Chicago’s youngsters struggled for cohesion, while two of Houston’s rookies made dream debuts. Rachel Daly and Janine Beckie scored their first professional goals to power the Houston Dash over the Chicago Red Stars. Daly added an assist on Carli Lloyd’s 51st minute game-winner. The 3-1 victory is the Dash’s first-ever win against Chicago.
Both teams applied early pressure. Houston held the advantage as their efforts were far more organized and they sliced through Chicago’s backline with relative ease. However, it was Chicago that opened the scoring in the 13th minute, capitalizing on a defensive mistake. Playing out of the back, a Houston defender’s pass went directly to Chicago’s Casey Short. Short slotted a long ball past five Dash defenders to Christen Press. She only had Dash goalkeeper Lydia Williams to beat. In two touches, Press calmly placed the ball past a charging Williams into the lower right corner of the net. Houston scored the equalizer in the 22nd minute. Sliding to stop the ball, a Chicago defender pushed the ball closer to her endline. Rachel Daly pounced on the loose ball. Her first touch beat Chicago’s goalkeeper, Alyssa Naeher, to the near upper right corner.
The rest of the half was a wide open contest with both goalkeepers forced to make impressive saves. Colliding with forward Kealia Ohai, Naeher bravely punched a cross away. However, The ball made it only as far as Houston’s Carli Lloyd. Lloyd touched the ball to the left as Naeher regained her feet and again found the play. Sliding across goal, Naeher went partially to ground in anticipation of a shot which came half a second later than expected. Naeher managed to deny Lloyd’s close-range shot while barely half standing. Danielle Colaprico had Chicago’s next chance in the 33rd minute. Williams did well to get her hand to Colaprico’s left-footed blast from 20 yards and parry it over the bar. The teams headed to the locker room knotted at 1-1.
At the start of the second half, the Dash came out firing on all cylinders and quickly put the Red Stars away. Daly turned provider in the 51st minute, driving a left-footed cross to Lloyd’s head. Lloyd made no mistake and zipped the ball into Chicago’s net. Two minutes later, Houston scored their third goal. Ohai ran onto a long through ball. She squared up along the left side of the penalty area and played an easy ball back to Beckie at the top of the penalty area. Beckie leisurely placed her shot into the lower far right corner.
Although the game remained open, the pace slowed considerably after Houston’s third goal. Naeher continued to be strong for Chicago, stopping many tough shots. Chicago seemed out of ideas in the last thirty minutes of the match in their forays into the Dash’s final third. Switching to a three-back in the 83rd minute by moving Julie Johnston and Arin Gilliland into attacking midfield positions didn’t help as they never seriously challenged Houston’s defense.
Chicago has some work to do if they are going to make the playoffs again this year. Even though twelve players returned from last season, this young team must build chemistry and leadership on both sides of the ball. In the first half, Chicago was lucky that Houston did not punish more of their defensive misqueues and miscommunications. Naeher’s shot-stopping ability is impeccable, but the players in front of her must do more to deny through balls and crosses. Houston was not as kind in the second half, scoring two quick goals off crosses to unmarked attackers. Chicago’s attack shows promise, but also needs time to gel. It is encouraging to see Arin Gilliland and Casey Short getting forward and there were flashes of what wants to be a flank-attacking, possession-oriented style. Set plays also need work as the Red Stars held a 9-3 advantage in corner kicks and failed to convert. The pieces are there for Chicago, they simply need time to become a cohesive unit.
Next week, Chicago looks to bounce back against the Western New York Flash in their new NWSL home, Toyota Park in Bridgeview, IL. The home opener starts at 6pm CDT.
The Dash will try to create a winning streak at Orlando. That match is at the Orlando Citrus Bowl and starts at 7:30pm EDT.
Lineups:
Houston 4-3-3 with inverted midfield triangle
Williams;Chapman, Moros, Brush, Poliana; Andressa, Brooks, Lloyd; Ohai, Beckie, Daly
Substitutes:
71’ Ubogagu for Beckie
81’ Ochs for Ohai
87’ Heap for Andressa
Chicago 4-4-2
Naeher; Short, Johnson, Johnston, Gilliland; Mautz, Colaprico, DiBernardo, Huerta; Hoy, Press
Substitutes:
63’ Raetzman for Hoy
83’ Walls for Huerta
83’ Gorden for Mautz
Goals:
13’ Chicago – Christen Press
22’ Houston – Rachel Daly
51’ Houston – Carli Lloyd (Daly)
53’ Houston – Janine Beckie (Ohai)
Misconduct:
61’ Yellow: Alyssa Mautz (CHI)
75’ Yellow: Samantha Johnson (CHI)
Attendance: 7,440
