Originally published on June 30, 2014
The Spirit won a hard fought and humid match in Houston over the Dash 1-0 on Saturday night.
Both teams generated close chances, but the game winner came off the boot of Spirit forward Jodie Taylor in the 61st minute. Taylor caught McLeod off her line and expertly chipped the ball over the Canadian international to give the Spirit a 1-0 lead that held until the final whistle.
Taylor now has seven goals on the season and is fourth highest scorer in the NWSL.
Taylor combined well throughout the game with the newly acquired Australian international forward Lisa DeVanna. DeVanna’s blistering pace troubled the Dash backline for nearly every minute she was on the pitch.
Similarly Kealia Ohai used her speed to outpace Robyn Gayle and Niki Cross nearly scoring on several occasions. However, the Spirit backline did just enough to stymie Ohai as well as Dash leading scorer and former Spirit forward Tiffany McCarty.
The Spirit Starting XI was remarkably defensive including Lori Lindsey, Yael Averbuch, Tori Huster, and Diana Matheson. Remarkably, head coach Mark Parsons elected to leave Christine Nairn on the bench. Nairn has been a relatively consistent performer in an, at times, spotty Spirit midfield. Notably, Nairn scored the game winning goal with a blistering strike from nearly 40 yards to earn the Spirit a win in stoppage time the last time the two sides met.
Nairn eventually entered the match in the 59th minute replacing Yael Averbuch. Her impact on the match was immediate and she helped provide some level of cohesion to the Spirit midfield.
Crystal Dunn proved to be a critical substitution in the 67th minute as she replaced Robyn Gayle. The rookie was far better suited to match the lightning quick pace of Ohai. Dunn also contributed to the Spirit attack and pushed far up the left flank on a number of occasions.
The Spirit’s final substitution didn’t have the impact of the first two, but it was significant as it marked the NWSL debut for former German international and current FFC Frankfurt player Kerstin Garefrekes. Garfrekes has only been training with the Spirit for a week or so and could play a crucial role in the midfield moving forward.
Throughout much of the first half the Spirit relied on playing the long ball in to Taylor and DeVanna, an attempt to take advantage of Houston’s high defensive line. The result was myriad offside calls and a couple near goals.
The Dash continued their signature high press and did well to dispossess the Spirit in the first half. They had a couple dangerous opportunities, but ultimately all were off target. In the 20th minute Becky Edwards sent in a nearly perfect placed long ball to Ohai who had snuck in behind the Spirit backline. However, goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris burst off her line to smother Ohai’s shot.
The hot and incredibly humid weather stifled the attack of both sides as each only managed 9 shots in 90 minutes. The Spirit made the most of their minimal opportunities by playing five on goal and converting one shot to earn the goal that ultimately provided the win. The Dash only had two shots and goal and failed to convert either of those shots on goal.
Houston falls to 4-9-1 (13 points) and will face Sky Blue FC, a team on the upswing after a win in Portland last Wednesday and a tie with league leaders Seattle yesterday. Meanwhile, the Spirit climb to third on the table (7-7-1; 22 points) and will play the Breakers at home on Wednesday.