to Daly. Huerta got on the end of a ball along Houston’s right flank and whipped in a perfect cross that not only beat all of Washington’s defenders, but pulled goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe off her line. The loose ball fell to Mewis, but her left-footed shot was headed off the line by a Washington defender. Daly recovered the second ball and uncorked a right-footed blast, but her shot whistled just wide of the near post.
Before finishing their NWSL season, the Dash will travel to Monterrey, Mexico to face the Liga MX Femenil two-time champions, Tigres U.A.N.L. on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 9:15 p.m. CDT at Estadio Universitario. Houston will be the first NWSL team to play an official friendly game on Mexican soil.
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Houston Dash (7-11-5; 26 pts.)0-0 Washington Spirit (7-8-6; 27 pts.)
NWSL Regular Season, Week 24
Wednesday, September 25, 2019 – BBVA Stadium, Houston, TX
Attendance: 5247
SCORING SUMMARY:
<strong>Team</strong> |
<strong>1H</strong> |
<strong>2H</strong> |
<strong>FT</strong> |
<p>Houston Dash </p> |
<p>0 </p> |
<p>0</p> |
<p>0</p> |
<p>Washington Spirit </p> |
<p>0 </p> |
<p>0 </p> |
<p>0 </p> |
N/A
LINEUPS:
Houston Dash: Jane Campbell; Haley Hanson, Ally Prisock, Amber Brooks, Allysha Chapman (Ari Calderon 80); Sophie Schmidt; Sofia Huerta, Kristie Mewis, Christine Nairn (Cece Kizer 69), Kealia Ohai (C) (Jamia Fields 72); Rachel Daly
Unused Substitutes: Bianca Henninger, Lindsay Agnew, Ari Romero, Cami Privett
Total shots: 14 (Rachel Daly 5); Shots on goal: 4 (Ari Calderon, Rachel Daly, Jamia Fields, Kristie Mewis 1); Fouls: 7 (Rachel Daly 3); Offside: 3 (Rachel Daly 2); Corner kicks: 6 (Sofia Huerta 4); Saves: 3 (Jane Campbell 3)
Washington Spirit: Audrey Bledsoe; Tori Huster, Paige Nielsen, Sam Staab, Cali Farquharson (Meg Crosson 59); Andi Sullivan (C), Chloe Logarzo, Jordan DiBiasi (Cheyna Matthews); Mallory Pugh, Ashley Hatch, Crystal Thomas (Bayley Feist 72)
Unused Substitutes: Ari Ship, Rose Lavelle, Shae Yanez, Bayley Feist, Amy Harrison
Total shots: 13 (Jordan DiBiasi, Ashley Hatch, Cheyna Matthews, Mallory Pugh, Crystal Thomas 2); Shots on goal: 3 (Cheyna Matthews, Mallory Pugh, Crystal Thomas 1); Fouls: 8 (Ashley Hatch 3); Offside: 2 (Ashley Hatch, Mallory Pugh 1); Corner kicks: 5 (Chloe Logarzo 3); Saves: 4 (Audrey Bledsoe 4)
DISCIPLINE:
WAS: Sam Staab (caution; foul) 12
HOU: Allysha Chapman (caution; foul) 44
WAS: Paige Nielsen (caution; foul) 66
OFFICIALS:
Referee: Ekaterina Koroleva
Assistant Referee 1: Salma Perez
Assistant Referee 2: Kali Smith
Fourth Official: Andrea Jedele
Weather: Partly sunny, 85 degrees 
