Dash get first win of 2024 in thriller against Bay FC
(image via Houston Dash)
The Houston Dash got a hard-fought 3-2 win against the expanison franchise Bay FC on Saturday night at PayPal Park. A sellout crowd of 18,000 packed the stadium for Bay’s home opener but the Dash played spoiler to get their first win of the season.
Even with the improvements in their last game, head coach Fran Alonso made some tweaks to the Dash lineup, mostly due to the unavailability of Cece Kizer and Natalie Jacobs. Alonso gave Kiki Van Zanten, Elin Rubensson, and Amanda West their first NWSL starts. Michelle Alozie got back into the team on the right side of the midfield.
With a sold-out crowd, both teams tried to gain control of the ball early in the first half. Quickly out of the gate, West ran through the midfield and defense to get a shot on goal. Bay FC goalkeeper Lysianne Proulx made a good save to keep the game scorless early on.
With their first chance of the game, Bay FC forward Scarlett Camberos crossed into the box to Asisat Oshoala. The ball was poorly cleared out by the Dash defense and it landed at the feet of Deyna Castellanos. She rocketed the shot into the top left corner. It gave Bay FC their first goal at home as well as Deyna's first goal in the NWSL in the 19th minute to make the score 1-0.
The first half ended with Bay FC leading by that score line. Both teams were playing with a high tempo and had almost equal amount of ball possession. There was no real difference between the two teams, just the goal that seperated them.
The second half started like much of the first half. Bay FC had more possession but had trouble creating chances to score. One early chance in the half came from Tess Boade running to the wing and shooting but Dash goalkeeper Jane Campbell secured the ball.
The momentum changed in the 60th minute when Fran Alonso made two substitutions to change the Dash’s tempo. A quick transition from a corner led to Diana Ordonez running through the midfield. She waited for Maria Sanchez to catch up and laid it off to her on the left. Sanchez held the ball enough to get herself space and cross it back to Ordonez who headed the ball into the back of the net. It gave the Dash their first goal of the season, that they scored on their own, as well as Diana’s first of the season to make the score 1-1 in the 66th minute.
The goal spurred the Dash on to get a go-ahead goal. Houston got a corner in the 78th minute and Maria Sanchez placed the ball into the box. It landed to Sophie Schmidt who tried to lob into Ordonez. Proulx blocked the ball away but the rebound landed to Alozie who put the shot wide.
It wasn’t the last chance for the Dash. In the dying minutes of the second half, Barbara Olivieri crossed the ball into the box but Bay FC defender Dorian Bailey blocked the ball with her hand. After a VAR review, the penalty was given. Ordonez stepped to the spot and took the penalty. Her initial shot was blocked by Proulx but she buried the rebound and gave the Dash the 2-1 lead in the 87th minute.
Bay FC didn’t go out without a fight in front of their 18,000 fans. In the 90th+3 minute, Racheal Kundananji, in her NWSL debut, ran down the right wing and skipped past all the defenders. She chipped her shot over Campbell for her first goal in the NWSL, leveling the game at 2-2.
Just when it seemed this match didn’t have any more twists and turns, the Dash found a show stopper. In the dying minutes of stoppage time, Sanchez ran into the opposition box and crossed the ball. It missed Ordonez but bounced to the top of the box to Havana Solaun. She curled it into the bottom left corner in the 10th minute of stoppage time to gives the Dash a well-deserved 3-2 win.
The Dash will now have an international window next week and not play a league game. Houston’s next game will be on Friday, April 12 at home at 7:00PM. It will stream on Amazon Prime Video.
